Pending the report of these Committees, the Rev. D. McAllister, General Secretary of the National Association, delivered an address, in substance as follows:

D. MCALLISTER'S ADDRESS.

THE RELIGIOUS AMENDMENT MOVEMENT JUST, SEASONABLE, AND NECESSARY. It is fitting that something should be said, at the beginning of the sessions of this Convention, in answer to the question, “For what purpose and why has this National Assembly met?" As a representative of the movement, I shall endeavor to answer this inquiry, and show that we have met to further what is right in itself, and seasonable, and necessary.

This Convention has assembled at the call of the National Association to secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; and the object of the Convention, like that of the Association, is to prepare the way for ultimately securing such an amendment to the Constitution as will suitably express our national acknowledgment of the authority of Almighty God, of Christ, and of the Bible. No one is committed to any form of words. A suitable acknowledgment of the nation's relation to the Supreme Ruler of nations, and His moral laws, is asked for, while it is left with the appropriate authority, either Congress or a Constitutional Convention, as the to formulate the expression.

case may be,

The movement for such an amendment rests upon a fact and a principle: on the fact that the Government of the United States, as it is and always has been administered, stands in intimate relations with Christianity; and on the principle that the relations of a government to the religion of the people, as a unit, should be acknowledged in the fundamental law. The fact is indisputable. The principle is one of the most firmly established and fundamental principles of constitutional law. Let us examine each of these points, appealing to the records of history and the highest authorities in political science and jurisprudence.

The fact that our Government always has been connected with Christianity, as it never has been connected with any other religion, is so patent a fact of history as to need only to be stated. The men who came to this country and originally settled it, were, for the most part, Christians. They acknowledged Almighty God, and Christ, and the Bible. The Christian religion was the religion by whose teachings they sought to regulate all their affairs. They were of different nationalities and languages, but they were mainly of one religion-Christianity, with an open Bible. There were Swedes and Finns; there were Dutch and French settlers; there were Scotch, and Irish, and English colonists. But they were, with but comparatively few exceptions, Christian men, with their different translations of one and the same authoritative Holy Book.

Now, the religion of a people must lie at the very foundation of their nationality. Max Müller, in his lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, looking at this subject simply as a philosopher, says: "It is language and religion that make a people; but religion is even a more powerful agent than language." The history of our own nation may be cited as one of the most convincing proofs of this statement. Schelling and Hegel, expressing the conviction reached through the philosophic study of history, declare the same

the Association have been directed to the formation of a right public sentiment on the relation of government to religion,-a sentiment without which the amendment would be as valueless as its adoption would be impossible. For nearly six years the progress of the movement, and the labors in its behalf, have been faithfully chronicled in the pages of the CHRISTIAN STATESMAN, a paper established by the writer of this sketch, and the Rev. D. McAllister, for the advocacy of this cause. Established at first as the individual contribution of its editors to the cause, and issued only semi-monthly, it has lately been enlarged and is now published weekly, on an adequate pecuniary foundation, and with a large and steadily increasing circulation. Its pages furnish a complete record of the movement since September, 1867, and a full report of proceedings and addresses at all principal conventions. Many of the most elaborate discussions of the principle of national responsibility to God, and other related topics, have first appeared as contributions to its columns.

For convenience of reference, and to show the dignity, importance and consistency of the principles which underlic this movement, as well as the calm, earnest and judicious spirit in which it has been carried forward, I append here the Calls for the three preceding National Conventions, held in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, in the years 1870, 1871, and 1872 respectively, together with the resolutions adopted at each:

CALL FOR THE PITTSBURGH CONVENTION.

The Constitution of the United States makes no acknowledgment of Almighty God, the Author of national existence; nor of Jesus Christ, who is the Ruler of Nations; nor of the Bible, which is the Fountain of law and good morals, as well as of religion. This has, from the beginning, been a matter of deep regret. It may have been an oversight, but it was, and it is, both an error and an evil. It does not reflect the views of the great majority of the people upon these matters. It dishonors God. It is inconsistent with the character of nearly all our State Constitutions, and with all the precedents of our early history. It has introduced, or furthered, views and measures which are now struggling for a baneful ascendancy in State and national politics: such as, that civil government is only a social compact; that it exists only for secular and material, not for moral ends; that Sabbath Laws are unconstitutional, and that the Bible must be excluded from our public schools.

The National Association, which has been formed for the purpose of securing such an amendment to the National Constitution as will remedy this great defect, indicate that this is 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, invites, &c.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT PITTSBURGH.

