449 B771 mn ]^ liiLi r- \/J^ v\ A. ^^-"^^ %,wj: 0^ <c. 'V^oiN c 0' .0' -n.^o^ ■fp-^ * r ,v ^ A> >^^>^^.^ . N^ Ho^ \' ■^-•. ■t.o^ ^^ * s « o ' ^^ ^ X7^ S#, •^q. rciP ."Jv' ■oK <y 4o, S '•- v^* .■ •.. %;•■' v\.v >>"-' ■/.'■. ^^ ,G^ \5 "^.Vs- ,^ <^ ''^w- ,G^ 4 o o C" o > ^"-^^ X- ^ o. :-^-:^4^. x^^r '^^ ^^ <^• :>m-: o'l, ^\. v'. ^s -^ , ^V^- ' "»■ ■■ ■:■■■ - "r, „-s; o x^^^Ji % •" "-?^ . t' x^-n^ V ^^^ \<^ /#^" %.^' :^'^^^5';^\s^'^ /^^^'v .V A <^ V-. A ,0-^^_ ^'^. ^^«1&"'^ K^ 0' 4 o^ ?i4!!r .0 >^r^ • "-"^i i " ° <. o ^^ '^. V '/> ^^lyf^ 'Kr^;^^^ ^-^ >' -^y^^^ -'^b - ■<^>\'rrv ,V -^^ ^.\.^^y ,6- ^ •1^ <>. c^ M^' ^ V ^^" o o 3:i^^' .0 .. <>. V A ,0- V. <^ ^■ O «• "^'i^^ 1 ,0 ^, A o'°.::..A G' "O "- A s^ A >■ .. - r.-^ ^• • A >^J/ />!-,' S O 0^ A"^.^;^^^", o <i.'- ^ . \-^,-<^//!{ -:£ ■> V '^. MAN-STEALING AND SLAVERY DENOUNCED BY TJIS PRESBYTERIAIV TOGETHER WITH AN ADDRESS TO ALL THE CHURCHES. BY REV. GEORGE BOURNE. S BOSTONi PUBLISHED BY GARRISON & KNAPP. 1834. MAN-STEALING AND SLAVERY nENOU.N'CED BY THE PRESBYTERIAN AND METHODIST CHURCHES. 'At a meeting of Delegates to form a National Anti-Slavery Society, convened at Philadelphia, 4th December, 1833: ^Resolved, That George Bourne, William Lloyd Garrison and Charles VV. Denison be a committee to prepare a synopsis of Wesley's Thoughts on Slavery ; and of the anti-slavery items in a note formerly exist- ing in the Catechism of the Presbyterian church of the United States; and of such other similar testimony as they can obtain, to be addressed to Methodists, Presbyteri- ans, and all professed Christians in this country, and published under the sanction of this convention.' In conformity with this appointment, the committee have selected from the records of the Presbyterian church every article of general interest which adverts to this mo- mentous subject. They have also combined with those discussions, all that is universally admitted as obligatory in the Methodist dis- cipline, with every thing material in the tract of John Wesley respecting slavery. The general ignorance not only of the citizens at large, but also of the Presbyte- rian and Methodist churches, and their im- mediate adherents, of these autiientic docu- ments, renders their republication indispen- sable. The persons who are actually enu- merated as in the communion of those two churches, with other attendants on their worship, who are directly influenced by them, probably comprise one million of the adult population of these States. The vast moral power which is thus wielded over our republic, combined with the inconceivable responsibility of those who manage machi- nery productive of such unspeakably influ- ential results, demands that it should be ex- ercised legitimately, and for the holy pur- poses of human improvement according to the authoritative prescriptions of the Chris- tian relio'ion. In reference to slavery in the abstract, both those churches agree. They join in une- quivocally condemning the whole system as most corrupt in origin, of the vilest charac- ters and as accompanied with the most dire- ful effects upon its victims, and with ever- lasting punishment to the impenitent work- ers of that iniquity. Now, only let us sup- pose that an overwhelming majority of this million of adults would simultaneously de- clare, that within their moral and religious communion and influence, man-stealing should instantly terminate ; and that every man among them who would not immedi- ately cease, as John Wesley characterizes them to be a ' lion, a tiger, a bear, and a tvolj','' should be excluded from their church- es ; and that henceforth no slave-driver should be acknowledged as a Christian — slavery in the United States would be smit- ten in the fifth rib, so that it would require not the second stroke; but would speedily expire, amid the hallelujahs of Christians, who would witness and hail the last strug- gles of the infamous and odious dying mon- ster. The ensuing extracts thfreforo, from the authentic standards of the Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal churches, are earnestly recommended to the deliberate examination of all persons who are anxious to remove the evil of slavery from our republic ; and es- pecially to the serious and prayerful scrutiny of all Christians of every denomination. They afford abundantly instructive matter for careful reflection. They teach us that Christian professors will solemnly and re- peatedly avow in the most public forms, their belief and adherence to Christian truth ; and at the same time, that they will wilfully and constantly violate all its sublime com- mandments. They exhibit ecclesiastical bodies in a very mournful aspect, as assert- ing undeniable verities ; and then obliterat- ing their own creed; as proclaiming the mandates of divine revelation to be obliga- tory, and yet themselves practically nullily- ing them; and instead of manfully uphold- ing Christian truth, as shifting, shuffling, time-serving, and turning about, just as the demands of worldly wisdom and covetous- ness, the clamors of carnal policy and sen- sual indulgence, and the schemes of diabol- ical expediency, urge them to deny equity and justice ; and to extenuate or sanction every diversified crime which flows from man-stealing. No documents upon slavery of equal im- portance, it is believed, can be exhibited to the American churches and citizens. These are not the ebullitions of modern controversy drawn forth by the recent excitements. They are the grave, cold, and almost un- feeling declarations of men. who were gov- Preshyteriamsvi and Slavery. erned in their expressions eviwi by the crim- inals whose actions are condemned, and against whom their regulations only could be enforced. Yet no modern anti-slavery partisans, not even the Convention wiio formed the American Anti-Slavery Society, have exceeded the Presbyterian General Assembly in hideousness of display, and the Methodist Conferences in unequivocal con- demnation. Tlie most powerful passages in the declaration of the American Anti-Slave- ry Society equal not John Wesley, tlie ora- cle of Methodism, in pungency of censure and reproachful epithets. It is therefore essential to recur to fundamental principles; and to make known to all classes of citizens, the sterling doctrines, the indignant denun- ciations, and the authoritative injunctions of the Presbyterian and Metliodist churches upon this grave topic; with the genuine spirit and effects of man-stealing, and the true character and doings of all slave-hold ers. J^eW'York, January 11, 1834. PRESBYTERIANISM AND SLAVERY. Opinion of the Synod of .Yew-York and Philadelphia in regard to Slavery, and ils abolition, in 1787. 'The Synod, taking into consideration the overture concerning Slavery, came to the ^following judgment: I The Synod of New- York and Philadel- :phia do highly approve of the general prin- ciples in favor of universal liberty that pre- vail in America, and the interest which many of the states have taken in promoting the abolition of slavery. They earnestly recom- mend it to ail t!ie members belonging to -their communion, to give those persons who are at present held in servitude such good education as to prepare them for the better enjoyment of freedom. And they more- over recommend that masters, wherever they find servants disposed to make a just im- >provement of the privilege, would give them a poculium, or grant them sufficient time, and sufficient men ns of procuring their own liberty at a rnoderafn rate ; that thereby they may be brought into society wjtii those habits of industry tlint miy render them useful citizens. And finally, thny recommend it to all their people to use the most pru- dent measures, consistent with the interests and the state of civil society in the countries where they live, to procure eventually the final abolition of slavery in America. This 'judgment' was also republished as the decision of the Genpral Assembly of the Presbyterian church in 1793. The second annunciation of the senti- ments of the Presbyterian church upon the subject of slavery, was made in the year 1794, when the ' Scripture proofs,' notes, <Sic., were adopted by the General Assem- bly. Their doctrine at that period is stated in the iiote b, appended to the one hundred and forty-second Cluestion of the larger Cate- chism, in these words : ' 1 Tim. i. 10. The law is made for man- stealers. This crime among the Jews ex- posed the perpetrators of it to capital pun- ishment, Exodus xxi. IG ; and the apostle here classes them with sinners of the first rank. The word he uses, in its original im- port, comprehends all who are concerned in bringing any of the human race into slave- ry, or in retaining them in it. Jiominum fures, qui servos vel liberos abducunt, reti- nent, vendunt, vel emunt. Stealers of men are all those who bring off slaves or free- men, and keep, sell, or buy them. To steal a freeman, says Grotius, is the highest kind of theft. In other instances, we only steal human property, but when we steal or retain men in slavery, we seize those who, in com- mon with ourselves, are constituted by the oriofinal grant, lords of the earth. Genesis i. 28. Vide Poli synopsin in loc' The subject was also introduced into the General Assembly, in 1795, but without any effect and without producing any im- pression. From that period, twenty years elapsed before man-stealing was again no- ticed in that ecclesiastical body. The fol- lowing extract is found in the Digest, page 339 ; and it partially illustrates the views of those who constituted the majority of the Assembly at that period. Advire given by the Assembly, in relation to Slavery, in 1815. ' The committee to which was committed the report of the committee to which the petition of some elders, who entertain con- scientious scruples on the subject of holding slaves, together with that of the Synod of Ohio, concerning the buying and selling of slaves had been referred, reported ; and their report being read and amended, was adopted, and is as follows : — 'The General Assembly have repeatedly declared thfir cordial approbation of those principles of civil liberty which appear to be recognised by the Fefferal and State jjov- ernments, in tliese United States. They have expressed their regret that the slavery of the Africans and their descendants still continues in so many places, and even among those within the pale of the church ; and have urged the Presbyterians under their care, to adopt such measures as will secure at least to the rising generation of slaves, within the bounds of the church, a religious education; that they maybe prepared for the exercise and enjoyment of liberty, when Presbyterianism and Slavery. d, in his providence, may open a door for iir emancipation. Tiie committee refer d petitioners to the printed extracts of the nod of New York and Philadelphi;!, for year 1787, on this subject, republished the Assembly in 1793; and also to the tracts of the minutes of the Assembly for 95; which last are in the following )rds : — ' A serious and conscientious person, a mber of a Presbyterian congregation, 10 views the slavery of the negroes as a ral evil, highly offensive to God, and inju- us to the interests of the gospel, lives un- rthe ministry of a person, or among a so- ty of people, who concur with huii in sen- lent on the subject upon general princi- s; yet, for particular