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THE OMAN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BAPTISTS DEVOTED TO BIBLE RELIGION, EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. Volume 88., RALEIGH, N. C, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1892. Number 12. t The Biblical Recorder. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY. OFFICE t ' lS (up talrs) tfayetteville Street, Raleigh, N. C. TZRMS OF BtXBBCHIPTIOir: 0j copy, one year..,:.,.. ...... ...i 2.00 Oaecopv. six months..... 1.00 Clubsofwn (copy extra to sender) .......... 20.00 Anonymous communications will always find their way to the waste basket. No exceptions. . In sending letters of business, it Is absolutely neo- essary tnat you give your poexorace address in luu. The date on the label of your paper indicates i when your subscription expires, and also serves as receipt lor jrur uioucjr. . , . ... Obituaries, sixty words long, are inserted free of charge. When tbef exceed this length, "one cent for eacn word most oe paia in advance. When writing to have your paper changed, please 5 state tne postoinoe as wnicn you receive tne paper, as well as tne one to wnicn you wian it cnangec ' Remittaaoes must be sent by Registered Letter, Pjetoffloe Order, Postal Note, Express or Draft, payable to the order of the Publisher. Do not send stamps. Talk About Law. No. 7. BY JUDGE R. W. WINSTON. THE STATUTE OF FRAUDS. All con tracts to sell or convey any lajnds or any interest in or concerning them, shall be of no effect, unless such contract, or some memorandum or cote thereof, shall be put in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith, or by some other person by mm thereto lawfully authorized. In 1803, Chas. Craig left Wilmington for Nassau. Before going, he executed a deed to Thomas Craig, his brother, to a tract of land. Charles alleged that Thomas paid him nothing for the land, and that it was , verbally agreed, at tne time of the execu tion of the deed, that if Charles came back to the State. Thomas 6hould give up the iana. unanes returned from xsassau. lie demanded the land back. Finally Charles sold tne land to tfonnam. Bonhatn sued Thomas Craig. But he did not recover the land. Having knowingly conveyed the land, .... it cannot be shown, by word of mouth, that there was an agreement to recovery. If Charles had alleged and proven that Thomas defrauded him, or deceived him into exe cuting the deed, equity would have relieved him. "Received, April 21st, 1863, of George Thornburg five hundred dollars on account of sale of my Lenoir lands owned by myself and J. w. Trauseau." Signed by William Masten. . x The same land was soon afterwards sold to pay Masten's debts. But Thornburg sued Masten for a deed, and contended that the little receipt contained the contract. Mas ten's lawyer replied that the "consideration" of the contract was not expressed. But our Court held that the consideration need not be expressed in the memorandum of the contract Away up in Haywood county in 1872, a Mr aicuracken sued another Mr.McUracken. The cause of action was that the plaintiff had agreed, by word of mouth, to erect a mni dam, saw-mill and fixtures on the lands of the defendant; that he did so; and that the defendant bad agreed, also by parol, to convey certain lands to the plaintiff in con sideration thereof. The action was not to recover the land, bat damages for breach of the contract. But, say the Court, "What is the difference between compelling one to part with, bis property and mulcting him with damages if he tries to exercise owner ship over it t" So he recovered no damages. Now suppose that your agent signs your name to a contract to convey land, and he had no written authority to do so, does, this bind youj :vv';rrz7W:Jr-'-- --h- - In October, 1880, the North State Mining Company, through Eames, its agent, agreed to buy certain mineral lands in Ashe county. The agent delivered, in part payment, cer tain drafts; these were not paid, and suit was brought to recover on them. The de fendant denied that it contracted, and plead ed the statute of frauds. But the Court said that the defendant must pay and that the agent can bind the principal, although the principal's name is not mentioned in the writing, and even if no writing, authorizing the agent to buy, were shown. This leads us very near to a principle of law exempli fied daily.; How is a man who bids and buys at an auction sale of land, bound I He signs no writing. Down in Edgecombe in 1866. the auction-' eer said, VPut it down to' James S. Long;1' whereupon the clerk of the sale enters on his sale list, in the presence of Long, "Rayner tract to James Long at f40 per acre." ' Now, how is Long bound f Well, the ad vertisement of the sale is the memoran dum of the contract"; then, the auctioneer is the agent of the buyer and enters the bid In his presence. So the purchaser is bound, notwithstanding the statute of frauds. , So it has beey held that a judgment may be assigned by parol ; and then the parol purchaser may have execution to issue, and under it the land be sold. ' Again,; one party may sign a writing re lating to land and thereby become bound in law, while the party with whom he con-; tracts may not have signed and will not be bound. ' ' X Very often one person, relying on the word of another, will build