Book 
 
 .L^S 
 
No. 1^. 
 THE ALLIANCE OF JEIIOSHAPHAT AND AHAB. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 I'RKACHED OX THK ANXUAL I'Af?T, Al'RlI. 4, IS41, AT fA.'\lBRIDUKrORT. 
 
 BY REV. J. C. LOVEJOY. 
 
 Shouldesl thou lielp ihc ungoiUi/, and lore 
 This language was addressed by the 
 prophet of God to Jehoshaphat, the king of 
 Judah, in reference to his wicked alliance 
 with Ahab, king of Israel. Jehoshaphat 
 was, in the main, a good man, and an 
 upright ruler; but he did not make thor- 
 ough work in removing the high places of 
 idolatry, and he was prone to form alliances 
 with wicked men. The character given ot 
 this prince is in these words: — "And the 
 Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he 
 walked in the tirst ways of his father 
 David, and sought not unto Baalim; but 
 sought to the Lord (iod of his father, and 
 walked in his commandments, and not after 
 the doings of Israel." 
 
 Jehoshaphat went, repeatedly, throughout 
 all the cities of his kingdom, and attempted 
 to reclaim the people from idolatry, and to 
 establish justice. He gave the judges ex- 
 cellent instructions, saying, " Take heed 
 what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but 
 fur the Lord, who is with you in the judg- 
 ment. Wherefore now let the fear of the 
 Lord be upon you; for there is no iniquity 
 with the I..ord our God, nor respect of 
 persons, nor taking of gifts." Notwith- 
 standing these admirable instructions to the 
 judges, the groves of idolatry were never 
 destroyed during the twenty and Hve years 
 of the reign of this monarch. The reason 
 probably was, he formed alliances with the 
 wicked princes of a neighboring kingdom, 
 and his example was in violation of his pre- 
 cepts. In one of these alliances, he came 
 very near losing his life; and in the co- 
 partnership with Ahaziah for mercantile 
 purposes, " the ships were broken, and 
 they were not able to go to Tarshish." 
 There have been a great many ships bro- 
 ken, and lives lost by bad alliances. 
 
 Jehoshaphat, it seems, was completely 
 taken in by the generous hospitality of 
 Ahab. This is the record of their friend- 
 ship: " Now Jehoshaphat had riches and 
 honor in abundance, and joined affinity 
 with Ahab. And after certain years, he 
 
 them that hate the Lord:' — ;2 Cliroii. xix. 2. 
 
 went down to Abab, to Samaria; and Ahab 
 killed sheep and oxen for him in abun- 
 dance," (I warrant you, a man that could 
 rob another of a whole vineyard for the 
 sake of a garden of herbs, would not lack 
 sheep and oxf^n for his guests,) "and for the 
 people that he had with him, and persuaded 
 him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. 
 And Ahab, king of Israel, said unto Je- 
 hoshaphat, king of Judah, Wilt thou go 
 up with me to Ramoth Gilead? And he 
 answered hin», " I am as thou art, and my 
 people as thy people; and we will be with 
 thee in the war." Very likely Jehosha- 
 phat had been taking large drafts from 
 Nal)oth's vineyard, without even inquiring 
 where it came from. Jehoshaphat was 
 sorely chased in the battle, and came near 
 being killed; he escaped, however, and 
 returned to his house in peace, to Jerusa- 
 lem. "And Jehu, the son of Hanani the 
 seer, went out to meet him, and said to 
 King Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help 
 the ungodly, and love them that hate the 
 Lord .' Therefore is wrath upon thee 
 from before the Lord." 
 
 There is no way by which good men are 
 drawn into alliances with the wicked, and 
 lend themselves to help the ungodly more 
 frequently than by electing such men to 
 office. I would by no means lay down any 
 set of religious opinions, as the test of a 
 man's fitness for ofTlce; but I am certain 
 every man whom we elevate to important 
 places of power and influence, ought to be 
 unspotted as a citizen — a man whose exam- 
 ple it is safe to set before the youth of the 
 land. 
 
 The very worthy governor of this com- 
 monwealth, in his truly excellent proclama- 
 tion, under which we this day meet, invites 
 us to pray to the " Supreme Ruler and 
 Judge," that we maybe so "guided by the 
 Holy Spirit, that, taking heed to our ways, 
 we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." I 
 hope his excellency does not mean to be like 
 King Jehoshaphat, uttering excellent things 
 
■^ .:\^~^ 
 
 T7 <^ 
 
 
 
 in a proclamation, and then join hands and 
 " help the ungodly." 
 