reasons, hold SlaveL-:, d tolerate tlie practice in others, — Ouglit former of these persons, under the im- ssions and circumstances above describ- , to hold Christian communion with the ter?' ' Whereupon, after due deliberation, it IS Resolved, That as the same difference of inion with respect to slavery takes place sundry other parts of the Presbyterian urch, notwithstanding which, they live in arity and peace, according to the doctrine d practice of the apostles ; it is horeby commended to all conscientious persons, d especially to those whom it immediately spects, to do the same. At the same time 3 General Assembly assure all the church- under their care, that they view with the epest concern any vestiges of slavery tiich may exist in our country, and refer e churches to the records of the General ssembly, published at different times ; but pecially to an overture of the late Synod New-York and Philadelphia, published in '87, and republished among the extracts 3m the minutes of the General Assembly ' 1793, on that head, with which they trust ery conscientious person will be fully sat- fied. ' This is deemed a sufficient answer to the St petition ; and with regard to the sec- id, the Assembly observe, that although in n3 se^'Aiin-! of our country, under certain rcumstances, the transfer of slaves may be lavoidable, yet they consider the buying id selling of slaves by way of trafSc, antl 1 undue severity in the management of em, as inconsistent with the spirit of the ■)spel. And they recommend it to the Pres- ,'teries and Sessions under their care, to ake use of all prudent measures to prevent ich shameful and unrighteous conduct.' It is worthy of remembrance, that during 10 debate upon the petitions referred to in le above unintelligible advice, the note sub- 'ined to Question 142 of the larger Cate- liam was first publicly introduced upon the slavery question, in the General Assembly. The reading of it astonished all j)artics. The friends of equal rights and of (Jliristian truth were surprised that they had over-look- ed or forgotten so authoriltitive a testimony ; and the preaching slavites were exasperated with indignation, and immediately began to conspire together for the erasure of that note, and of the doctrine which it proclaims, from the standards of the Presbyterian church. The answer of the Synod to Ohio and the petitioning elders satisfied no persons; es- pecially as it did not encourage church olH- cers to fulfil their evangelically prescribed duty. It was opposed upon these principles : — Conscientious men cannot hold commun- ion with those who are always practising that evil which is 'highly offensive to God and injurious to the interests of the gospel.' 'It was maintained that all the records of the General Assembly had been totally una- vailing ; that preachers, elders, and cimrcli members bought, sold, worked, starved and flayed their slaves as much, and even more grossly than their infidel and irreligious neighbors: and that to talk of living in Christian 'charity and peace ' with men who always exhibited a direct inconsistency with the spirit of the gospel, and who Avere ever truilty of 'shameful and unrighteous con- duct,' is voluntary delusion, and openly crim- inal. It was also avowed, that by the Con- fession of Faith, and the prior decisions of the General Assembly, every slaveholder who pretended to be a Christian, was a staunch In/pocrite, who ought de furio to be Gxclud"d from the church : and a protest to this effect against the preceding deceptive and two-faced declaration, was presented to the Assembly; every argument in which protest, the history of the subsequent nine- teen years has verified beyond dispute. One result of the above discussion was an exhibition of as extraordinary a specimen of ecclesiastical chicanery as probably can be found ill the annals of the Protestant church- es ; thereby proving tlie truth of Article III. Chapter 31, of their own Confession of Faith: 'AH Synods or Councils may err, and many have erred ; therefore they are not to be made the rule of faith nr practice.' Whether the decisions of the General As- sembly of 1816 ought to be a rule of faitli or practice, can be easily doterminod by a con- sideration of these two facts, in reference to slnvery. The following question was propounded for the decisionof that Assembly. ' Ought Baptism, on the profession and promise of the master, to be adminislcred to the children of slaves T A more complete iturlesque upon sound theological doctrine, and a more base desecration of a Christian ordinance can scarcelv be conceived. Wliat did the Presbi/kriamsm and Slaveri/. General Assenibly answer to this absurd in- quiry 'It is tlie duty of masters wiio are mem- bers oftlie ciiurch to present the children of parents in servitude to the ordinance of Bap- tism. It is the duty of Christ's ministers to baptize all children of this description, when presented to them by their masters.' In other words, it is the duly of preaching slave-drivers to baptize the stolen children of American citizens upon the Christian pro- fession of the criminal, who lias kidnapped both the parents and their offspring! The second fact is still more outrageous. It is found in the 'Digest of the General Assembly,' page 12l), thus entitled : — ^Resolutions in regard to the Scripture proofs and notes hj the Assemhlxj, in 181G.' ' The Presbytery of Philadelphia proposed an inquiry to the Assembly " relative to the notes found in the book containing the Con- stitution of the Presbyterian church." To this demand the Assembly replied. The minute is extended to a considerable length, and contains a variety of other matter to- tally irrevclant to our present discussion. Those parts only are quoted which unfold their " mystery of iniquity." Speaking of the notes they thus announce : 'These notes are no part of the constitu- tion. The notes which now appear in the book were approved by the General Assem- bly, and directed to be printed with the proofs in the form in which they now appear. These notes are explanatory of some of the principles of the Presbyterian church. The notes are of the same force while they con- tinue with the other acts of that judicature, but subject to alterations, amendments, or a total erasure, as they shall judge proper." Disregarding the flat contradictions in these sentences, it is only necessary to re- collect, that the notes are scarcely any thing else than texts of Scripture, with a very few concise explanations ; and yet accord- ing to that Assembly of 18K), they were au- thorized to alter, amend, or erase those notes, that is, 'the oracles of God,' as they judged proper. This was their anti-christian as- sumption ; now watch their act. No Christian will have the hardihood to contest the scriptural accuracy of the note to Question 142 of the larger Catechism. In truth, it is nothing more than a ^ew senten- ces, to show that the Lord's gift to man. at creation, is utterly abrogated bv that crime which the law ofMo-^es punished with death ; and which the apostle Paul enumerated with the most atrocious wickedness. Had that Assembly nuUiJied fifty or one hundred other notes, whatever migflit liave been thought of their piety, at least they would have been consistent. This was not their design, all their object was to erase that part of the ^vord of God which denounces vicn-strnlers \and man-stealing. This was their decisi' omitting a clause which has no Conner with the subject of slavery : ' Resolved, That as it belongs to the Ge eral Assembly to give directions in rega, to the notes which accompany the constit tion, this Assembly express it as their opii ion, that in printing future editions of tl Confession of this church ; — the note coi nected Avith the Scripture proofs in answi to the question in the larger Catechist " What is forbidden in the eight commani ment?" in which the nature of the crime men-stealing and slavery is dilated upon, omitted. In regard to this omission, the A sembly think proper to declare, thai in c recting it, they are influenced by far othi motives than any desire to favor slavery, to retard the extinction of that mournf evil, as speedily as may consist with the ha] piness of all concerned.' Upon this proceeding of the Assembly 181G, it is only requisite to observe, that tl Assembly 'thought proper to declare' th which is notoriously untrue. Every perse who was present at the General AssembI of 1816, knows that the erasure of the abov note was done avowedly to ^ favor slaver and to retard the extinction of that mournf evil.'' The resolution was adopted express! to propitiate those confederated kidnapper who arc nominal Christians ; and also to n move an insurmountable barrier to the coi demnation of a minister, who, in his publ discourses had exhibited the total contradi tion between Christianity and man-stealinj; and maintained that every professor of r( ligion who is a slave-driver, is an open d( ceiver. Tliis most important topic was alt discussed in the General Assembly of 181/ and to prove the infallibility of Councils, the virtually decided in flat opposition to the predecessors of 181G, and also to their in mediate successors of 1818. It thus appears that the subject of Amer can slavery engaged the attention of th General assembly in different forms durin four years in succession, 18J5, 1810, 181' 1818. Since which period the whole of th Presbyterian church have been sound aslee upon the 'highest kind of theft' — and whil the 'sinners of the first rank' have multipl ed and extended their man-stealing on ever side. Presbyteries, Synods, and General As semblies have been 'silent as death, an still as midniirht!' except when to gratit the Christians! who wish to transport t their own countni ! the ' feeble, diseaset aged, or worn out slaves,' they have ndopfe some two-tongued minute respecting th Colonization Society. Circumstances in 1818 imperiously re quired that the General Assembly of thn year should contrive some uiode to concea their erasure of their own Ion"' announce. Presbylcrianism and Slavery. eed of faith, and tlieir servile compliance ith the clamorous demands of the unusual »rde of men-stealers, who for special pur- ises of iniquity were gathered together on at occasion. The following article, except a kw imnia- rial omissions, was finally issued as their t. Having accomplished all their design, ider ecclesiastical forms, and witii the nom- al sanction of the whole Presbyterian lurch, the slavites tacitly permitted the en- ding phillipic to be placed upon the records, |id to be published to the world. They well iiew that by the southern churches it would ;)t even be noticed, much less practised. ;any Presbyterian ministers and myriads of [Gir members have never heard of the ex- ;:ence of such a document — while among ,6 eastern and northern churches, they only tended by it to blind their eyes to the true laracter and wickedness of slavery, and to lence their outcry and disquietude respect- g their being participants with their guilt, connivers at their man-stealing. Their iject has been attained. From that period, ose sinners have pursued their man-thiev- g with additional alacrity, and to jin indefi- te extent; and the churches, until very re- mtly, have scarcely noticed their increased id continually aggravating tmpitudc. Nev- •theless, the General Assembly of 1818 us unequivocally execrated slavery, and all 3 adherents. At the same time they most iminally then acknowledged, as they still ) admit, these flagrant transgressors to eir communion, and to fill every oflice in eir churches. This act is found in the Digest of the General Assembly,' page 341. k\v unimportant sentences only being nitted. i full expression of the AssemUifs views of Slavery in 1818. ' The general Assembly of the Presbyte- an church, having taken into consideration le subject of slavery, think proper to make lown their sentiments upon it. 