138 PKACTICAL WOEKINa OF THE SYSTEM. 



but the exhibition of petty jealousies, envy, bickerings, and strife. 

 Confidence and sisterly affection among the different members of 

 the family seemed pre-eminently conspicuous, and friendly inter- 

 course among neighbours, with balls, parties, and merry-makings 

 at each others' houses, formed a prominent and agreeable feature 

 of the society. In these friendly reunions, the president, with his 

 numerous family, mingled freely, and was ever an honoured and 

 Avelcome guest, tempering by his presence the exuberant hilarity 

 of the young, and not unfrequently closing with devotional exer- 

 cises the gayety of a happy evening. 



There are many other curious points contained in their religious 

 creed, but it is not my purpose here to write a theological treatise 

 upon their views. The effect of the system, as may be well sup- 

 posed, is to render the people in a high degree separate and pecu- 

 liar; and to prevent, not only all amalgamation, but even any 

 intimate association, with other communities. 



To this irreconcilable difference, not in speculative opinions only, 

 but in habits, manners, and customs necessarily growing out of 

 them, may, I think, in a great measure, be attributed the bitter 

 hostility of the people among whom they formerly dwelt, and 

 which resulted in their forcible expulsion. The same causes of 

 social incompatibility which existed then, exist now, and in much 

 greater strength — the community being freed from the pressure 

 of public opinion that then surrounded them ; and, although the 

 freest toleration is (no doubt sincerely) proclaimed toward any who 

 may choose to settle among them, yet I do not see how it is pos- 

 sible for the members of any other Christian societies, all of which 

 are theoretically and practically opposed to their views, to exist 

 among them, without constant collision, jealousy, and. strife. The 

 result, therefore, must be the establishment here of a people of 

 one faith, the fundamental principles of whose civil government 

 will, under the lead of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, be framed to 

 accord with that faith, to build up and support it, and to exclude 

 from all participation in its administration every element that 

 does not fully coincide with its requirements. When what is now 

 but a Territory shall have become a sovereign State, with the un- 

 controlled power of making its own laws, this will undoubtedly be 

 done ; and we shall then see in our midst a State as different from 

 the rest of the Union in faith, manners, and customs, as it is 

 widely separated by the vast plains and inhospitable deserts that 

 surround it. That such a State will soon be formed, no reflecting 