 I will not suppose, for a moment, that he 
 would suggest to the citizens of this State, 
 that they should look to the Holy Spirit for 
 direction, in the discharge of their public 
 or private duties, when he does not intend 
 himself to be governed by the clear and 
 unequivocal teachings of that Spirit. Can 
 the governor of this State, under the in- 
 fluence oi' the Holy Spirit, following the 
 Word of God, give the influence of his 
 office, his character as a Christian and 
 as a patriot, for the elevation of a slave- 
 holder and a duellist, to the highest office 
 in the United States? Let us examine the 
 instructions of the Holy Spirit upon this 
 subject, and the language of the proclama- 
 tion — which I am willing to believe the 
 governor wrote, after praying for the as- 
 sistance of the Spirit of truth. 
 
 The Holy Spirit says — " He that steal- 
 eth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found 
 in his hand, he shall surely be put to 
 death " — Ex. xxi. 16 — 7iot elevated to the 
 highest place of honor and power. The 
 Holy Spirit says — "Thou shall not deliver 
 unto his master, the servant ivhich is es- 
 caped from his master unto thee.'^ Does 
 not the governor know, and every one act- 
 ing with him, that any slaveholder he and 
 they may elevate to ofHce, will use all 
 his power, and all the power of this 
 nation, at his command, to arrest and 
 turn back the escaping slave to the hand 
 of his master? Does the Holy Spirit 
 teach him to aid in doing that which the 
 same Spirit has expressly forbidden? — 
 *' Shouldest thou, help the ungodly?" 
 
 The Holy Spirit aflirms — " He that saith 
 unto the tvicked, Thou art righteous; him 
 shall the people curse, nations shall abhor 
 him." — Prov. xxii. 24. Yet an official 
 organ of the same party to which the gov- 
 ernor of this State belongs, says of a man, 
 notorious for fighting duels, gambling, op- 
 pression, and other vices, that he is the 
 " champion of constitidional right — the 
 personation of every public virtue. Our 
 adversaries, in reproach, call him the dic- 
 tator. We take their words, and will turn 
 their reproach to honor. Glorious reward 
 of stainless patriotism. Happy homage to 
 wisdom and virtue!^'* If that is not say- 
 ing to the wicked. Thou art righteous, 
 then Nero might have been flattered 
 for his humanity, and a Borgia for his 
 stainless virtue. But the governor may 
 
 * Defence of the Whigs : Harper & Brothers. 
 
 say that he does not adopt tliis language — ■ 
 that he is not responsible for what every 
 man may say of another; yes, but if he 
 votes, and gives his official inHuence for 
 such a man, he underscores with three lines, 
 and writes in glaring capitals all that can 
 be said of such men. 
 
 And I respectfully, but earnestly, ask 
 the governor of this State not to call upon 
 its ministers and his fellow Christians, to 
 set apart a day for fasting, humiliation and 
 prayer — "that labor may receive its just 
 reicard — that wealth, and learninp-, and 
 talent, may be properly directed, — that a 
 love of justice may pervade the hearts of 
 our citizens; that all the efforts which are 
 made to extend the cause of human free- 
 dom, may meet the approbation and re- 
 ceive the favor of our Father in heaven." 
 I implore the governor not to use such 
 language as this, and then give all his 
 great influences to a man who lives in per- 
 petual violation of every breath of this 
 prayer — a man who will follow the ways of 
 Balaam, and teach this nation to sin more 
 and more. 
 
 The Holy Spirit says — " Wo unto them 
 that call evil good, and good evil; that put 
 darkness for light, and light for darkness." 
 And yet there is one who stands high in 
 the estimation of the governor; but I fear 
 he has not in this been taught by the Holy 
 Spirit — one who says, " two hundred years 
 of legislation have sanctioned and sanctified 
 negro slaves as property." Can the gov- 
 ernor pray for the prevalence of such senti- 
 ments as these .'' 
 
