Show death deatie OF AN ENGLISH I 1 freethinker tiro THOSE SP of f our readers who are familiar with tho the intellectual movement in ill england twenty to twenty five years ago known in connection with free freo thou gli secularism ul and infidelity will well remember tho the name of one of its ablest advocates both in the press and on the platform J oseph joseph barker he tie died at his home homo near omaha sept 15 he howar wat wai born in leeds cayll may 11 1805 and wasi was early united with the methodist church and an able and successful preacher therein before lie he was way twenty one he J joined ol 01 ned the liberal movement in gu england giand gland was chosen asa as a member of parliament arrested and confined by the government as a dangerous agitator liberated and acquitted in 1849 1819 16 came to america and resided at salem salem ohio associating himself himsel f with the antislavery cause lec lecturing turino turina C and debating upon slavery and infidelity he afterwards returned to england and lectured there again he came to america and in 1856 he demov removed ed to Ne nebraska braska brasha selecting and opening a farm a few miles west of omaha in 1860 1800 ho he again returned to England where lie he was united reunited re to the methodist church and resumed pastoral relations with it re remaining malnin maluin in en england land until a few years ago tho the later years of his life ilfe until his liis strength failed says the omaha ice Ile publican ho be devoted to wherever ho he had advocated infidelity he was a man of great natural ability plain clear and forcible both in in speaking and writing ready easy deliberate fertile self possessed posse sed and equable as a public speaker with a remarkable flow of appropriate and vigorous language clad in a very decided yorkshire brogue while he was devoting much of his time to attacking the religions of the tho time we never heard of him attacking marmon lam iam sin but we have heard of him speaking favorably of the latter day saints the omaha JI arald terms him one of the ablest men wo we have ever known and says about twenty years year sago ago this thia distinguished man came to this then territory with his family to nake make his liis homo home in nebraska we have known him well during all these Y years ears cars it has been our fortune on many occasions c anions to listen to addresses d delivered e e e d u upon pen a variety of topics le s to read the productions of his pen and to hear hini him discuss lucon incon lu conversation versa those subi subjects acts to which lie devoted the powers of his extraordinary mind we can fully say suy that few men were more gifted either in intellectual or moral ries rles to natural abilities tf bf the very highest order ho be added the cultivation which oame came from the ilia habits of the laborious student and ano an a strong and vigorous thinker his mind was a active tivo tive and lis his energies wore were untiring he had bad a large brain and a splendid physique nis his temperament was evenly balanced ho lie was a man of remarkable firmness and self don control fiol ebol wo we knew him hest host when his p powers J 6 rs mental and rind physical were wore at their matu rily nifty and we gan can say that among nil all the men wo we have ever met it has not been our fortune to meet many whom wo we regard as his superiors As a public speaker he was wa s clear strong ahlo able it was in controversial trover sial debate that he lie shone with peculiar splendor few men better knew know the arts orthis of this kind of discussion in the days when he gave his great abilities to advocating in 0 the views of du unbelief beiler beller he encountered in debate some somo of the tile ablest men in this country and in england the friends with him and regretted that the abilities of such a man should be employed in breaking down the christian religion took pride in his powers as a debater we doubt whether ho he was ever over matched As an orator bebas he was not demonstrative i stra tive he illustrated a ted his utterances with a simple gesture his speech was was slova slow blow logical and methodical thod ical he imparted strength th to it by his lils evident sincerity for lie he wa was wag ris a man of conscientious and strong convictions his language was simple simpie simp lend and plain na his logic wa waa powerful and anif convincing he was vas a ma man 6 of genial heart and generous d disposition 19 t ion lon sociably he was one of the a most pleasant men we ever met |