Resolved, That civil government is grounded, like the family, in the principles of the nature of man as a social creature; that it has its powers and functions thus determined by the Creator, and is, therefore, like the family, an ordinance of God.

Resolved, That nations, as sovereignties, wielding moral as well as physical power, and having moral as well as material objects, are morally accountable to God.

Resolved, That the moral laws under which nations are held accountable, include not only the law written on the heart of man, but also the fuller revelation of the Divine character and will, given in the Bible.

Resolved, That it is the right of nations as such, no less than of the individuals composing them, to worship God according to the religion of Jesus Christ.

Resolved, That in order to maintain and give permanency to the Christian features which have marked this nation from its origin, it is necessary to give them authoritative sanction in our organic law.

Resolved, That the proposed amendment of our National Constitution, so far from infringing any individual's rights of conscience, or tending in the least degree to a union of Church and State, will afford the fullest security against a corrupt and corrupting church establishment, and form the strongest safeguard of both the civil and religious liberties of all citizens.

Resolved, That the present movement is not sectarian, nor even ecclesiastical, but that it is the assertion of the right, and acknowledgment of the duty of a people who believe in the Christian religion to govern themselves in a Christian manner.

CALL FOR THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION.

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There is no political document so all-important to the American statesman and the American citizen as the Constitution of the United States. All law, all customs, all forms of administration are shaped by it. Everything in any State, corporation or business that affects a citizen in the remotest degree as to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness "is tested by it, and stands and works only as it agrees with it. Year by year its molding power is felt. The President, the Congress and the Courts are coming more and more into evident agreement with what is there written. Our statesmen and our whole people are learning their Americanism, as to its letter and spirit, from that great instrument. This is as it should be. This was intended from the beginning.

But, at the same time, it is a serious matter if that Constitution should be found wanting in any principle or any matter of fact. The deficiency will in due time work mischief. Error in the Constitution will work as powerfully as truth, and what is left out of it may one day be formally declared un-American. And one such serious matter there is; one unnecessary and most unfortunate omission. God and Christianity are not once alluded to: although the Constitution is itself the product of a Christian civilization, and although it purports to represent the mind of a Christian people, who in all their State Constitutions had made explicit reference to both God and religion. Hence it is that all the laws of this country in favor of a Christian morality are enacted and enforced outside of the Constitution. They rest only upon the basis of what is called Common Law. We have, strictly, no oath, no law against blasphemy, Sabbath breaking or polygamy that has any better foundation. And, as matters seem to be going, it will soon be discovered and decreed that common law is only another name for custom, which has no binding force. And then where are we? In atheism, corruption and anarchy.

The National Association which has been formed, &c.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT PHILADELPHIA.

Resolved, 1st. That this Convention of those who aim to secure a religious amendment to our National Constitution gratefully acknowledge the good providence of God in the evident progress of this cause during the past year.

2d. That, with the conviction that under God all that is wanting for its ultimate and early triumph,is the publication and illustration of the facts and the principles upon which it is based, we pledge ourselves to renewed zeal in its prosecution.

3d. That this Convention renewedly calls the attention of the American people to the fact that in some of our treaties with foreign governments, which are of equal authority with the Constitution itself, we are declared to be a nation in no sense founded upon Christianity, and not (formally) unlike Mohammedans.

4th. That this Convention reiterates with an increased and solemn appreciation of their importance the following principles of moral and political philosophy, which, in substance, have been set forth by former Conventions, viz:

That civil government in the earth stands for its right of existence upon the same basis with the family, both being the appointments of the God of nature and morality,

and that nations, like families, are public persons, with moral character, with rights, duties, and responsibilities.

That the continued ignoring of God and religion exposes us to the guilt of formal national Atheism.

That the nation constituted by the union of the thirteen British-American Colonies was a Christian nation, as is shown by their several Colonial histories and separate State Constitutions, and therefore it was and is no more than simple justice to the people to reflect their sentiments in the National Constitution.

5th. That, in view of the controlling power of the Constitution, in shaping State as well as National policy, it is of immediate importance to public morals and to social order, to secure "such an amendment to the Constitution as will remedy this great defect, indicate that this is 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;" especially those which secure a proper oath, and which protect society against blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, and polygamy.

CALL FOR THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION.