 The Holy Spirit makes the following 
 record concerning a transaction veiy simi- 
 lar to our glowing Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and our subsequent conduct in 
 relation to the slaves: " Now when all the 
 princes, and all the people, which had 
 entered into the covenant, heard that every 
 one should let his man servant, and every 
 one his maid servant go free, that none 
 should serve themselves of them any more; 
 then they obeyed and let them go. But 
 afterwards they turned, and caused the 
 servants and the handmaids, whom they 
 had let go free, to return, and brought them 
 into subjection for servants and for hand- 
 maids. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, 
 Ye have not hearkened unto me, in pro- 
 claiming liberty, every one to his brother, 
 and every man to his neighbor: behold, I 
 proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, 
 to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the 
 famine." Is there not a striking similarity 
 between the conduct of these wicked Jew* 
 
and our own? Did we not, in the Declar-' 
 ation of Independence, proclaim freedom 
 to all men? When our liberties were vin- 
 dicated, did we not seize again the servants 
 set free ? And is there no'retribution sleep- 
 ing around the throne of eternal justice for 
 ''^. us? By helping the ungodly, shall we not 
 speedily call down that retribution? If the 
 Jehoshaphats of Judah continue and renew 
 their afTiiatics with the Aliabs, who rob and 
 spoil the poor, keep back, by fraud and 
 oppression, the hire of the laborer, will not 
 the voice of some prophet of the true God 
 speedily be heard — "Therefore is wrath 
 come tipon you from the Lord.'" " Should- 
 cst thou heip<he ungodly?" 
 
 I am certain that many act upon this 
 subject as they would not, if they saw 
 slavery and duelling in their true light. 
 The utter inconsistency of our Declaration 
 of Independence with the elevation of a 
 slaveholder for the administration of the 
 laws and constitution of the country, is as 
 glaring as the noonday sun. No possible 
 lepresentation of the inconsistency of our 
 practice with our professed principles, can 
 approximate the reality. 
 
 If it is right to elect a slaveholder to be 
 president of the United States, it is right to 
 bring him into that place of power with all 
 the interesting relations he sustains fully 
 represented around him. Now suppose, 
 instead of depositing a vote with the name 
 of a slavehf)lder upon it, it were necessary 
 to take hold by hand and draw the chariot 
 of the oppressor to the seat of power: The 
 governor, a large part of the clergy, the 
 deacons and professors of religion, are del- 
 egated to rcjjresent the moral and religious 
 State of Massachusetts in this ffreat enter- 
 prise. With their splendid barouche and 
 long cables, thev go down to the southern 
 ))lantations, in search of a p.resident for the 
 United States. They come, at length, to 
 the extensive lands and splendid mansion 
 of an American Ahab — sheep and oxen are 
 killed in abinidance — they partake of the 
 generous hospitality, and when the ques- 
 tion is put, " Will you have me to reign 
 over you?" the reply of the governor is, 
 " I am as thou art, my people as thy peo- 
 ple." Around upon this plantation there 
 are some fifty or more of those who have 
 l)een beaten, and ground, and peeled, all 
 their lives. They have labored without 
 wages, lived without instruction, and will 
 die without hope. The Bible has been 
 denied them, and the sanctuary has seldom 
 opened to the^jn its doors. W'hen the gov- 
 ernor remembers that the gospel has teep 
 
 kept from these immortal beings, by the 
 very man whom he and his associates are 
 about to crown with the highest civic 
 honors, in some trepidation he catches up 
 his proclamation, and earnestly exhorts the 
 clergy and the deacons to pray to the Ruler 
 of the universe, ''that all the efforts which 
 are making to extend the gospel of the 
 Son of God " may receive his favor. 
 
 That this company may become more 
 entirely acquainted with the man they are 
 about to choose, they go round over the 
 plantation. They tind of his slaves, some 
 are worn out with labor; they have been 
 blessed with health, and with vigorous 
 hands have gathered the harvests of three 
 score years. The governor addresses one 
 of these aged and worn out laborers: — 
 " U'here is the fruit of so many years of 
 hard and continued toil? Is this patch of 
 land yours?" "Ah, no." " This little cot- 
 tage yours? Any thing in the Savings 
 Bank for old age?" "Ah, dear me, massa 
 governor, all this little house, land, garden, 
 every thing belongs to great Massa Ahab." 
 The governor looks rather sad; he remem- 
 bers that hire kept back by fraud, crieth — 
 that that cry enters into the cars of the 
 Lord of Sabbaoth. He turns, in his per- 
 plexity, to the reverend clergy, and exhorts 
 them, in the language of the proclamation, 
 earnestly to pray that '' labor maij receive 
 its just reward.'^ 
 