'We consider the voluntary enslaving of le part of the human race by another, as a •oss violation of the most precious -and sa- ed rights of human nature ; as utterly in- msistent with the law of God, which re- tires us to love our neighbor as ourselves ; id as totally irreconcilable with the spirit id principles of the gospel of Christ, which ijoin that all things whatsoever ye would at men should do to you, do ye even so to em.' Slavery creates a paradox in the oral system — it exhibits rational, accounta- e, and immortal beings in such circum- ances as scarcely to leave them the power 'moral action. It exhibits them as depend- it on the will of others, whether they shall ceive religious instruction : whether they shall know and worship the true God ; wheth- er they shall enjoy the ordinances of the gos- pel ; whether they shall perform the duties and cherish the endearments of husbands and \vives, parents and children, neighbors and friends; whether they shall preserve tlieir chastity and purity, or regard the dic- tates of justice and humanity. Such are some of the consequences of slavery ; con- sequences not imaginary, but which connect themselves with its very existence. The evils to which the slave is always exposed, often take place in their very irorst degree and form; and Avhere all of them do not take place, still the slave is deprived of his natural riffhls, degraded as a human being, and exposed to the danger of passing into the hands of a master who may inflict upon him all the hardships and injuries which in- humanity and avarice may suggest. ' From this view of the consequences re- sulting from the practice into which Chris- tian people have most inconsistently fallen, of enslaving a portion of their brethren of mankind, it is manifestly the duty of all Christians, when the inconsistency of slavery with the dictates of humanity and religion has been demonstratetl, and is generally seen ai!d acknowledged, to use their Jioncst, ("arnesr, and unwearied endeavors, as .^-pcedi- ly MS possible to cff'ace this blot on our holy religion, and to obtain the complete abolition of slavery throughout the world. "We earn- estly exhort them," the slaveholders, " to continue and to increase their exertions to effect a total abolition of slavery. — We ex- hort them to suffer no greater delay to take place in this most interesting concern, than a regard to the public welfare truly and in- dispensably demands. ' As our country has inflicted a most griev- ous injury on the unhappy Africans by bring- ing them into slavery, our country ought to be governed in this matter by no other con- sideration than an honest and impartial re- gard to the happiness of the injured party, uninfluenced by the expense or inconven- ience which such a regard may involve. We therefore warn all who belong to our denom- ination of Christians, against unduly extend- ing this plea of necessity ; against making it a cover for the love and practice of slavery, or a pretence for not using etforts that are lawful and practicable to extinguish the evil. 'Having thus expressed our views on slavery, and of the duty indispensably in- cumbent on all Christians to labor for its complete extinction, we proceed to recom- mend, with all the earnestness and solemni- ty which this momentous subject demands, a particular attention to the following points. ' We recommend to all the members of our religious denomination, to facilitate and encourage the instruction of their slaves in the principles and duties of the Christian re- Preshyterianism and Slavery. ligion, by granting them liberty to attend on the preaching of tlie gospel ; by favoring the instruction of tliem in Sabbath Sciiools, and by giving tlieni all other proper advantages for acquiring the knowledge of their duty both to God and man. It is incumbent on all Ciiristians to communicate religious instruc- tion to tliose who are under their authority, and the doing of this in the case before us, so far from operating, as some have appre- hended that it might, as an excitement to in- subordination and insurrection, would ope- rate as the most powerful means for the pre- vention of those evils.' The Assembly here subjoin a note, which proves that the quietude of the island of An- tigua, when the slaves of the neighboring West India islands had been in commotion, ■was owing to the religious instruction of the Moravian missionaries. To which may since bo added, the examples of Demarara and Jamaica. This document of the Assem- bly is thus closed : ' We enjoin it on all church Sessions and Presbyteries to dis- countenance, and as far as possible to pre- vent all cruelty, of whatever kind, in the treatment of slaves; especially the cruelty of separating husband and wife, parents and children; and that which consists in selling slaves to those who will either themselves deprive those unhappy people of the bless- ings of the gospel, or who will transport them to places w^here the gospel is not pro- claimed, or where it is forbidden to slaves to attend upon its institutions. The manifest violation or disregard of this injunction, ougiit to be considered as just ground for the discipline and censures of the church. And if it shall ever happen that a Christian professor in our communion shall sell a slave Avho is also in communion witii our church, contrary to his or her will and inclination, it ought immediately to claim tiie particular at- tention of the proper church judicature ; and unless there be such peculiar circumstances attending the case as can but seldom happen, it ought to be followed -without delay, by a suspension of the offender from all the privi- leges of the church, till he repent and make all the reparation in his power, to the injured party.' This is the last formal act of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church upon the subject of slavery— and it contains the essence in smoother language, of all that the anti-slavery fanatics have evcrpromul"-ed. Tliat ecclesiastical body proclaims, that slavery frrnssly violates the 7nost ■precious human rio-fifs ; that it is uilorbi inconsistent with lite law of VoJ, of brotherly lovr, and reciprocal equity ; that "it is totally irreconcil- able ivith the spirit and principles of the gos- pel of Christ ; that it leaves the slaves with- out the power of moral action ; that s/«i'es are deprived of their natural rights, def^raded as hu77ian beings, exposed to all the hardshl "^^ and injuries ivhich inhumanity and avari '! may suggest; that loithout these fright} '' evils, slavery cannot exist ; and that thei direful effects of man-stealing are expei '^' enced by the slaves in their very worst d ^' gree and form. '■ This appalling delineation of slavery wi '' ' not made by 'reckless incendiaries, foul c " lumniators, blood-thirsty cut-throats, at "' rabid agitators,' as Presbyterian ministe 'i' and elders have characterized some of tl f"! most noble philanthropists in this repubU( but this is the picture of slavery drawn by ')' body, of which the preaching slaveholde *; directed and controlled every movement ai ''■ resolution. Such is their theory of slaver ''' what is the infernal system in practice, a "' cording to those slave-driving narrators ? P^' The slaves e?j/o?/ no instruction; are prP hibited from all relative endearments ; cann "'' preserve their personal purity and honoi '"^ realize all kinds of cruelty ; are lawless i"? separated from all their congenial and h *'' loved companions, the association with who »'' was the sole relief for their constant wretc, '"^ edness ; and are trafficked icithout remon 'f' only to suffer additional anguish. And '" crown this whole mass of iniquity, we a; ^" oracularly assured, that Christian professo «" sell as slaves Members of the Church, un "' the most woful bondage I f«r This is not a catalogue of slaveholdei '* crimes drawn out by 'visionary enthusiast Ifi wild fanatics, sly malignant hypocrites, ai ■ mischievous incendiaries,' as the defende * of the New-York mob, and their infidel mi 'k ions described the only consistent friends T freedom, of the rights of man, and of Chri ''^ tianity ; but these are the atrocities of slav ^ ry avowed by clerical slaveholders to exte: f' uate human bondage, to cloak over their ow w ungodliness ; and by this farce of recordii ^' a stigma upon slavery on their minutes, « termmate the uneasiness and denunciatioi '*i of the Northern and Eastern Christians. ?' After sixteen years have revolved, wh i" has been done ? What Presbyterian pr 'li fessor has used his ' earnest and unwearif '■'■■ endeavors to efface this blot on our holy r ^"'' ligion?' Where is that 'most virtuous pa !«■ of the community' of slave-drivers who 'a if hor slavery, and Avish its extermination,' wj ^ have increased their exertions to effect a t K tal abolition of slavery ? Where is tl »: preaching or nominal Christian man-thi( if" who is not always ' extending the plea «!r necessity as a cover for the love and pra ts ticc of slavery, and a pretence for not usir f efforts to extinguish the evil ?' Where is tl '^ Presbyterian preacher, elder, or professt »ii who encourages ' the instruction of slavi rf' in the principles and duties of the Christii h religion,' as the Lord and his apostles taug h the word of truth ? There is scarcely such till Pnshijlcr'umis7n and Slavery. man between Washington and tlic Carib- bean gulf, or the Atlantic and Mexico, south of the Potomac and the Oliio. Wliere is there a iSabbath school for the colored citizens ? Not an oral school, siicii as the slave-driving deceivers have contrived fto conceal tlieir turpitude, and blind the [jnorthern citizens; but a Sabbath school si- imilar to those in almost every congregation jir. New- York or Massachusetts? In this re- jtspect IcHABoo is written upon that entire jportion of the United States. j Where are the church Sessions or Pres- byteries, who dare to call before them men i^'hose every act is one unceasing round of ^11 multiform cruelty to slaves? Do not pro- (fessors now sell Christian slaves to Georgia jor Louisiana in preference, because their su- perior excellence, and their religious princi- iples procure a higher price even from the icitizvn pedlar, who in 'his trade of blood ' jroams from New^York to Milledgeville, buy- ling slaves, when he cannot kidnap freemen, jRud transforming every district through (Which he passes, into a scene of mouriung jUnd wo, in its ntoral attributes a:id agonized isensibilities, the civil warfare only excepted, jtlio exact counterpart of that African Jlccl- Ideinit, whence the colored people were orig- inally stolen ? Where is tliat church Session, |or that Presbytery who will cite the most in- ifuriated and nualignant slave-driver to an- jSwer for his hellish cruelty or his piratical traffic? Where ? Since the unanimous adoption