The religious condition of the colored people in this county of Liberty may be better understood in the light of the following incident. On Saturday morning, August 6th, Rev. J. B. Fletcher, accompanied by his wife, left Hagan for a place called Smiley, by urgent invitation, to organize a Congregational church. The work of organization was duly perfected on Sunday morning, the 7th, after which the officers and members persuaded him to stop over that evening and preach, which he readily consented to do. While in the pulpit a gun was discharged through a window of the church, the contents entering into the right side of Rev. Mr. Fletcher and wounding five others. As medical treatment could not be obtained there, he was hastily carried twenty miles to his home, where a physician was immediately summoned. His wounds proved to be very severe, but were not such as to prevent his recovery. The thigh was literally riddled with buckshot, one hundred and thirteen having already been extracted from his body. He writes us, "I am glad to have your sympathy and prayers; they are of great strength to me. It will be quite a while before I can walk as before, if ever. I feel happy to know that I am counted worthy to suffer thus for Christ's sake. I am not discouraged, and will be on the field again as soon as I can hobble around on crutches."
A letter from a neighboring pastor adds, "The detective will have all of the intended assassins arrested by the middle of the week. It is found that they are all colored people, and officers of a so-called Methodist Church, who as members of the Church Militant, took this means to prevent the introduction of a Congregational church in that vicinity."
A church whose officers propagate their faith with shotguns assuredly has no right to the Methodist name, which it dishonors, nor to any name, but it remains a significant illustration of sectarian ignorance and superstition which we often find bitterly opposing the introduction of a pure Christianity among the heathen of our own country. Heathenism, not far away from one of the most beautiful cities of the South—a city of beautiful churches and in a county which rejoices in the name of Liberty—has furnished within the past ten years many examples of such conditions and conduct as could not be found in many places in Africa. It is not time yet for those who love Christ and their country to be weary in well doing in this home land.
The long experience of colored people in the South, in the work of cultivating cotton has led to many enterprises looking to manufacturing the raw article into goods. Several movements have made good headway for a time, but most of them have failed to score a permanent success. The last enterprise of this character is located at Concord, N. C. It appears to have a substantial foundation and its success seems almost assured. Speaking of the enterprise and its supporters the "Baltimore Ledger" says:—"The Coleman Cotton Mill, at Concord, will soon be ready for operation. It is a worthy enterprise and should be substantially supported by the race in North Carolina especially; and those outside of the state should feel much interested as it is a purely negro enterprise. The white people of the state feel much interested in the factory and many of them are giving substantial aid. This is in evidence of the fact that many white people throughout the entire South are willing to extend a helping hand to the race, and thus help us rise to a higher plain of Christian manhood, if we will but help ourselves. Self-help is one of the most essential qualities in racial development. Without it no race can ever hope to achieve any great victories or become strong or powerful. Let us then help ourselves first, and before we seek outside help from our white friends."
From a former Principal of Ballard Normal School, Macon, Ga.:
"Deir el Kome, Lebanon, Syria.
"For a long time I have been wishing to hear from the American Missionary Association both as to its work and its prosperity. For that reason please find herewith an order for $40. I would like to have the magazine sent to me here....
"The work here in Asia among the poor and ignorant is much the same that it is elsewhere, except that the habits and superstitions of centuries seem more unyielding than I ever saw them before. The opportunities for Christian work yielding immediate results seem to be tenfold greater at home than here. The need both here and there is unlimited. Our hearts have anxiously turned towards our country in this time of war."