 From hearing the complaints of this poor 
 old man, the company are drawn by the 
 shrieks and cries of distress that come from 
 a distant corner of the plantation. They 
 here tind a victim of the lash, who tells 
 them that in the course of her life, unable 
 from bodily inlirmities to perform the pre- 
 scribed daily task, she has more than five 
 times received forty stripes save one — that 
 she has been compelled to give up her chil- 
 dren, and they have been carried to a hope- 
 less distance from her— that those which 
 now remain, have been made orphans and 
 she more than a widow by the removal of 
 her husband to a more southern planta- 
 tion—that her condition and that of her 
 family have been such that they have 
 often prayed and longed for death rather 
 than life— that her eyes have been di- 
 rected to the heavens, crying " O Lord, 
 how long— how long?" Here the gov- 
 ernor turns again to his associates, and 
 urges them to"" pray that "the poor, the 
 widow and the fatherless may be visited 
 in mercy." Among the new and interest- 
 ing things seen by Jehoshaphat and his as- 
 sociates, they are struck with the variop? 
 
colors and different complexions and fea- 
 tures of the riding generation of this patri- 
 archal family. One child especially, the 
 very "image and superscription" of his 
 dear father, excites unusual interest and 
 attention. Then the governor exhorts to 
 pray most earnestly for the ""cause of vir- 
 tue," and that it may be imitated by his 
 own sons and by all the young men of the 
 land, as it is so strikingly illustrated in the 
 " personation of every public virtue" — i;i 
 the character of him whom they are about 
 to draw in triumph to the throne of power. 
 Satisfied at length with this survey of the 
 domestic institutions of their favorite can- 
 didate, Jehoshaphat and his associates are 
 entertained at the palace of Ahab. They 
 fondly hope that some concession may be 
 made to public opinion, and the spirit of 
 the age, in the published sentiments of their 
 friend and lavorite. The governor quotes 
 his message to the legislature, and feels as- 
 sured that as slavery was actually abolished 
 by the Declaration of Independence, it 
 must be terminated at no distant day. — 
 Here he is flatly contradicted by the im- 
 perious Ahab. " It is not true, (says he,) 
 and I rejoice that it is not true, that either 
 of the two great parties in this country has 
 any design or aim at abolition. I should 
 deeply lament it if it were true." At least, 
 says the prince of Judah, I hope we may 
 labor and pray for the extirpation of this 
 anomaly under the very walls of the tem- 
 ple of liberty in the district of Columbia. 
 
 " I WOULD SUFFER THE TOUTURES OF THE 
 
 i\Q,uisiTio.v (says the personation of all 
 virtue) before I would si2;ii a bill having fur 
 Us object the abolition of slaver ij in the dis- 
 trict of Columbia, or in amj manner give 
 countenance to the project." The governor 
 meekly replies, " Let not the king say so. 
 Allow us to discuss this subject, for while I 
 myself am opposed to all jjolitical action, I 
 think it may and ought to be discussed, and 
 if our southern brethren do not choose to 
 regard our moral suasion upon that subject, 
 why then — then they can do just as they 
 please." "Ay, but," says the dictator, "dis- 
 cussion implies deliberation; deliberation 
 is preliminary to action. The people of the 
 North have no right to act upon the subject 
 of southern slavery, and therefore they 
 have no right to deliberate — no right to 
 discuss."" On this subject I tell you gentle- 
 men, one and all — mind your own busi- 
 ness. The governor turns with a sigh to 
 his associates and reads from the procla- 
 mation, urging them to pray for " a spirit 
 of Christian patriotism and forbearance," 
 
 and still says we must go up to Ramoth Gil- 
 ead — we must bow down to Dagon this once. 
 
 Accordingly the governor, the priest, the 
 deacon and the hundreds of Christians, 
 hitch themselves in long order to the car of 
 the OPPRESSOR, the duellist, the gambler 
 and the DEB.iucHEE. He smiles most com- 
 placently upon them, compliments them 
 upon the noble magnanimity they display, 
 in so easily overcoming the little sciuples 
 o^ conscience, and the plain and solemn pro- 
 hibitions of the word of God; that like the 
 generous Jehoshaphat they are determined 
 to go, whether the Lord says they should 
 prosper or not. As they tug and sweat and 
 pull and get all mixed in with»sweareis and 
 drunkards and gamblers, on the great na- 
 tional road, the governor still exhorts all 
 earnestly to pray that " wealth and talents 
 and learning may be properly directed." 
 