a house on that other's land, before a deed is executed. " Then, per haps, the land-owner dies, or refuses to exe cute the deed. - What remedy has the ag grieved party ? He cannot get the land be cause the statute is in his way. Equity, that guardian of the oppressed, steps in, and says to the land-owner, " You shall not hold and enjoy the land, thus Improved, without compensation for the additional value wh'ch these improvements have conferred on the property ; it is against conscience that one iuau ouau ue enricnea to me injury oi an other, induced by his own act." Suppose there be two or more writings mat contain ins contract, can you offer pa rol evidence to connect the writings? No. you cannot. Unless the writings themselves show their connection with the subject mat ter, you cannot connect them by word of mourn. Another interesting question arose: One can bind himself with respect to a contract relating to land only by some writing, can he abandon such a contract by won! of mouth t Yes. Our Court say "that this opinion that a parol discharge of a written contract within the statute of frauds is avail able in equity to repel a claim upon that contract, to which the mind of Lord Hard wicke came so reluctantly, is since firmly established by many authorities." So much for this one section of this fa mous statute, which is said to owe its origin to Sir Matthew Hale, its -object being to "prevent the facility to frauds and the temp tation to perjury held out by the enforce ment of obligations depending for their evi dence upon the unassisted ' memory-o' wi t- nADOAfi " VUUVOl Its consideration has carried us somewhat into the n:ceties of the law ; but the knowl edge is not unimportant. However, our next " talk " will be more chatty. Thoughts Ho. 7. BY SCATTERBEAD. "They shall mount up with wings as eagles." Satan is the fountain bead of all mean ness. tie is very industrious, and this is about all the good we can say of him. He uses all of his endeavors to keep this world in a perpetual storm, arising from bis hellish rage, in order to envelop the earth in mid night gloom and "Egyptian darkness." But thanks be unto our (iod there is a sure, peaceable and quiet habitation far above the murky mists and thundering storms of tie valley, engendered by Satan's fury, and that dwelling place is in uod. " Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place m all generations, It is said of the eagle that it soars above the storm-cloud and rests its piDions in the peaceful calm, where it can look down upon the raging storm and feel secure from dan ger. The true christian, like the eagle, mounts up above the world, and the trials and afflictions cannot harm him, because his dwelling place is in the most high uod. whose will it is to lift up his children to ihe "heights of peace and trust." "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe." A very safe dwelling-place indeed, and Satan and all his imps combined cannot batter down the for tress. Sometimes we stray off from home, our Uod, our abiding place, and Satan wounds us with his darts. We are promised safety only when we are abiding in our God. It takes some very big storms to drive some christians into their place of refuge, but the Father wants his children to stay at home, without their wandeiing away, and then have to be driven back by a furious storm. Afflictions and trials will generally make a christian travel very fast towards his only place of safety. Many christians are very well satisfied to remain in their tower while Satan is "spending his shafts" and bellow ing around. Some christians, as soon as the storm is over and all looks very pretty below, soon find themselves midst the things of the world, trying to drink in its pleasures, and very soon they'll forget about "their refuge and strength," and their communion will be broken, and very soon they will be into some kind of meanness, and then it won't be very long before they'll see that they have lost something they once enjoyed- some sav religion, but David said it was not salvation that he lost when he had commit ted such neat sins against his God. but that he lost the joy of salvation. If David bad cone and fought his enemies as he was ac customed to do, he would not have fallen intd temptation, and would have been saved from much bitterness of soul. Satan is a very httfv fellow around an idle christian. I'll say right here, some church mem bers who live very crooked lives, are very ready to 'show up David's sins, in order to excuse or justify their wicked conduct. If they would only repent like David, the Lord, and christians, too, would oe exceed ingly glad to excuse them. Let us endeavor " to mount up as on eagle's wings," and strive to stay up in company with the,Lord Jesus and be occupied with him only. The christian dwells in a secret place a hidden place. ; What a glorious and exalted privi lege to be hidden "with Christ in God," safely and sweetly hidden irom ine annoy ances of earth. We need to set our ," affec tions on things above, not on the earth." We ought to remember that we are not citi zens at this world, but foreigners our citi zenship is in heaven, from "whence also we look .for the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile bodies." If we are true christians, everything will grow more and more unsuited to us in