of the pre- ceding ' full expression of the Assembly's Views of slavery, inldlS'' — the only case approximating to it, is that of John D. Pax- ton in Virginia ; who several years ago ful- nllcd the Assembly's requirements; instruct- ed his slaves and then emanci])ated them : [for which philanthropy he was calumniated as vilely as if he had been a horse-thief, by all the men-stcaiing professors around him ; and speedily coerced to abandon the con- gregation before whom he had acted such a noble example of Christian benevolence. Mark the contrast ! John D. Paxton, for complying with the recommendation of the iGeneral Assembly, was driven from his pas- toral charge amid universal hatred ; and the iRichmond slave-catching preacher, who hnr- ,ried away three hundred miles distance to ikidknap a colored girl, not only escaped with impunity, but he is justified and honored, because ho is a brazen-faced, obdurate 'sin- iHer of the first rank, and guilty of the high- lest kind of theft.' Prom a secret of a portentous character, which has lately been disclosed, it is also manifest that there is no design on the part of those who contrive to govern all the os- tensible proceedings of the General Asscm- jbly of the Presbyterian church, and thereby af that whole denomination, to interfere with the question of slavery upon evangelical principles. A person on behalf of a slaveholder, ad- dressed tiie tbllowing letter to the editor of llie Phdudcli)hian — and as a supplement to the preceding documents, to sliow the utter discrepancy between good professions and evil practices, the article, a little abridged, is extracted from the Philadeli)liian of the 2;Jd of January, 15^34. Its contradictory tenets and mis-sutements require no elucidation. QUESTIONS ON SLAVERY. 'I have lately received a letter from a com- municant of the Presbyterian churcli in South Carolina, who is the owner of a num- ber of slaves which comprise the principal part of his estate, and of which he become possessed, partly by inheritance, and partly by marriage. He says the Cicneral Assem- bly have repeatedly declared that the hold- ing of slaves is inconsistent with the spirit of thegospck And althongli he feels anxious to regulate his course of life according to the Principles of Christianity, and the rules of the church to which he belongs, yet he can- not think that pure justice would require of him to set his slaves at liberty, and reduce his own family to beggary and ruin. Even though he were disposed so to act, the laws of his native state forbid his setting his slaves at liberty, unless they are sent out of its ju- risdiction. Humanity would, in such a case, also require a temporary provision for them, after they were set at liberty. The General Assembly have also declar- ed, that v/here any member of the church holds slaves, it is his imperative duty to give them sufficient education to enable them to become good and peaceable citizens, and to have them instructed in the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the laws of hi? own state, and those of Georgia, in which part of his estate lies, prohibit, Under severe penalties, the instruc- tion of slaves. Here again, my friend 'is at fault.' His conscience and the rules of the church di- rect Iiiin to have him instructed. But if he do so he subjects himself tx) a prosecution under the laws of the state in which he lives. He would fain know what he shall do. If he sets his slaves at liberty— he obeys the rules of the church, but violates the laws of his state, and reduces himself and family to berr"'ary. If he obeys the laws of his state, and'prohibits their instruction, ho violates the rules, and subjects himself to the censure of the church and acts contrary to the dic- tates of his conscience. An answer is solicited through 'The Phi- ladelphian.' Howard. 10 Methodism and Slavery. REPLY TO HOWARD. Your friend and his family must turn day- laborers, cam their own bread by the sweat of their brow, become poor, beg, starve, or be crucified, rather than commit any one known sin. Ttie certainty of impoverishing himself is no e.\cuse for not freeing ins slaves, if it is his duty to free them. Tlie General Assembly has ever acted in relation to this business ; in resisting all the violent movements of absolute, immediate, universal and unconditional abolitionists. To the last Assembly were sent an over- ture and a bundle of pamphlets for distribu- tion, designed to show that every slaveholder ou"fht to be excommunicated from the Pres- byterian church : the overture was excluded from the house by the Committee of Bills, and the pamphlets were used as waste paper. He who steals a man and makes him a slave is one of the worst of thieves and op- pressors. He who purchases a man thus enslaved is as ffreat a criminal as the man-stealer. Those who originated ttie system of slave- ry in our country, and those who perpetuate it, fall under the same condemnation. It would be very just for the laws of the several states to subject slave'traders to punisiiment. A man may inherit the relation of master to slaves, or he may become tlius reljited to slaves inherited, or previously possessed by his wife. In this case he should act the part of a friend, a patron, a father to these slaves ; and should strictly compensate them for their la- bor according to their earnings, and his abil- ity. If his slaves choose to be free from him, and can effect their freedom by remov- ing from him, he should rather rejoice in it, than remove a linger to prevent them from obtaining their emancipation. The laws of those states which forbid any man to emancipiite or to instruct his slaves, are contrary to the laws of God, and the rights of man ; and should bo, in every con- stitutional way, resisted, and in every safe way evaded. A person who has inherited the relation of master to slaves has no right to sell them to another without their consent. He should treat them as hired servants. The general law of benevolence requires all men to take all reasonable measures for banishing slavery from the world. The political, civil, pecuniary, and relig- ious interests of our country would all be promoted by converting every slave into a well instructed, industrious free laborer. As patriots and Christians, all American citizens ought to desire and promote the elevation, and final emancipation of all colored people.' Two points are worthy of peculiai' t\bik in this reply by the stated clerk of the Gcj eral Asse-mbly of the Presbyterian church. He is as ' wild afcmatic,' and as ' rabid an a< itator' as the abolitionist whom he condemn; for he declares that all those who originate and who perpetuate slavery, are ' Tii WORST OF THIEVES !' Tliis iiicludcs all t! doctrine and requirements of the 'absolut immediate, universal and unconditional ab lilionists.' We only assert, that the icorst all thejl ought not to be tolerated one m ment, and that ' the tcorst of nil thieve, ought instantly to be impeded from perp trating their outrageous felonies. 2. T' stated clerk also ojjicially informs as, that : overture was sent to the General Assemb respecting slavery which was excluded fro that body by the Committee of Bills. '. other words, they determined not to ful their own enactments. By what right aij authority a bundle of pamphlets sent for dij tribution among the members of the Generi Assembly, as every individual's own and eJ elusive possession, were withheld from the by the moderator and clerks, is utterly inco ceivable. Those pamphlets belonged to tl ministers and ciders alone, for whose perus they were kindly transmitted ; and no mr but the confederates of * the worst of t thieves ." would have dared thus to purlo the property of others ; by clandestinely d taining pamphlets sent lor the use of tl members of the General Assembly fro their rightful owners, and by using for was paper the offering of Christian affection. From this authentic survey of the Pre byterian doctrines upon slavery, when cor pared with their total abrogation of them practice, every person must instantly disce the hypocritical inconsistency which h marked the course of that church durir nearly fifty years; and the eff'rontory whit all ^Presbyterian .slaveholders display, wl deceitfully profess to be Christians, not on in direct contradiction to the gospel of J sus, but also in profound contempt and de: ance of their own pretended and solemn avowed creed of faith I METHODISM AND SLAVERY. The volume entitled 'the Doctrine m Discipline of the Methodist Episcop Church' is always referred to as the stani ard book which contains 'the form of disc pline, the articles of religion, and canons o the Methodist Societies in the United Stnte In the ensuing review, wo have compare two editions published by themselves, ar regularly attested by their bishops; that ' the year 1804, and of the year 1832. W mention this fact, because the disagreeme] between them probably is not known to or Methodism and Slavery. 11 Jtliotlist out of a thousand, the preachers i3m.soIves included ; and because it will )ve that slavery contains Hhe vilest ini(jui- j the loorsl of vices and wickedness, and a and imposture ; for it is one great lie, one and cheat. Both editions contain this unequivocal .teinent. ' There is only one condition i3viously required of those who desire ad- ission into these societies, a desire to flee m the wrath to come, and to be saved m their sins. But wherever this is really ^ed in the soul, it will be shown by its jiits. It is therefore expected of all who ntinue therein, that they should continue [evidence their desire of salvation, by doiu^r I: harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, es- jcially that which is most generally ])rac- led, such as — ' the bw/his; and selling of pi, ivomen or children, with an intention to filave them.'' jFrom this doctrine it follows ; that the bthodist Episcopal Church do formally iDw, that no slaveholders ever did evan- ilically desire to ' flee from the wrath to jme, and to be saved from their sins.' Thus ; Presbyterian Assemblies and the Meth- ist Conferences exactly agree in the ah- tact. The former declare, that all slave- Iders are ' sinners of the first rank, and iilty of the highest kind of theft' — and the jter affirm, that from his sins he never liad llesire to be saved. Now, no anti-slavery jin ever uttered truth in stronger language [in these ecclesiastical denouncers of the iiveholding confederacy. [The last article in both editions is entitled, SLAVERY ; and the question is the same both books. ' Question. — What shall be done for the tirpation of the evil of slavery ? Answer 1. — We declare that we are as ich as ever convinced of the great evil of ivery ; therefore no slaveholder shall be gible to any official station in our church reafter; where the laws of tlie state in iiich he lives will admit of emancipation, id permit the liberated slave to enjoy free- m.' Thi? clause is from the edition of 1832 ; d is much more concisely expressed than the edition of 1804 ; where they tell us r the twelfth time, as it is the twelfth edi- )n of their Articles and Discipline, that ey ' are as much as ever convinced of the eat evil of slaverij.