 At length the car of Moloch is brought to 
 the place of its destination. The heat and 
 excitement of a long contest are concen- 
 trated at the place of the future inaugura- 
 tion. Partizans are urged almost to mad- 
 ness in defence ol their favorite leaders. 
 Insult is heaped upon insult. The party to 
 which the governor and his associates be- 
 long, have at their head a man who always 
 repels an indignity." He can direct re- 
 marks to the chair "intended as a deliberate 
 offence" to a senator — he can write a chal- 
 lenge, prescribe the etiquette of a field of 
 blood, or direct the weapon of death to the 
 heart of a fellow mortal. At length, in the 
 phrenzy of excitement, the interests of the 
 party demand the life of an opponent. In 
 the private chamber there is Ahab art- 
 fully and adroitly writing the challenge — 
 the governor in the mean time, with minis- 
 ters and deacons, praying "that/fl/e«/s and 
 learning may be properly directed." — 
 The challenge is sent and accepted, the 
 day and the hour and the most deadly 
 weapons agreed upon. The parties meet 
 — the Lord sends a strong east wind, as if 
 to give space for repentance, and twice 
 turns aside the deadly aim. The third ef- 
 fort at mutual murder is successful.. A 
 young man is slain upon the high places of 
 Israel — and in that blood flowing warm and 
 Iree from the heart, the governor baptizes 
 the robes of oflice and girds them upon his 
 hero, and then priest and deacon and Chris- 
 tian, all unite in praying for the " extension 
 of the peaceful doctrines of the gospel." 
 This may end the scene— shall I call it 
 farce, with them? But there is one scene 
 — one circle of objects to which I would 
 call the solemn attention of every man in 
 
this land, as he writes the name of a duel- 
 list upon his ballot. 
 
 When the unfortunate Cilley was mur- 
 dered, I well remember the sensation pro- 
 duced by the talc of wo as it came Hying 
 from city to city and at length reached his 
 ill-starred family. A young, accomplished 
 and pious wife, with a little group of tender 
 children, await the mail from Washington 
 for tidings from the husband and father. 
 The strange hand upon the outside of the 
 letter excites surprise and trepidation; with 
 fear and trembling the fatal seal is broken: 
 " Your husband is dead — lilled in a duel — 
 he died nobly upon the field of honor, for- 
 getful of God and you, that he might assure 
 the woild that he dared to commit mur- 
 der." The death of her husband she 
 could by divine grace have borne, but his 
 crime drove her to distraction — the chil- 
 dren in terror stare at the wild horror of 
 the mother — a look at her children re- 
 doubles the streams of liery agony that play 
 along every nerve and fibre of her whole 
 he'insL. Such a scene might well arouse the 
 whole State — the entire land. It did so. 
 Every pulpit spoke out against duelling. 
 But what good can we do to weep over the 
 blood shed, and yet honor the men who 
 iihed it.^ I am tired of this mode of deal- 
 ing with the subject, and if the citizens of 
 this and other States will go and deliber- 
 ately vote fur a duellist for president — one 
 who has acted upon the principles of re- 
 venge all his days, and who yet deliberately 
 avows them, then I say, when your fellow 
 citizens are murdered at Washington, make 
 no ado about it, ask for no sympathy, de- 
 mand no retribution; but say like men, we 
 chose a muiderer to shoot them if they did 
 not behave according to his refined notions 
 of propriety, and we sent them there to be 
 shot if he thought best. Either make the 
 tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt, or else 
 let them be both good — let precept and ex- 
 ample go together. It is in vain for us to 
 preach against duelling, to lament its prev- 
 alence, while our hearers go and vole fur 
 duellists. I know it will be said that other 
 important interests are at issue, and that 
 these cannot be so well secured as by the 
 selection of a slaveholder and a duellist. 
 
 The interests of moraidij are the funda- 
 mental interests of a nation. This govern- 
 ment was constituted to establish justice and 
 secure liberty. Can a man who lives vpon 
 injustice, and practises oppression, and de- 
 fends murder in his public speeches and by 
 his example, promote /Hs/ice? That prince 
 of statesmen, and most profound among 
 
 those who have uttered their thousand 
 proverbs, Edmund Burke, has said, "Per- 
 mit me tor one moment to drop my repre- 
 sentative character, and to speak only as a 
 man of some experience in the world, and 
 conversant with the affairs of men, and 
 with the characters of men. I do then de- 
 clare my conviction and wish it may stand 
 recorded to posterity, that there never was 
 a bad man that had ability for good service. 
 It is not in the nature of such men; their 
 minds are so distorted to selfish purposes, 
 to artificial and crafty means for accom- 
 plishing those selfish ends, that if put to 
 good service they are poor, dull, helpless. 
 They know nothing but how to pursue sel- 
 fish ends bv indirect means. No man ever 
 employed a bad man on account of his abil- 
 ities, but for t'ri7 ends. There might be 
 circumstances in which such a man might 
 be used in a subordinate capacity. But 
 who ever thought of putting such a man 
 virtually in possession of the whole author- 
 ity and revenues of the whole country.^" — 
 (Works, Vol. 3, p. 359.) 
 
