A WRITER in the Catholic World for December, discussing the subject of “New England and the Formation of America,” argues that important as may have been the influence of the New England of the past, in the history of the nation, it is to be surpassed by the New England of the future. This is to be, because, while the New England of the past was Puritan and had great influence, the New England of the future is to be Catholic, and therefore will have much greater influence. He argues that as “Puritan New England has made our country to be a Yankee nation,” the soon-coming Catholic New England will make our country “to be a Catholic nation.”
In the opinion of this writer the future New England from which such notable result is to be expected, has already made such progress that it is almost the present New England. He says:—
“Puritan New England has made our country a Yankee nation. But the New England of yesterday is fast giving place to the New England of the future. What was Puritan New England, has been called, even now, Catholic New England. Surely the Lord Christ has intended to work greater matters by the little handful of Puritans than either they or the world have been aware of. Important as has been the part played by the New England of yesterday we may reasonably expect that even greater things will be done by her in the future. These greater things will be done through the transformation of the Puritan. We shall, in the future, esteem the works of the Puritan more for these later fruits of New England, which he did not dream of producing—to have dreamed of them would have been to him a nightmare—than for his share in making this a free nation. The Puritan has made this a religious nation, which is destined to be a Catholic nation.”
There is more substance to this view than most of the people will readily believe. The result here so confidently expected, is also nearer than many are ready to believe. Indeed, the Puritan New England system, both theoretical and practical, was so essentially Catholic, that no other result could fairly be expected than that which this writer has defined. It is the logical result. This contemplated “future New England” will be only the legitimate and strictly logical descendant of the Puritan New England.
When this “future New England” shall find itself in power and in working order, it will find also, in large measure throughout the nation, the machinery of the [6] Puritan system existing and in good working order. Many of the same old dreadful laws used by that system, which have never been repealed, will be found serviceable. These laws, having fallen into “innocuous desuetude,” are supposed by many to be dead. But they were not dead under the regime of the former New England. And as certainly as “future New England” rises to power, all such laws found unrepealed will be found to be no more dead nor dormant than they were under the former.
Every legislature in the land, whether national or State, should make a specialty of hunting up all such old laws and repealing them at once. If the people of the nation were only half awake to the real situation, they would never rest, and would give the legislatures no rest, until this thing was thoroughly done.