^ But it may properly asked, how much are they convinced ? or the number of slaveholders has been ntinually multiplying in the Methodist urches from their first Conference, about ty years ago, to the present day. They e convinced of the evil of slavery, declare ery slaveholder an impenitent, unredeom- [ sinner; and nevertheless they sanction e evil which he comojits, by acknowledg- ing him to be a Christian. What mockery can transcend this insulting delusion? The second clause is alike in both edi- tions. ' Answer 2. — When any travelling preach- er becomes an owner of a slave or slaves, by any means, he shall forfeit iiis ministerial character in our church, unless he execute, if it be practicable, a legal emancipation of such slaves, conformably to the laws of the state in which he lives.' This regulation reads very well upon paper, but no man ever seriously believed that the requisition would be carried into execution. In the edition of 1804, the third clause thus reads: — ' Answer 3. — No slaveholder shall be re- ceived into full membership in our society, till llie preacher who has the oversight of tlio circuit lias spoken to him freely and faithl'ul- ly on the subject of slavery .'J Examine this point! If tlic preacher spoke to the slave-driver 'freely and faith- fully,' he must talk in this edifying manner: ' Brother! you are a great sinner: you have caught in your man-trap men, women, and cliildron with an intention to enslave them. You are yet in your sins, from which you never desired to be saved, and you are going to the wrath to come, from which you have never desired to flee. We have no fault to allege against you, except that you arc a man-stcaler, a sinner of the first rank, and guilty of the highest kind of theft; the great evil of which we are convinced of as much as ever. Therefore we shall receive you as a good and acceptable member I' Had any remark been made at the admission of a can- didate, it must have been in this exemplary and consistent style : but nothing was ever said upon the subject. The Methodist Con- ferences do not bar out those who wish to join their church, merely because they en- slave colored citizens. That third clause, as it was a dead letter in practice, afterward was expunged, as useless and impracticable. Jn the edition of 1832 it is not inserted. This is wondrous ecclesiastical infallibility ! which asserts truth for the twelfth time in 1804; and in 1 832 obliterates it, because the preach- ing gospel doctrine is inexpedient, and costs too much ! Thus, after their way, they serve God and mammon! The third clause in the edition of 1832 is not inserted in that of 1804. 'Answer 3.— All our preachers shall pru- dently enforce upon our members the neces- sity of teaching their slaves to read the word of God ; and t"o allow them time to attend upon the public worship of God on our regu- lar days of divine service.' Slave-drivers teach slaves to read the word of God ; and to attend public worship I and preachers en- force these things prudently ! Yes ; they do it wn/ prudently ; that is, they are as earn- est and clamorous for the melioration of the 12 Methodism and Slavery. ■nrretclic J condition of tlie colored ciiizens, as the walohinen and sliepherds who are de- scribed by the propliet, Isaiah Ivi. 10, 11. In the edition of 1839— the foiirtli and fiftii clauses contain regulations concerning- th« colored preachers, which are of no im- portance in this suuuuary. Tliey are not found in the edition of 1804. But in the volume issued thirty years ago, the fourth and tifth clauses combine some important il- lustrations of slavery in its connection with the Christian church. Inefficient as they were in practice, yet they had a show of conscience remaining in tlie Methodist Con- ferences; but they have been erased. The rules could not be enforced : and the absur- dity of adopting different principles of reli- gious legislation, bounded by geographical lines, is so glaring, that as they would not execute the law of the Lord in reference to slavery, they thought it most advisable to remove every barrier, and admit the slave- drivers into their ciiurch, without either scru- ple or obstruction. These are the two clauses which have been obliterated : 'Answer 4. — Every member of the soci- ety who sells a slave, except at the request of the slave, in cases of necessity and hu- manity, agreeably to the judgment of a com- mittee of the male members of the society, shall immediately be expelled the society. And if any member purchase a slave, the ensuing quarterly Conference shall deter- mine on the number of years which the slave shall serve to work out the price of his pur- chase. And the person so purchasing, shall execute a legal instrument for the manumis- sion of such slave, at the expiration of the term determined by the quart'M-ly meeting Conference; and in default, such member shall be excluded the Society.' To these rules were added two items — that 'in the case of a female slave, all her children also should be free, the girls at 21, and the boys at 25; and that all terms of emancipation should be subject to the decision of the quar- terly Conference.' The answer closed in these memorable words: ' Nevertheless, the memher.i of our societies in the states of .YortJi Carolina, Smith Carolina, Georgia, and Ten- nessee, shall be exempted from the operation of the above rules.'' According to this occle- siastica! oracle, what is heinous sin in Mary- land is paradisaical innocence in Georgia; and an excommunicated man-stealer in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, as soon as he can cross the Alleghany mountain to the South-west, becomes ' a good and acceptable member of the Methodist Episcopal church.' This last vestige, however, of decorum, for consistency's sake, after the example of their Presbyterian accomplices in the slave-trade, the Methodist preachers very properly blot- ted out of their discipline. The following was the fifth clause in the edition of 1804, but by what process so ex- quisite a specimen of carnal policy was omit- ted, is unaccountable; unless the noithern preaciiers in tlie General Conference resolv- ed, that if that part which bore some resem- blance of partial rectitude was effaced, the rule which carried the broad brand of knave- ry and anti-christianity upon its face should accompany it to the sepulchre of oblivion. The Southern Methodists must have exult- ed, when they contrived to procure this ex- quisitely edifying specimen of evangelical instruction to be enacted as obligatory upon all their travelling preachers. It is a mar- vellous perversion of the ministerial office, and of gospel reciprocity ! ' Answer 5. — Let our preachers from time to time, as occasion serves, admonish and exhort all slaves to render due respect and obedience to the commands and interests ol their respective masters.' To the influence of this direction, may doubtless be imputed a large proportion of that ungodliness which debases and curses the whole mass of soci- ety where slavery devclopes its demoralizing power. The female slaves are exhorted td obey the commands of their masters ! These extracts are cited from their book of doctrines and discipline ; and yet where can you find a parallel to such duplicity and abandonment of truth, rectitude and reli- gion, as in these facts ? unless among their counterparts in similar deceitfulness upon the subject of slavery, the General Assem- blies of the Presbyterian church. This remarkable inconsistency and dere- liction of principle and duty are aggravated by other collateral circumstances in the his- tory of American Methodism. John Wes- i.F.Y, of u-honi they boast as the Head and Founder, teas a most decided anti-slavery man. lie opposed slaveholding in all its fbrms, degrees, and exhibitions. His testimony against it remains in all their books, and has been issued in the recent editions of his works, and formerly also as a tract ; and yet through the artifices of the slave-drivers, the opinions of John Wesley are not more known or believed among the Methodists than if he had never lifted up his voice like a trumpet. There is little doubt that had John Wesley's life been prolonged, slavery would have been altogether proscribed by the American ]\Iethodists : and even that auspicious fact for the church and the repub- lic miofht have occurred, had not another ob- struction been interposed. Thomas Coke, who was John Wesley's successor in authority and influence, espe- cially in America, was a most inveterate op- ponent_of slavery — and in consequence, he' received, especially on his last visit to the United States, such marked contempt and scornful insults from the slave-driving Meth- John JVtsleifs Thovghls on Slavery. 13 adists, who he perceived were encouraged by tliat spirit of Diotreplics, which in all thin<rs will have the pre-eminence, that he tacitly resolved no more to interfere with American Methodism. He hade farewell to his intimate friends, with tiie full conviction that they should meet no more in America. Coke's opposition to man-stealing, with his caustic denunciations of the hypocritical slavites who pretended to be Christians, were strongly contrasted with the two-tongued compromisers who faced both ways, con- demned slavery 'prudentlij^ at tlie North, and pleading expediency, approved of it in the South. Coke disappeared, and man- stealing was embodied with the Methodist church, where it has 'grown with its growth, and strengthened with its strength,' until the official organs of their Conferences either conceal the iiorrors of slavery, or defend its corruption by perverting tiie Scriptures, or revile all those sincere Christian philanthro- pists who are striving for its abolition. The ensuing extracts clearly uiirold the glaring inconsistency of the IMethodists ; who, while they profess tobowdown to John Wesley as their earthly oracle, on the most important topic in our civil and ecclesiasti- cal polity, have ever acted in direct and fla- grant contradiction to the irrefutable truths which he promulged. John Wesley al- ways denounced the existing slavery in America as equally criminal with the mari- time slave-trade, or the kidnapping and the transportation of Africans from Congo across the Atlantic for interminable bondage and misery. John Wesley was also an eye-witness of slavery as it existed in Carolina and Geor- gia, at a very early period after the settle- ment of those colonies. Consequently, the decisions of the Founder of Metiiodism may be received as of great weight and import- ance in this exciting controversy, between the sons of God and the servants of mam- mon. In the third volume of his works, page 341, Harper's edition, is the following puntrent delineation. John Wesley had been read- ing a pamphlet against slavery and the slave- trade ; and after expressing his opinion of the work, he thus proceeds : — ' That execra- ble sum of all villanies, commonly called the slave-trade. I read of nothing like it in the heathen world, whether ancient or modern. It infinitely exceeds in every instance of bar- barity, whatever Christian slaves suffer in Mohammedan countries.' The same sentiments were prom.ulged by John Wesley in reference to domestic slavery, as to the piratical traffic between Africa and America; but whenever the opin- ions and directions of that Methodist Leader are advanced on behalf of the abolition of that unjrodliness among the slaveholders ; the pretended respect for him is instantly di- minished almost to a nonentity, and he is pro- nounced to have been but u man, fallible, and in this matter so ignorant of ttie true circumstances relative to American slavery, thai his judgment is of no value, and tiiere- fore must be rejected. Another of John Wesley's incidental il- lustrations of slavery is I'rom his Journal for April, 1777. 