this vale of sorrow, as we are here only aa 'exotics," and we must bear up to things adverse to our heaven-born natures as -best we can till the appearing of our Lord, or till we shall "fall asleep in Jesus.": Christ alone must be the object of our affections "over all and in all." He alone can satisfy the cravings of our hearts. Let us endeavor to see naught but Jesus, and ever behold his lovely face from which "streams the light of knowledge of the glory of God." He is the object of our faith, hope and love. Let ns strive to know more of that heavenly joy and rich blessedness which comes from see ing Jesus only. When we are beholding him we are kept at peace midst the bowling tempests of this mortal life. In him we have all we need, "unto you, therefore, which Koliavo h fa mrffti . Wo mnaf HrAn calf and let our souls soar into God's presence. so that we may have our hearts and minds centered "upon our Saviour, ever rejoicing in him with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." i Uhrist Jesus was the object raui was pressing on to while he was working and suffering for him " counting all things but dross for the excellency of the knowl edge of Christ Jesus." He had something in uhrist more than the world could give, and he ever "pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Dwelling in the presence of our Liord, we can always be enabled to rejoice. even if the "fig tree does not blossom, and there is no herd in the stalls,1' for by faith's eye we "look upon things not seen buteter naL" -.Mayw.e by God's grace live above the corroding cares oi the world, ana may we ever "look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." If we walk with our Lord, our prayers will always be in accord ance with his will, our lives will be fruitful, and we will be much used by the Master for bis glory and in leading soul's to him. May we dwell in the presence of our King and so be prepared to do bis service. Lovable Christians. There is no line of eulogy in the Bible that is more to be coveted than this single line, " the disciple Whom Jesus loved." The orig inal possessor of this precious encomium was John the evangelist, and the inspired writer of five wondrous books of holy Scrip ture. There is a very false conception of him in mnv minds ' as : if ha" were a mild- effeminate person, lacking In all the robust qualities or an athletic manhood, un the contrary, he was peculiarly bold and ener getic and outspoken one of two "sons of thunder." He was a man of flaming zeal for his Master's glory, and of red hot hatred for everything false and wicked. And yet he was the author of three marvelous love letters which have the effusive sweetness of the pressed honeycomb. There seems to have been a peculiar inner sympathy be tween Jesus Christ and this favorite disci ple ; he penetrated more fully into his Mas ter s mission, understood mere deeply his Master's character, and partook more of his Master's spirit than any other of the twelve. He was the planet that rode nearest to the sun. That "leaning on the breast or Jesus" at the paschal supper had a meaning in it ; it meant that Johns heart drew so strongly to Christ s heart that their outward embrace was as natural as the kiss of a husband and a wife. John might have sat for that portrait which Paul afterward painted when he de scribed the christian character as possessing "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are hon est," and then adds as a finishing touch, "whatsoever things are lovely and are or good report." This word "lovelv" does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It signifies what is dear to any one, and the phrase "things of good report" signifies that which wins admiration and approval. We might paraphrase the -expression, and render it "be lovable: so live as to win converts to your Master." Every christian Is, or ought to be, a representative of Jesus Christ before the world. He has been well styled " the world's Bible" and Is about the only Bible that thousands ever look at. It should be the aim of every follower of Christ to be a living epistle, not only legible but attractive to all who study him. Is this always so? Is the religion of every good man and good woman; truly lovable! We fear not Some men's piety has quite too much of the flavor of the "old Adam" still lingering about it. Others sour their re ligion with the acidity of censoriousness, and their conversation sets every one's teeth, on edge. After an hour's talk with them, J on find yourself almost insensibly pre ju iced against some of the , best people of your acquaintance. A fly has been dropped by these censorious dyspeptics into every pot of fragrant ointment, and a smirch has, been left by their uncharitable tongues on the fairest characters. There is quite too much lemon and too little sugar in the com-; Dosition of such doodIo to make them agree able to anybody. Only half converted them-; selves, they convert no one else.