REPUBLICAN SWITZERLAND.
[To TER EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR"]
Sin,—In the lengthy and, with two or three exceptions, fairly well-written notice of my recently published work, "The Model Republic," that appeared in the Spectator of December 7th, a copy of which has just reached me, appears a most unwarrantable statement regarding my alleged religious opinions, that I must ask you, in common fair- ness, to correct in the next number of the Spectator, as it is not only untrue, but is calculated injuriously to affect the continued success of my book. In concluding his notice, the anonymous reviewer says he "must condemn the lan- guage which Mr. Baker allows himself to use in pp. 230 and 391, reflecting on the inspiration of the Scriptures." He then goes on to attack me violently for being an "advanced thinker" who seeks "to force unreasoned scepticism on religious topics into a secular history," and with being therefore "irrelevant" and "disrespectful to Christians of every denomination." To this accusation I give an unquali- fied denial, and would point to the very portions of "The Model Republic" specified by your reviewer as evidence against the truth of his charge. Page 230 enumerates solely the tenets and teachings of Christ himself and of the primi- tive Christians, and in no way throws doubt on the "inspira- tion of the Scriptures." Page 391 deals exclusively with the moral, or rather immoral, atmosphere that filled and flavoured the French Court at the period immediately before the Reformation, and in no way has any reference to the in- spiration of the Scriptures," or to other religious doctrine.— [We have been forced by the pressure on our space, to omit those portions of our correspondent's letter which dil not appear to us relevant to the point at issue.—En. Spectator.]
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