'At Liverpool, many large ships are now laid up in the docks, wjiich had been employed for many years in buying or steal- ing Africans, and selling them in America fur slaves. The min-bitlclurs have now nothing to do at this hiiuUthle occupation. Since the American war broke out, there is no demand for human calllc ; so the men of Africa, as well as Europe, may enjoy their native liberty.' These cursory expressions fully unfo'.d John Wesley's indignation against slavery and slaveholders. When the ])ublic mind began to be excited upon the atrocity of man-stealing, Wesley issued the following comprehensive tract, v.-hich great- ly influenced the English Methodists at that jieriod, and which has more recently contri- buted to effect the abolition of slavery in the British is'lands in the West Indies. By its republication, Avith some unimportant omis- sions, and by the substitution of a few words to adapt the paragraphs to existing slave- holders, it is proposed to convince American Methodists, and other citizens, who are guilty of the enormous sin of 'buying, selling, and enslaving men, women, and children. THOUGHTS ON SLAVERY, 15V JOHN WESI.EV. 'L Slavery imports an obligation of per- petual service ; an obligation which only tho consent of the master can dissolve. It gen- erally gives the master an arbitrary power of any correction not affecting life or limb. Sometimes they are exposed to his will, or protected oidy by a fine or some slight pun- ishment, too inconsiderable to restrain a master of harsh temper. It creates an in- capacity of acquiring any thing, except for tlie master's benefit. It allows the master to alienate the slave in the same manner as his cows and horses. Lastly, it descends in its full extent, from parent to child, even to the last generation. '2. The slavc-fmde began in tho year 1508, when the Portusnese imported the first netn-oes into Ilispaniola. In ir>4(). Charles v.,"" then king of Spain, gave positnMi or- ders, "THAT ALL THE SLAVES I.N THE SPAN- ISH DOMINIONS SllOL-LD BE SET FREE. This was accordinirlv done by Lagascar, whom he sent and empowered to free them ail. But soon after Lagascar returned to g pain, slavery flourished as before. After- 14 John Jf'eslei/^s Thoughts on Slaverij. ward otiier nations, as tliey acquired pos- sessions in America, followed tiie example of the Spaniards ; and slavery has taken deep root in most of the American colonies. '11. In what manner are they generally procured and treated in America ? ' 1. Part of tliem by fraud. Captains of ships invited negroes on board, and then carried them away. More have been pro- cured by force. The Christians, so called, landing upon their coasts, seized as many as they found and transported them to Amer- ica. '2. It was some time before the Euro- peans found a more compendious way of l)rocuring African slaves, by prevailing upon them to make war upon each other, and to sell their prisoners- Till then, they seldom had any wars. iJut the white men taught them drunkenness and avarice, then hired them to sell one another. Others are stolen. Abundance of little ones of both sexes are stolen away by their neighbors. That their own parents sell them, is utterly false. — Whites, >'ot blacks, are without nat- ural AFFECTION. '3. Extract from the journal of a sur- geon who went from New- York in the slave- trade. "'The commander of the vessel sent to acquaint the king that he wanted a cargo of slaves. Some time after, the king sent him word he had not yet met with tlie de- sired success. A battle was fought which lasted three days. Four thousand five hun- <lred men were slain upon the spot!" Such is the manner wherein the slaves are procur- ed ! Thus the Christians preach the Gospel to the Heathen! '4. England supplies her American colo- nies with slaves, amounting to about a hun- dred thousand every year. So many are taken aboard the ships ; but ten thousand die on the voyage ; about a fourth part more die in the seasoning. So that thirty thousand die, that is, are murdered. O earth ! O sea ! cover not their blood ! * 5. The negroes are exposed naked to the examination of their purchasers : then they are separated to see each other no more. They are reduced to a state, scarce any way preferable to beasts of burden. A few yams or potatoes are their food ; and two rags their covering. Their sleep is very short, their Labor continual and above their strength, so tiiat death sots many of them at liberty be- fore they have lived out half their days. They are attended by overseers, who, iftbej" think them dilatory, or any thing not so well done as it should be, whip them unmerciful- ly ; so that you may see their bodies long after waled and scarred from the shoulder to the waist. Did the Creator intend that the noblest creatures in the visible world should live such a life as this ? '6. As to the punishment inflicted on them, 'they frequently geld them, or chop off half a foot ! after they are whipped till they are raw all over, some put pepper and salt upon them ; some drop melted wax upon their skin, others cut off their ears, and con- strain them to broil and eat them. For re- bellion, that is, asserting their native liberty, which they have as much right to as the air they breathe, they fasten them down to the ground with crooked sticks on every limb, and then applying fire to the feet and hands, they burn them gradually to the head ! '7. But will not the laws made in the col- onies prevent or redress all cruelty and op- pression? Take a few of those laws for a specimen, and judge. 'In order to rivet the chain of slavery, the law of Virginia ordains — ' No slave shall be set free, upon any pretence whatever, except for some meritorious services, to be adjudged and allowed by the Governor and Council; and where any slave shall be set free by his owner, otherwise than is herein directed, the church-v/ardens of the parish wherein such negro shall reside for the space of one month, are hereby authorized and required to talie up and sell the said negro, hj) public outcry.^ ' Will not these lawgivers take effectual care to prevent cruelty and oppression ? 'The law of Jamaica ordains — 'Every slave that shall run away, and continue ab- sent from his master twelve months, shall he deemed rebellious :^ and by another law, fifly pounds are allowed to those who 'kill or bring in alive, a rebellious slave.'' So their law treats these poor men with as little ceremony and consideration, as if they were merely brute beasts! But the innocent blood which is shed in consequence of such a detestable law, must call for vengeance on the murder- ous abettors and actors of such deliberate wickedness. 'But the law of Barhadoes exceeds even this — 'If any negro under punishment by his master, or his order, for running away, or any other crime or misdemeanor, shall suffer in life or member, no person tchalsoever shall be liable to any fine therefor. But if any man of wantonness, or only of bloodmindedness or cruel intention, wilfulhj kill a negro of his own' — now observe the severe punishment ! — 'he shall pay into the public treasury, M^ teen pounds sterling : and not be liable to any other punishment or forfeiture for the same ! 'Nearly allied to this, is that law of Vir^ ginia — ' After proclamation is issued against slaves that run away, it is lawful for any per" son whatsoev&r to kill and destroy such slaves by such ways and irieans as he shall think fit.' ' We have seen already some of the ways and means which have heen thought ft on such occasions : and many more might be mentioned. One man, when I M'as abroad, John fVesley^s T/wuf^hts on SlaDcry. 15 liliought fit to roast his slave alive ! But if tlic jiost natural act of running away from in- olerable tj'ranr.y deserves such relentless :everity, what punishment have those law- lakers to expect hereafter, on account of |(ieir own enormous offences? ij ' III. This is the plain, unaggravated mat- er of fact. Such is the manner wherein ]ur slaves are procured: such the manner Vhereinthey were removed from tlieir native md, and wherein they are treated in our olonies; Can tliese things be defended on he principles of even heathen honesty? Jan they be reconciled, setting the Bible out f the question, with any degree of either 'ustice or mercy ? ' 2. The grand plea is, ' They are autlior- :;ed by law.' But can !aw,human law change fie nature of things ? Can it turn darkness nto linht, or evil into good ? By no means. Notwithstanding ton tiiousand laws, right is ight, and wrong is wronnj-. There must till remain an essential difference between jstice and injustice, cruelty and mercy. So hat I ask ; Who can reconcile this treat- (lent of the slaves, first and last, with either nercy or justice ? where is the justice of nflicting the severest evils on those who ave done us no wrong? Of depriving iiose who never injured us in word or deed, f every comfort of life ? Of tearing them 'om their native country, and depriving them f liberty itself; to which an Angolan has le same natural right as an American, and n which ho sets as high a value? Where i the justice of taking away the lives of in- ocent, inoft'ensive men? Murdering thou- andsof them in their own land by the hands f their own countrymen ; and tens of thou- ands in that cruel slavery, to which they are unjustly reduced? ' 3. But / strike at the root of this compli- atcd villany. I ahsolutelij deny all slave- oldins^ to be consistent ivilh any degree of ntural justice. Judg-e Blackstonc has plac- d this in the clearest light, as follows: "|Tho three orjgins of the right of slavery ssigned by .Justinian are all built upon false jundations. I. Slavery is said to arise om captivity in war. The conqueror having right to tlie life of his captive, if he spares !iat, has a righ.t to deal with him as he leases. But this is untrue, that by the laws f nations a man has a right to kill his ene- ly. He has only a right to kill him in cases f absolute necessity, for self-defence. And ; is plain this absolute necessity did notsub- ist, since he did not kill him, but made him risoner. War itself is justifiable only on rinciples of self-preservation. Therefore : gives us no right over prisoners, but to inder their hurting -«s by confining them, duch less can it give a right to torture^or kill, r even enslave an enemy, when the war is 'ver. Since therefore the right of making our prisoners slaves, depends on a Supposed rigiit of slaughter, that foundation tailini,''* the consequence wliich is draw'i from it must fall likewise. 2. It is saidj slavery may be- gin by one man's selling himself to anotlier. It is true, a man may sell himself to work for another ; but lie cannot sell himself to be a slavc,as above defined. Every sale implies an equivalent given to the seller, in lieu of what he transfers to tiie buyer. But whatequiva* lent can be given for life or liberty? Uirt property likewise, with the very price which he seems to receive, devolves to his master the moment he becomes his slave ; in this case, therefore, the buyer gives nothing. Of what validity then can a sale be, which de- stroys the very princijde upon wliich ailsalcs are founded ? 