 Yet such a suicidal act, I fear, this coun- 
 try, with the aid and counsel of this State, 
 is about to commit. In the language of 
 the proclamation, I would urge the citizens 
 to " take heed to their ways." In doing 
 this so plainly and directly, I am well 
 aware that I expose myself to the charge 
 of deviating from the ordinary round of 
 plaintive strains about xciihcd rulers and 
 wicked people, that are piped forth upon 
 the annual lasts. 
 
 I ask no better authority, however, for 
 this plain exhibition of the truth upon a 
 most important subject, than the 33d chap- 
 ter of Ezekiel: '' If the watchman see the 
 sword come, and blow not the trumpet, 
 and the people be not warned; if the sword 
 come and take any person from among 
 them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but 
 his blood will I require at the iiatcliman's 
 hands.'' 
 
 I do, I think, clearly see that this nation, 
 and I fear a majority of the people of this 
 commonwealth, are about to commit not 
 only a fault, but a crime, a crime against 
 the slaves, against their country, and 
 against God. I would solemnly and earn- 
 estly warn those with whom I can have the 
 least infiuence, not to do it. Would any 
 citizen of this State take a half sheet of 
 paper, and draw out upon it the symbols of 
 slavery and duelling, and then write upon 
 the bottom — " 1 appiove of both these prac- 
 tices, with all the heart-rending cruelties 
 connected with them;" and then sign his 
 
name, and publish it to the world as the 
 •sentiments by which he would live and die? 
 Yet the name of the man guilty of these 
 crimes is an eqxnvulcnt lor the most signifi- 
 cant emblems of them. Would you paint 
 upon your ballot, a whip, a chain, fetters, 
 handcuffs, a poor half starved slave, an 
 auction block, an exposed female, an affec- 
 tionate mother and child torn from each 
 other, and then add to this picture the fac- 
 simile of a challenge, the pistol or rifle, 
 the measured distance, the cool, deliberate 
 aim, the death bound of the victim, as he 
 leaps into the air, his heart pierced with 
 the bullet of his antagonist — could you 
 take such a ballot in your hand, and de- 
 posit it as ijotir suffrage — the suffrage of 
 a freeman — the suffrage of a Chrislian'i 
 Even a recent slaveholder, who only sees 
 as yet some things in the twilight of his 
 new existence — C. M. Clay — says: " I 
 will go yet further, and declare, in the 
 name of the Christian religion and our 
 republican institutions, that no man, after 
 the next presidential election, when so 
 much light shall have been shed upon this 
 subject, should be deemed fit to rule over 
 a republican, Christian people, who shall 
 violate, by holding slaves, the only two 
 principles upon which either Christianity 
 or republicanism can stand the test of 
 philosophical scrutiny for a single hour." 
 
 If that is said in the green tree, what 
 ought to be done in the dry ^ If a son of a 
 slaveholding State, himself a slaveholder 
 till very recently, has come within four 
 years of not voting for a slaveholder, where 
 ought the citizens of this State to be ? And 
 where ought the governor of this State to 
 be, who says the declaration that "all 
 men are free and equal," has been in 
 practical operation in this State, ever 
 since the adoption of the constitution. 
 The elevation of that individual to the 
 presidency, will be the pledge and the 
 certain instrument of the introduction of 
 the coveted "sister republic" of run- 
 aways and assassins, and the extension 
 of slavery and duelling over new ter- 
 ritory for the s*ace of another hun- 
 dred years. Massachusetts can prevent 
 these impending evils. An opportunity 
 now presents itself when this State can 
 gain for itself a brighter crown of glory 
 than she now wears from all her past 
 jiistory. This is saying much, but not too 
 much. I have deliberated upon what I 
 affirm. I know the story of your past 
 renown. I have traced every line of your 
 history, from the day when the " wise men 
 
 from the East " brought to the iron coast 
 of Plymouth, the gold of their character 
 and the frankincense of their religion, 
 down to the day when you stretched the 
 hands of sixty thousand freemen over the 
 lonely, exiled Latimer. I know you have 
 been first in war, first in peace, first in the 
 respect which you receive from the civilized 
 world. You have your orators and learned 
 men, your jurists and divines; you have 
 your asylums for every class of the afflict- 
 ed; you have sent out your line of noble de- 
 scent over every part of the land; wherever 
 they have gone, the wilderness and the 
 solitary places have been made glad for 
 them. You have your silent monument.s 
 resting upon the ashes of your heroes, and 
 reminding you that to them liberty was 
 dearer than life. 
 