Government is instituted for man as an intellectual, social, and moral and religious being. It corresponds to his whole nature. It is intended to protect and advance the higher as well as the lower interests of humanity. It acts for its legitimate purposes when it watches over domestic life, and asserts and enforces the sanctity of the marriage bond; when it watches over intellect and education, and furnishes means for developing all the faculties of the mind; when it frowns on profaneness, lewdness, the desecration of the Sabbath, and other crimes which injure society chiefly by weakening moral and religious sentiment, and degrading the character of a people.

Acting for such purposes, government should be established on moral principles. Moral principles of conduct are determined by moral relations. The relations of a nation to God and His moral laws are clear and definite :

1. A nation is the creature of God.

2. It is clothed with authority derived from God.

3. It owes allegiance to Jesus Christ, the appointed Ruler of Nations.

4. It is subject to the authority of the Bible, the special revelation of moral law. In constituting and administering its Government, then, a nation is under obligations to acknowledge God as the author of its existence and the source of its authority, Jesus Christ as its ruler, and the Bible as the fountain of its laws, and the supreme rule of its conduct.

Up to the time of the adoption of the National Constitution, acknowledgments of this kind were made by all the States. They are yet made by many of the States. And in the actual administration of the national Government the principle is admit. ted. But the fundamental law of the nation, the Constitution of the United States, on which our Government rests, and according to which it is to be administered, fails to make, fully and explicitly, any such acknowledgment. This failure has fostered among us mischievous ideas like the following: The nation, as such, has no relations to God; its authority has no higher source than the will of the people; Government is instituted only for the lower wants of man; the State goes beyond its sphere when it educates religiously, or legislates against profanity or Sabbath desecration. The National Association which has been formed, &c.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT CINCINNATI.

Resolved, That the State, as a power claiming and exercising supreme jurisdiction over vast numbers of human beings, as the sovereign arbiter of life and death, and as an educating power, has necessarily a moral character and accountability of its own.

Resolved, That it is the right and duty of the United States, as a nation settled by Christians, a nation with Christian laws and usages, and with Christianity as its greatest social force, to acknowledge itself, in its written Constitution, to be a Christian nation.

Resolved, That as the disregard of sound theory always leads to mischievous practical results, so in this case the failure of our nation to acknowledge, in its organic law, its relation to God and His moral laws, as a Christian nation, has fostered the theory that government has nothing to do with religion, and that consequently laws in favor of the Sabbath, Christian marriage, and the use of the Bible in the schools, are unconstitutional.

Resolved, That we recognize the necessity of complete harmony between our written Constitution and the actual facts of the National life; and we maintain that the true way to effect this undoubted harmony is not to expel the Bible and all idea of God and religion from our schools, abrogate laws enforcing Christian morality, and abolish all devout observances in connection with Government, but to insert an explicit acknowledgment of God and the Bible in our fundamental law.

Resolved, That the proposed religious Amendment, so far from tending to a union of Church and State, is directly opposed to such union, inasmuch as it recognizes the nation's relations to God, and insists that the nation should acknowledge these relations for itself, and not through the medium of any Church establishment.

The most imposing and influential Convention yet held was that of which the following pages give the proceedings. In the number of delegates in attendance, in the variety and effectiveness of the addresses which commended the cause to enthusiastic and delighted audiences, and in the generous provision made for the prosecution of the work on an enlarged scale during the coming year, this Convention far surpassed all that have preceded it.

Wednesday, the 26th ult., the day fixed for the assembling of the Convention, was a day of spring-like mildness and beauty, a circumstance which contributed to swell the audiences at the first two sessions of the Convention. But the increasing interest of its proceedings, and the earnestness of its members and friends, were manifest in the fact that, notwithstanding an incessant snow-storm on the second day, which lasted far into the night, the attendance continued undiminished until the end. The assembly, at each of the evening sessions, numbered fully 1,500 persons, and these, with scarcely an exception, remained till a late hour with evident interest and delight.

According to the report of the Committee on Enrollment, found on page 49, four hundred and seventy members took seats in the Convention, and three hundred and sixty-three of these bore certificates of their appointment as delegates from public meetings, auxiliary societies, churches and other bodies. The students of Harvard Law School, for example, had held a meeting and appointed three of their number as delegates to New York. Thus the Convention, large as it was, represented an immensely larger constituency devoted to the cause. Nineteen States and one territory were thus represented.

A delightful feature of this, as of all previous conventions, was the harmony with which the representatives of the various denominations of Christians were able to deliberate and act together in the interests of their common Christianity and of the civil institutions which rest on it. Not a trace of denominational self-assertion, or of sectarian jealousy, was visible through the