3. We arc told tiiat men may he horn slaves,hy being the children of .slaves. But this, being built upon the two former false claims, must fall with tlicm. If neither captivity nor contract, by the plain law of nature and reason, can reduce the parent to a state of slavery, much less can they re- duce the oflspring.' It clearly follows, that all slavery is as irreconcilable to justice, as to mercy. '4. That slaveholding is utterly inconsis- tent with mercy, is almost too plain to need a proof It is said: 'These negroes, being prisoners of war, our captains and factors buy tliem, merely to save them from being put to death. Is not this mercy ?' I answer ; 1. Did Hawkins, and many others, seize upon men, women, and children, who were at peace in their own fields and houses, merely to save them from deatii ? 2. Was it to save them from death, that they knocked out the brains of those they could not bring away? 3. Who occasioned and fomented those wars, wherein these poor creatures were taken prisoners ? Who excited them by monpy,by drink, by every possible means to fall upon one another? Was it not themselves ? They know in their own consciences it was, if they have any consciences left. 4. To bring the matter to a short issue : Can they say before Ciod, that they ever took a single voyaije, or brought a single African from tiiis motive ? They cannot. To set money, not to .?ai)elives, was whole and sole spring of their motives, '5. But if this manner of procuring and treating slaves is not consistent with mercy or justice, yet there is a plea for it which every man of business will acknowledge to be quite sufncient. One meeting an emi- nent statesman in the lobby of the House of Commons said— 'Von have been long talking about justice and equity ; pray, which is this bill? Equity or justice?' He an- swered very short anil plain—' Damn justice ; it is necessity.' Here also the slaveholder fixes his foot ; here he rests the strength of his cause. ' If it is not quite right, yet it must be so : there is an absolute necessity for IG John WesUy's ThougUs on Slavery, it. It is necessary we shoul J procure slaves ; and when wo luive procured then), it is neces- sary to use them with severity, considering their stupidity, stubbornness, and wicked- ness.' You stumble at tiie threshliohl ; I deny that villany is ever necessary. It is impossible tliat it sliould ever be necessary for any reasonable creature to violate all the laws of justice, mercy, and truth. No cir- cumstances can make it necessary for a man to burst in sunder all the ties of humanity. // can ntvtr bt necessary for a rational being to sink himself below a brute. A man can be under no necessiti/ of degradinsc himself into <t wolf ' The absurdity of the supposition is so glaring, that one would wonder any one could help seeing it. • ' G. What is necessary ? and to what end ? h may be answered ;' The whole method now used by the original purchasers of Afri- cans is necessary to the furnishing our col^ onies yearly with a hundred thous|ind slaves.' I grant this is necessary to that end. But liow is that end necessary ? How will you prove it necessary that one hundred, that o«e of those slaves should be procured ? * It is necessary to my gaining a hundred thousand pounds.' Perhaps so : but how is this ne- cessary? It is very possible you might be both a better and a happier man, if you had Hot a quarter of it. I deny that your gain- ing one thousand is necessary, either to your present or eternal happiness. 'But you must allow these slaves are necessary for llie cultivation of our islands : inasmuch as white men are not able to labor in hot cli- mates.' I answer; 1. It were better that all those islands should remain uncultivated for ever ; yea, it were more desirable that ihey were altogether sunk in the depth of the sea, than that they should be cultivated at so high a price, as the violation of justice, mercy, and truth. 2. But the supposition on which you ground your argument is false. White men are able to labor in hot climates, provided they arc temperate both in meat and drink, and that they inure themselves to it by degrees. / speak no more than I knoiv hy experience. The summer heat in Georgia is frequently equal to that in Barbadoes, and lo that under the line : yet I and my family, eight in nimiber, employed all our spare time there, in felling of trees and clearing of ground, as hard labor as any slave need be employed in. The German family like- wise, forty in number, were employed in all manner of labor. This was so far from im- pairing our health, that we all continued perfectly well, while the idle ones round about us were swept away as with a pesti- lence. It is not true, therefore, that white men are not able to labor, even in hot cli- mates, full as well as black. If they wore not, it would be better that none should la- bor there, that the work should be left un- done, than that myriads of innocent me should be murdered, and myriads more I dragged into the basest slavery. ' But tl furnishing us with slaves is necessary for tl trade, wetilth, and glory of the nation.' Be ter no trade, than trade procured by villan It is far better to have no wealth, than gain wealth at the expense of virtue. Be ter is honest poverty, than all the richi bought by the tears, and sweat, and blood our fellow creatures. ' 7. When we have slaves^ it is necessai lo use them with severity. What, to wh them for every petty offence till they are in gore of blood ^ To take that opportunity rubbing pepper and sidt into their raivjlesh To drop burning sealing'-wax vpon the skins ? To castrate them ? To cut off' h(i liieir foot tvith an are ? To hang them < gibbets, that they may die by inches ivith hei end hunger, and thirst ? 'To pin them dot to the ground, and then burn them by degte from the. feet to the head '^ To roast them alive When did a Turk or a heathen find it nece sary to use a fellow-creature thus ? To wh end is this usage necessary.' 'To preve their running away, and to keep them co: stantly to their labor, that they may n- idle away their time. So miserably stup is tills race of men, so stubborn and i wicked 1 Allowing this, to whom is thi stupidity owing.' It lies altogether at tl door of their inhuman masters, who ga^ them tio means, no opportunity of improvii their understanding; and indeed leave the no motive, either from hope or fear to a tempt any such thing. They were no wj remarkable for stupidity while they remai. ed in Africa. To some of the inhabitants Europe they are greatly superior. Survt the natives of Benin, and of Lapland. Cor pare the Samoeids and the Angolans. Tl African is in no respect inferior to the Eur pean. Their stupidity in our colonies is li natural ; otherwise than it is the natural € feet of their condition. Consequently it not their fault, but yours ; and you must a swer for it before God and man. 'But th( stupidity is not the only reason of our trfeB ing them with severity : for it is hard to S! which is the greatest, this, or their stubbor ness and wickedness. But do not these, well as the other, lie at your door ? Are n stubbornness, ctnming, pilfering, and dive other vices the natural necessary fruits slavery, in every age and nation .' Wh means have you used to remove this stubborp ness? Have you tried what mildness ai: gentleness would do ? What pains have y taken, what method have you used to reclii them from their wickedness? Have y< carefully taUght theni, 'that there is a (n a wise, powerful, merciful Being, the Crr:it and Governor of heaven and earth ; that 1 has appointed a day wherein he will j'"' John Wtsleifs Thoughts on Slavcrij. 17 the world, will take an account of all our thoughts, words, and actions ; that in that day he will reward every child of man ac- cordinjT to his works : that then the rijrhtoous shall inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world; and the wicked shall be cast into everlasting iiro, prepared for the devil and his angels ?' If you have not done tliis, if you have taken no pains nor thought about this matter, can you wonder at their wickedness ? What wonder if they should cut your throat ? and if they did, whom could you thank for it but your- self? You first acted the vUlian in making thcinslar)"fi, whether you stole them orbouglit them. Vou kept them stupid and wicked, by cutting them off from all opportunities of improving cither in knowledge or vu'tue ; and now you assign their want of wisdom or goodness as the reason for using them worse than brute beasts ! 'V. I add a few words to those who are more immediately concerned. '1. To Traders. You have torn away children from their parents, and parents from their children ; husbands from their wives ; wives from tlieir beloved husbliands ; breth- ren and sisters from each othei*. You have dragged them who have never done you any wrong, in chains, and forced them into the vilest slavery, never to end but with life ; such slavery as is not found among the Turks in Algiers, nor among the heathens in Amer- ica. You induce the villain to steal, rob, murder men, women, and children, without number, by paying him for his execrable la- bor. It is all your act and deed. Is your conscience quite reconciled to this? does it never reproach you at all ? Has gold en- tirely blinded your eyes, and stupified your heart? Canyon see, can you /eeZ no harm therein ? Is it doing as you would be done to? Make the case your own. 'Master,' said a slave at Liverpool, to the merchant that owned him, 'what if some of my coun- trymen were to come here, and take away Mistress, and Tommy, and Billy, and carry them into our country, and make them slaves, how would you like it?' His answer was worthy of a man — ' I will never buy a slave more while I live.' Let his resolution be yours. Have no more any part in this de- testable business. Instantly leave it to those unfeeling wretches, ' who laugh at human nature and compassion.' Be you a man ; not a wolf, a devourer of the human species ! Be merciful, that you may obtain mercy. 