 When Bonaparte stood among the pyra- 
 mids of the Nile, when his little band were 
 hemmed in on every side, by the gleaming 
 and thirsty spears of the fierce and terrible 
 Mamelukes, four times excelling them in 
 numbers, that sagacious leader pointed to 
 the immense piles around him, and ex- 
 claimed, " From the top of yonder pyra- 
 mids, /or/y centuries are looking down upon 
 you." The victory was speedy and com- 
 plete. From the tops of yonder clouds 
 that overhang this State, 1 can see the 
 good of all ages and nations — the friends 
 of humanity — of virtue and religion — the 
 innumerable company of angels — looking 
 down now, as if unable to enjoy the rest of 
 heaven, upon the course of conduct this 
 State is about to pursue. 
 
 Massachusetts can deliver the blow this 
 year by which slavery and duelling will be 
 stunned, and under which they will wither 
 and die: they will become twice dead, 
 plucked up by the roots. I have as strong 
 an attachment to life as most persons, — as 
 many reasons why I should wish to live; but 
 if the sacrifice of my life would bring out this 
 State from the alliance of blood and cruelty, 
 and put her in the front of the battle for 
 freedom, I should deem it the richest 
 purchase ever made, with a price so small. 
 If conscious of flill preparation to meet the 
 scenes of the future, I would not hesitate 
 a moment to pour out every drop of my 
 blood for the accomplishment of such an 
 object. 
 
 When the empire of the seas was to be 
 decided by the action of an hour in the 
 Bay of Trafalgar, Admiral Collingwood, 
 in the Royal Sovereign, was in front of the 
 van that broke the enemy's line of battle. 
 " How nobly," exclaimed Nelson, "does 
 
that fellow bring his ship head down upon 
 the enemy." If Massachusetts would lead 
 down, not against the South, but against 
 the slaveholdinfT, and the duelling, and the 
 rices of the South, the empire of freedom 
 and the palm of victory would soon be hers. 
 IMaine would feel the blood of her relation- 
 ship soon warming her bosom; Vermont, 
 the descendants of Stark and Ethan Allen, 
 have not forgotten who their fathers were; 
 New Hampshire, hard to move, would in- 
 evitably be drawn along; the great empire 
 State would soon lay her giant hands upon 
 the pillars of oppression; Ohio, with the 
 strength of a young Hercules, would be all 
 but first in the onset, and slavery would be 
 "dwarfed" and dwindled; it would pine 
 away and die; and liberty would be pro- 
 claimed throughout the land unto all the 
 inhabitants thereof. 
 
 And now I solemnly put the question to 
 every voter in this State, " Wilt thou help 
 the ungodly .^" Will you, by voting for a 
 slaveholder, vote that tliousands of men 
 shall continue to be deprived of that very 
 light which you are now exercising and 
 which you esteem above price, the right of 
 voting for your own rulers? God hath set 
 the nations of the earth in famili^; and 
 will you vote that one-sixth of the inhabit- 
 ants of this land shall never be protected 
 in these endearing relations? Think ol* 
 your own fireside. Fix your eye upon the 
 
 hour of evening prayer. Parents and 
 children are gathered around the family 
 Bible: — 
 
 " The priest-like father reads the sacred page, 
 How Abram was the friend of God on high. 
 
 Perhaps the Christian volume is the theme ; 
 
 How guiltless blood for guilty man was shed ; 
 How he who bore in heaven the second name, 
 
 Had not on earth whereon to lay his head ; 
 Then kneeling down to heaven's eternal king, 
 
 The saint, the father, and the husband prays. 
 From scones like these [New England's] 
 
 grandeur springs, 
 And makes her loved at home, revered abroad." 
 