-;H.v'$;&iH ; Somewhat akin to . these are a class of knotty and crabbed christians whom every body respects, and almost nobody loves. In my early ministry I had a most conscien tious and godly-minded officer in my church who rigidly practiced whatsoever things were true and Whatsoever things were just,' and whatsoever things were honorable. He was honest to a farthing,' and devout to the very c6re. I never knew him to do a wrong deed, and I scarcely ever knew him to 'do a pleasant one. , There was a deal of good, solid and most excellent meat in him, but no one liked to prick his fingers in coming at it. The rugged old chestnut bur chris tian might have been a great power in the church; but even the children in the street were afraid to speak to him; and so he went sturdily on his way to heaven, praying and working and growling as he went, remind ing me of hia famous countryman, Thomas Carlyle. If there had been a few drops of the Epistle of St, John distilled into him, he would have made a grand specimen of a christian, " and probably he has become sweeter and mellower by this time in the warm atmosphere of heaven. That good man did more than make a mistake, he com mitted a sin by destroying a large part of his influence for winning other to Christ. As a soldier has 'no right to wet his powder or to blunt his sword when he goes into bat tle, so no christian has a right to make his religion, offensive, when . he might make it attractive. His personal influenca is a trust and a talent which, he is bound to use for his Master. "He is wise that toinneth souls," and no one of us is likely to win any body until we have won both their respect and their affections. . Influence is never to be gained by compromising with other peo- lie's sins, or conniving at their wrong-do-ngs; trimmers and time-servers are only re paid with contempt. The price of perma nent love is fidelity to the right of an unself ish aim to do good to others. A lovable christian, therefore, is one who hits the golden mean between easy, good natured laxity on the one hand, and stern or uncharitable moroseness on the other. He is sound and yet sweet; he is all the sweeter for living much in the sunshine of Christ's countenance. . He never incurs suspicion or contempt by compromising with sinf ul prej dices, nor does he repel people by doing a righ teousact in a churlish or bigoted fashion. The blessed Jesus is our model here as as in everything else. -Was not his the sinless and ineffable majesty of holiness that awed bis followers at the same time that his gentle benignity inspired their deepest loyalty and affection f If Jesus were now upon our earth the most wretched outcasts would be drawn to him; and the lowliest beggar child would be glad to climb upon his knee and to kiss that sad, sweet countenance of purity and love. There would be nothing in this derogatory to his dignity as the Son of God. Christ Jesus was love incarnate. By as much as hef abhorred sin h loved sinners, and sought to save the guiltiest ' He never spurned the vilest from his presence. When hard-hearted Pharisees scoffed at him for eating with publicans and sinners, his reply was that he came into the world for that very purpose to seek and to win and to 8a ve those who were lost Let us copy unrist. Let us learn from him how to com bine the most unbending sense of justice, purity and loyalty to God with the lovable attractions of a sunny face, and kind words, and cordial courtesy, and unselfish sympa thy with the most sinful as well as the most suffering. - : . v ziki: Who are the best loved people in the com munity! I answer unhesitatingly they are the unselfish. They are. those who have drank deepest of the spirit of Christ Je sus. They are those who have the most effectually cut that cursed cancer of self out of their hearts, and filled its place with that love that "seeketh not its own." This beautiful grace sometimes blooms out in most unexpected places. It was illustrated by the poor lai in the coal mine when a fatal accident occurred, and a man came down to relieve the sufferers, and the brave boy said to him, " Don't mind me ; Joe Brown is a little lower down, and he's a'most gone; save him nrst i" There are enough Joe Browns" who are lower down in poverty, and ignorance, in weakness and in want than we are, and Christianity's first duty is to save them. It was to save sinners from sinking into the deeper pit of hell that Jesus died on Calvary. He who stoops the lowest to rescue lost souls will have the highest place in heaven. Will it not be these un selfish spirits who wilt have John's place up there on the Saviour's bosom and will be "the disciples whom Jesus loves V Dr. T. L. Cuyler, in the Independent. 'God's Help. Human love mav change. The friendship of last year has grown cold. The gentleness of yesterday has turned to severity. ; But it is never thus with God's love. It is eternal. Our experience of it may be variable, but there Is no variableness in the love. Our lives may change our consciousness of his love may fade out, but the love clings for ever; the gentleness of God abides eternal. "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace, be . removed, saitb the Lord that hath mercy on thee." ) There Is never a moment, nor any experience, in the life of a true christian,; from the heart of which a message may not instantly be sent up to God, and back to which may not instantly come. God is not off in some remote heaven merely, He is not away at the top of the long, steep ' life-ladder, looking down, upon us in serene calm and watching us as we struggle upward in pain and tears, f , He Is witn each one of -us on every part of the way. His promise! of presence is an eternal S resent tense : "I am with thee.". So "Thou, odseest me" becomes to the believer a most cheering and inspiring assurance. We are never out of God's sight for a moment. His eye watches each one of us continually, and his heart in his eye. He comes instantly to our help and deliverance when we are in any need or danger.