'Is there a God ? You know there is. Is he a just God ? Then there must be a state of retribution; a state wherein the just God will reward every man a(«;ording to his works. Then what reward will be rendered to you? O think betimes ! before yon drop into eternity! Think now. ' He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy.' Are you a man ? Then you should have a human heart. But have you indeed? what is your heart made of ? Is there no such principle as compassion there ? Do you never feel another's pain? Have you no sympathy? no sense of human wo? no pity for the miserable ? When you saw the streaming eyes, the heaving breasts, the bleeding sides, and the tortured limbs of your fellow-creatures, were yon a stone or a brute ? Did you look upon them with the eyes of a tiger? Had you no relenting? Did not one tear drop from your eye, one sigh escape from your breast ? Do you feel no relenting now? If you do not, you must go on till the measure of your iniquities is full. Then will the great God deal with you, as you have dealt with them, and require all tlioir blood at your hands. At that day it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomor- rah than for you. But if your heart does re- lent; resolve, God being your helper, to es- cape for your life. Regard not money ! All that a man hath, will he give for his life. Whatever you lose, lose not your soul ; noth- ing can countervail that loss. Immediately quit the horrid trade ; at all events be an honest man. '2. To Slaveholders. This equally con- cerns all slaveholders, of whatever rank and degree: seeing men-buyers are exacthj on a level ivith men-stealers ! Indeed you say, \l pay honestly for my goods ; and I am not concerned to know how they arc come by.' Na}', but you are : you are deeply concerned to know they arc honestly come by: other- wise you are partaker with a thief,and are not a jot honester than he. But ynu know they are not honestly come by : you know they are procured by means nothing near so innoeetit as picking pockets, house-breaking, or robbery upon the highioay. You know they are procur- ed by a deliberate species of more com- plicated vil]any,of fraud, robbery, and mur- der, than was ever practised by Mohamme- dans or Pagans ; in particular, by murders of all kinds'; by the blood of the innocent poured upon the ground like water. Now it is your money that pays the African butcjier. You therefore are principally guilty of all these frauds, robberies, and murders. You are the spring that puts all the rest in mo- tion. They would not stir a stop without you : therefore the blood of all these wretch- es who die before their time hes upon your head. 'The blood of thv brother crieth ao-ainst thee from the earth.' O whatever it costs, put a stop to its cry before it be too late ; instantiv, at any price, were it tiie half of your froods, deliver Ihyself from blood- guiltiness! Thy hanrfs, thy bed, thy Jtmv- ture, thy house, and thy lands at present are stained with blood. Surely it is enough ; ac- cumulate no more guilt: spill no more the blood of the innocent. Do not hir^ another 18 John Wcslcy^s Thoughts on Slaveri/. to shed blood ; do not pay him for doing it. Whether you are a Christian or not, show yourself a man! Be not more savage than a lion or a bear! ' Perhaps you will say ; ' I do not buy any slaves; I only use those Icit by my father.' But is that enough to satisfy your con- science ? Had your father, haveiyo2r,hasany man living a right to use another as a slave .'' It cannot be, even setting revelation aside. Neither war nor contract can give any man such a property in another as he has in his sheep and oxen. Much less is it possible, that any chiUl of man should ever be born a slave. Liberty is the right of every human creature, as soon as he breathes the vita! air : and no human law can deprive him of that right which he derives from the law of na- ture. If therefore you have any regard to justice, to say nothing of mercy, or of the revealed law of God, render unto all their due. Give liberty to whom liberty is due, to every child of man, to every partaker of hu- man "nature. Let none serve you but by his own act and deed, by his own voluntary choice. Away with all whips, all chains, all compulsion ! Be gentle toward all men, and see that you invariably do unto every one, as you would he should do unto you. ' O thou God of love, thou who art loving to every man. and whose merry is over all thy works ; thou who art the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and who art rich in mercy unto all ; thou who hast formed of one blood, all the nations upon the earth ; have compas- sion upon these outcasts of men, who are trodden down as dung upon the earth ! Arise, and help these that have no helper, Avhose blood is spilled upon the ground like water! Are not these also the work of thine own hands, the purchase of thy Son's blood ? Stir them up to crv unto thee in the land of their captivity ; and let their complaint come up before thee ; let it enter into thine ears! Make even those that lead them captive to pity them and turn their captivity. O burst thou all their chains in sunder ; more espe- ciallv the chains of their sins: tliou Saviour of all, make them free, that they may be free indeed !' 'The servile projjpnv of Ham, Seize ns llic purchase of thv blood Let all the heathens know thy name From idols to llic living- God 'I'he darV Americans convert. And shine in every Pagan heart I' Thk preceding official documents which have been issued by the most imposing and powerful ecclessiastical Assemblies in our republic are strenuously recommended to all American citizens, and especially to those who profess to be Christians, of every de- «omination. Upon the members of the va- rious churches, the awful responsibility rests whether the curse of man-stealing shall longer be protracted, and whether the tr^^ mcndous punishment of this henious an.d 'complicated villany' shall longer impend over our guilty country. A grosser delusion caimot be indulged, than the anticipation that the evil will be redressed and the crime be abolished by the Southern Legislators. To Christians the Avork peculiarly appertains. It is their duty, to brand slavery with the mark of Cain; and it is their ;?nr)7fire, to cleanse the temple of those ^ chief Priests and Scribes, ivho have made the house of prayer a den oj thieves.^ This can be accomplished only by recurring to the gospel in its authority and holiness; by admitting, in all their legitimate sway, tiie principles inculcated by the testi- monies which have been cited ; and by a prompt and unfeigned compliance with the just and evangelical requisitions which the Presbyterian and Methodist churches pro- mulge. Presbyterians and Methodists ! This sub- ject is urgently addressed to you. Here are your own doctrines and your own disci- pline. You solemnly and constantly pro- claim before the world as the creed of your respective churches, that every slaveholdei is 'in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.' You have publicly declared your conviction of the evil of slavery during nearly fifty years. You have pretended tc' record rules for its exptirpation from among: you; and yet man-stealing is daily extend- ing in your communions, and the number of 'sinners of the first rank, wiio are guilty o: the highest kind of theft,' augments in tlie most crying and fearful manner. How long will you tolerate this appalling criminality ■ How long will you exhibit this marvelloiu and destructive hypocrisy.^ How long wil you 'speak smooth things, prophesy deceits say peace, peace, when there is no peace ? for 'there is no peace' saith the Lord,'untf the wicked ;' and ifmen-stealers,the most at trocious of all criminals before God and man who never sincerely desired ' to flee fron the wrath to come, and to be saved from theii sins,' are not the wicked ; to what beings ii the universe can the epithet be applied ? Preachers ! Remember, as John Weslej remarked; ^ the hands, the bed, the furniture, the house, and the lands of every slaveholdei ' at present are stained icith blood!' You arc commanded not to be partakers of otlie: men's sins ; instead of which, when you se( the men-thieves, you consent with them : and arc involved in all their guilt, as acccs sories both before and after the fact ; fo: you not only encourage the robbery, but yoi also receive the donations of those felon.' into your church treasuries ; and thereby yoi ' devour the prey, and divide the spoil .'' We congratulate those Baptist aud Pres Johi JFesley^s TJmights on SLvenj. 19 yterian churches, who have adopted the yrstem which excludes all slaveholders from leir communion ; and rejoice in your ad- ancement in pure truth and Christian prac- ce. But we would also affectionately urge pon you an additional measure which will ?nder your principles and your discipline niform. Eject all slave-driving' preachers •om your pulpits. The refusal of the slave- older to the Lord's table, and the reception f the slave-holder into the pulpit, are utter- f incongruous ; and the latter most anti- hristian measure, not only nullifies the for- ler, but absolutely obscures it from sight, nd leaves the public to suppose that the rime of man-stealing is innocence in a reacher, while it is guilt in a common mem- . er. We therefore implore you to be al- i^ays and decidedly consistent, and renounce Itogether'the unfruitful works of darkness.' The appeal is likewise made to all those Christian people,' to adopt the language of le Presbyterian General Assembly of 1818, dio have 'most inconsistently fallen into the ractice of enslaving their brethren of man- ind;' and your attentive perusal of the pre- ious extracts from the standards of the 'resbyterian and Methodist churches is earn- stly desired. Do you sincerely believe that he religion which you profess in the smallest legree justifies American slavery ? Did you 'ou ever seriously and impartially examine he word of God, and compare its oracular lictates with the spirit, practice, and effects )f slave-holding.? Did you at any time ipply the benevolent injunctions of the tfosaic law, and the merciful demands of he Lord Jesns Christ to the system of etaining your fellow-citizens in a state of jondage unparalleled for cruelty, base- less, and anguish in the annals of savage nan ? Have you ever attempted to re- 'iew, as far as your imagination could soar, he stupendous events of that morning of ret- ibution, when all actions and the motives vhence they floAved, will be decided, not by iie horrible codes of human legislation, but by the standard of unerring rectitude, and will be approved or condemned, as God the righteous Judge shall announce ? Are you fully convinced that the dreadful debase- ment, the corroding toil, the constant priva- tions, the agonizing fears, tlie lawless exac- tions, the brutal violations, and the hopeless ignorance to which you doom your tollow- citizens will be acknowledged by the Judge of the quick and the dead, as a consistent ful- lowingof hun'who went about doing good?' ' When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him,' do you truly anticipate that the King will admit a slave-driver's treatment of his colored fel- low-citizens and disciples of Jesus, to buthnt giving of meat to the hungry, and of drink to the thirsty; that hospitality to a stranger, that clothing of the naked, that visiting of the sick, and that consolation to the prisoner; which he will announce as proof of supreme attachment to the gracious Redeemer ? Your consciences cannot reply to these quostions in the affirmative. How much longer then will you endanger your eternal salvation ? How dare you to as- sert the groundless plea of necessity ; and hypocritically to make it a cover for the love and practice of man-stealing, and a cozen- ing pretence for your 'shameful and unright- eous conduct ?' Therefore, 'thus saith the Lord my God— feed the flock of the slaught- er; whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty, and they who sell them say, blessed be the Lord, for I am rich, and their own shepherds pity them not. My soul loathed them, and their soul abhorrpil me.' Zechariah xi. 4, 5, 8. ' Loose the bands of wickedness ; undo the heavy bur- dens, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke.' Tsaiah Iviii. 4 — 7. 'Wo unto, him that buildeth his house by unrighteous- ness, that useth his neighbor's service with-- out wages, and o-ivoth him not for his work.'" Jeremiah xxii. 12, 17. ' We"p and howl for- your miseries that shall come upon you.'"" V. 1— (). 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