 And will you vote that such scenes shall 
 never be spread abroad over the South? 
 They never can be while slavery is there. 
 Will you look upon your son, and then 
 vote to send the first born from the bosom 
 of its mother? Will you open your Bible, 
 the chart of eternity, and then vote that 
 millions of immortal souls shall never read 
 its pages? Will you go from week to 
 week into the sanctuary, and then vote 
 that millions shall have no fixed tabernacle 
 nor ujinistering priest? \\ ill you go on in 
 the path to heaven, and then bar up the 
 way against the poor crushed slave? Will 
 you carry that vote to the bar of God and 
 present it among the evidence of your title 
 to eternal life? "Inasmuch as ye did it 
 not to one of Ihesc [poor siijjeving slaves] 
 ye did it not to me." 
 
PROCIAMATIO.N 
 
 FOR A 
 
 DAY OF PUBLIC FASTING, HUMILIATION AND PRAYER. 
 BY HIS EXCELLENCY GEORGE N. BRIGGS, 
 
 GOVERNOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 The observance of days of public fasting 
 and prayer has been sanctioned by our 
 ancestors, from the earliest history of our 
 commonwealth. 
 
 Such a practice becomes dependent and 
 sinful beings. Impressed with its fitness 
 and importance, I do, with the advice and 
 consent of the council, appoint THURS- 
 DAY, THE FOURTH DAY OF APRIL 
 NEXT, to be observed by the good people 
 of this commonwealth as a dciy of Fast- 
 ing, Humiliation and Prayer. I call 
 upon all classes, and earnestly invite them, 
 to abstain from their usual avocations, and 
 from the indulgence in recreations and 
 amusements, during the day. And I re- 
 spectfully request the ministers of the gos- 
 pel, and the people of the various religious 
 denominations to which they belong, to 
 meet in their several places of public Avor- 
 ship, and sincerely devote themselves to 
 the solemn and appropriate duties of such 
 an occasion. 
 
 Let us with one accord humbly approach 
 the Supreme Ruler and Judge of heaven 
 and earth; and whilst with contrition of 
 soul, we acknowledge and confess our past 
 sins and ingratitude, and implore their for- 
 giveness " through the merits of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ," devoutly sup- 
 plicate his merciful regard for the future. 
 
 Let us pray to him that he would have 
 compassion upon our infirmities, and deal 
 kindly with us, as he did with our fathers 
 in days that are past, that we may be so 
 guided by the Holy Spirit, that " taking 
 heed to our ways, we may apply our hearts 
 unto wisdom;" that he would give us 
 peace, health, and preserve to us our pre- 
 cious institutions, and impart to us under- 
 standing, from time to time, to make such 
 improvements as may be best for us; that 
 he would give us success and prosperity 
 in all the branches of industry and busi- 
 
 ness in which we are honestly engaged, 
 upon the land and upon the sea; that 
 wealth, and learning, and talents may be 
 properly directed; and that labor may re- 
 ceive its just reward; and the poor, the 
 widow, and the fatherless, be remembered 
 and visited in mercy; that a love of justice, 
 moderation, and order, may pervade the 
 hearts of our citizens; that Christians of 
 all denominations may possess, in an emi- 
 nent degree, the spirit of the Divine Mas- 
 ter whose name they bear, and exhibit its 
 fruits in works of honesty, charity, broth- 
 erly kindness, and good will; that all the 
 efforts which are making to extend the 
 cause of human freedom, of virtue, and of 
 temperance, to disseminate amongst the 
 whole family of man the peaceful doctrines 
 of the gospel of the Son of God, may meet 
 the approbation and' receive the favor of 
 our Father in heaven. 
 
 Let us invoke the blessing of God upon 
 the people of all the States of this great 
 Union, and pray that he would give them 
 a spirit of Christian patriotism and forbear- 
 ance, and inspire their hearts with a re- 
 spect and reverence for the constitution 
 made by their fathers, and under which 
 they have so long prospered, and so direct 
 their ways, that their best interests, honor, 
 and happiness, may be permanently pro- 
 moted, by their continuing to be free and 
 United States. 
 
 Given at the Council Chamber in Boston, 
 this tirst day of March, in the year of 
 our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and forty-four, and of the independence 
 of the United States the sixty-eighth. 
 GEORGE N. BRIGGS. 
 By His Excellency the Governor, with the 
 advice and consent of the Council. 
 
 John G. Palfrey, Secretary. 
 
 God save the commomvealih of Massachusetts ! 
 
 PRINTED BY LEAVITT & ALDEN, 7 CORNHILL, BOSTON PRICE, $1 PER 100. 
 
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