-J3to cf Pasture. : 1 The Situation A Crisis. . ' In the last Recorder was a statement in figures about the contributions of the Ba p tist churches connected with our Conven tion for State; Home and Foreign Missions from the session in Shelby; to September 1st, 1891, and from the session in Goldtboro to September: 1st, 1802.., From this state ment it is seen that the churches have given more for Home and Foreign Missions this year than they gave last year; but for State Missions they nave not given so much. This falling off in State Missions has made it very hard on some of our missionaries who have been almost wholly dependent on the Board. That the pastors and churches . may know'just how it is with these faithful men I give a private letter just received from one of them : . , Rev. C. Durham, Raleigh, N. C. : Dear Brother : I am very sorry to write to you this time,' but I can't live on air. It was my bad fortune to have nothing to de pend on when I came here except what I should make. I had no cash on hand. I am becoming very much in the condition of a man who finds it necessary to improve his finances or move to another place or else suffer. I don't see how I can remain here much longer with no money. Surely I know that the Board is trying to do the best ft can with nothing with which to do. Bat I am how compelled to make some turn somehow,? for I can't many days stay here as It Is. If the Board can't pay me anything I shall; be compelled to seek some other means of support For nearly five months I have had to live on $63.81 and credit and furnish a house, for I have a family. I don't want to complain. : But I can't see my way much further. Bills are over due, and duns are things that I can't convert into ef fective sermons. - I ' appreciate the circumstances of the Board, I think, so don't be too harsh at my complaint, but let me hear, whether'I may depend on any money and bow soon. Fraternally, ; . ; : We cannot, my brethren, afford to neglect our own State Mission work. There is too much involved in it for us to allow it to fall behind. For sixty years this work has been supported, and from year to year enlarged, until-now we have missionaries in almost every destitute Section of the State. Through this work the foundation has been laid for our present and future denominational pros perity. From; January 1st, 1893, to May 1st, 1893, can be given by pastors and churches to collections for Home and For eign Missions. This fc will bring ' in these funds before the Southern Baptist Conven--tion in May next ! But September, October and November should be given to collections for State Missions. -,' Brethren, please do net forget, or neglect, or "postpone attention to State Missions. We must not carry a debt ta the Convention this year. C. Durham.. The Door Unlocked, ' ; ; Some time ago I wanted to enter a strange church with a minister a little before time for service. . We procured a key, but tried in vain to unlock the outside door with it We concluded we had the wrong key. and" sent to the janitor for the right one. But he came and told us the door was already unlocked. All we had to do was to push, and the doors would open. ; We thought our selves locked out, when there was nothing to hinder ns from entering. In the same way we fail to enter into love and fellowship with God. The door we think is locked against us. We try to fit some key of extraordinary faith to open it . We try to get our minds wrought np to some high pitch of feeling. Wa can vara tiawA r Via tvrvn r Itavt mnot faol If V. Bt J TV W AACkWV IUO TV J.UJ-g JkwJT IUU9D IOM - more sorry, must weep more. And all the lime the door is ready to open, if we but come boldly with humble earnestness to the throne of grace.? We may enter freely at once, for his heart is not shut against us We must enter without stopping to fit our . key of -studied faith', for his mercy says, "Whosoever will may come." We. must enter boldly, trustingly, ; not doubting his readiness to receive us just as we are. He Is willing already, and we must not stop to make him willing by our prayers and tears. -Exchange. You will not be able to go through life without being discovered ; a lighted candle cannot be hid. There is a feeling amon some good people that it will be wise to bo very reticent, and hide their light under a bushel. They intend to lie low all the war time, and come out when the palms are beir -t distributed. fr They hope to travel to" Leave v by the back lanes, and skulk into glory i i disguise. . . . Rest assured, ray f. -christians that at some period or el! r, i the most quiet lives, there will conv- ment for open decision. Days v. VI when we must speak, out, or prov " to our Lord and to his truth. . . . cannot long hold fire in ti e 1 s V hand, or keep a candle urcr t, m liness, like murder, will cat. Yc always be able, to travel to I Spurgeon. '7::
The Biblical Recorder (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Sept. 14, 1892, edition 1
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