Address to Christians of all denominations, on the inconsistency of admitting slave-holders to...

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ADDRESS

TO

CHBUSPIANS

OF ALE DENOMINATIONS,

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INCONSISTENCY OF ADMITTING
-SLAVE-HGLDERS:
TO

COMMUNION AND CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.

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“He that stealeth a man, ‘and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he
shall surely be put to death.”—-Exodus xxi. 16.

*T know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right
ef the poor.”--Psalms clx. 12.

PHILADELPHIA :
S.C. Atkinson, Printer.
12 Hudson’s Alley.
1831.

rt

Tue merit of originating the following treatise is due
to Ebenezer Dole, a benevolent citizen of Hallowell,
Maine, who, from a thorough conviction of the iniquity
of slavery, and its utter inconsistency with the precepts
of the gospel, was induced to remit fifty dollars to the
Pennsylvania Society for promoting the Abolition of Sla-
very, &c. to be awarded to the writer of the best essay
on the following subject: ‘The Duty of Ministers and
Churches, of all denominations, to! avoid the stain of
Slavery, and to make the holding of slaves a barrier to
communion and church membership.”? ‘Three members
of the Pennsylvania Society were named by the donor
to examine the essays offered, and decide upon their
merits. Notice of the offered premium was given in the
papers of this city, and copied into others at a distance;
and six months were allowed, from the date of the notice,
for the production of essays. The committee of three,
after examining those received, awarded the premium to
Evan Lewis, the author of the following treatise, which
is published by order of the Society. It is submitted to
the candid and impartial examination of ministers and
professors of religion, of every denomination, with an
ardent desire that they may seriously consider the great
responsibility that rests upon them, as Christians, to ex-
ert their influence in the cause of suffering humanity,
that the dark and portentous cloud which hangs over our
country may be dispelled by the peaceable, but powerful,
agency of christian principles.

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ADDRESS TO CHRISTIANS.

Tue state of slavery in the United States is so totally
at variance with the genius of our free institutions, and
so repugnant to the spirit and design of the christian re-
ligion, that nothing but habit and a long familiarity with
the corrupt system, could reconcile republicans to its
existence. Its toleration, in this country, presents so
broad a contrast between profession and practice, that
wise and good men behold the example with grief and
astonishment. :.

When about to enter on the examination of the ques-
tion of slavery, for the purpose of exhibiting its incon-
sistency with the precepts of the christian religion, the
following questions are naturally suggested:—What is
the condition implied by the word slavery, in this con-
nexion? What is the nature and character of that sys-
tem which we are about to examine?

“Negro Slavery. What term was ever more familiar to
the public ear, and yet what term is so little understood:
It has been the theme of many eloquent public speeches,
_ of many parliamentary debates, and of much controversy,
at different periods, in pamphlets and periodical prints.
Yet, were a mind new to the subject to inquire, what is
specifically and practically that state of man, about which
so much has been said and written; what is that slavery
which exists in the United States and the West Indies, I

A2

6

know not in which of the many able arguments before
the public, an adequate answer would be found.’”*

There is, perhaps, no word in the English language
which has been used more indefinitely, or applied more
variously, than that of slavery. It has been applied to
civil disabilities, and to mental degradation. The repub-
lican considers all those who are the subjects of despotic
governments, in a state of slavery. ‘The Christian mo-
ralist applies the same appellation to the controlling in-
fluence of the passions, to the subjects of pernicious
habits and sinful propensities; while the historian adopts
the same term to designate the kind of servitude that
existed among the nations of antiquity, which differed as
widely from the slavery to which our attention is now
directed, as the civil condition of the people of the United
States does from that of the subjects of the Russian
empire. r

To define it accurately, or to give an adequate idea of
the precise condition implied by the word in the present
essay, will not be so easy as might be supposed. Yet,
some attempt to portray, in its genuine colours, and dis-
tinctive features, the state of negro slavery in this coun-
_ try, seems necessary to a right estimate of the merits of
the question to be discussed.

£¢ Negro slavery, as existing in the United States and
British West Indies, appears to be acreature su generis,
unknown to the ancients; and, though drawn from the
least cultivated quarter of the globe, unknown even there,
except ina passing state.”’{ It is a system that finds no
counterpart in the annals of the most barbarous nations
on earth. In many of its features it is more arbitrary,
more oppressive, more cruel and degrading, than the ser-
vitude found among the ancients. Slavery in the United
States and the West Indies, is the same invits general
features and character; and the observations that apply
to the one, will be, in most cases, equally applicable to
the other.

‘<The leading idea in the negro system of jurispru-
dence, (in the West Indies,) is that which was first in the

*Stephen. t African Observer.

7

minds of those most interested in its formation; namely,
that negroes were property. They were not regarded as
rational or sentient beings, capable of rights; but as
chattels, the civil character of which was absorbed in
the dominion of the owner.’”*

“« Slavery was introduced and established in the colo-
nies in a manner very different from that which is com-
monly supposed. It was not there originally derived
from, nor is it yet expressly sanctioned or defined by any
positive laws;—it stands, for the most part, on the au-
thority of custom alone.”

“This custom, though it sprang from the imaginations
of the most illiterate, as well as the most worthless of
mankind, had two qualities of the sublime: it was terri-
ble and it was simple. Its single, but comprehensive idea
was, ‘that the slave is the absolute property of the master ;’
from which the Buccaneers, though no expert logicians,
had clearly deduced the consequence, that they might
treat their negroes, in all respects, as they pleased; for,
‘a man,’ they naturally argued, ‘ may do what he will with
his own.’ +

The same idea prevails in regard to the negro slave of
the United States. He is treated in all respects as chat-
tels, the property of the master—subject to seizure and
sale for the payment of his debts—liable to be separated
from all that he holds dear in life, and sold to a stranger,
and transported to a distant region, without his consent.
Husbands and wives may be torn asunder; parents and
children may be separated, at the will and caprice of the
owner. ‘The strongest ties of nature, and the most en-
dearing associations of home and of kindred may be
-severed; and for these abuses of power the slave has no
legal redress. He is doomed to hopeless and intermina-
ble servitude, and transmits this humiliating condition to
his posterity for ever.

The servile condition among the ancients was essen-
tially different in its character from the state of negro
slavery. The two conditions have scarcely any thing

* Reeves on the Colonial Slave Laws.
t Stephen. ~

8

common, but the name. 'The Helots of Sparta could not
be sold beyond the bounds of their little state. ‘‘ They
were the farmers of the soil at fixed rates which the pro-
prietor could not raise without dishonour. Hence they
had the power of acquiring wealth.”* They were the
servants of the state rather than of individuals. ‘* At
Athens, where the lenient treatment of slaves was pro-
verbial, the door of freedom was widely open; and those
who were unlucky enough to meet a cruel master, might
fly to the temple of Theseus, from whence they were not
taken without~an investigation of their complaints. If
the ill treatment was found to be real, they were either
enfranchised or transferred to merciful hands.”t The
slaves of the island of Crete exchanged situations with
their masters, once a year, at the feast of Mercury; and
cruelty and injustice were prohibited by law. The Egyp-
tian slave might flee to the temple of Hercules, and find
safety from the cruelty and persecution of his master.
Among the Romans, the authority of the master over the
servant was regulated by the same laws as that of the
father over his son, with this difference in favour of the
servant, that if he were once manumitted, he ever after-
wards remained free; while the father might sell his son
a second and a third time into slavery.

The servile class among the ancients were often supe-
rior in intellectual attainments to their masters. They
were not restrained, by law or usage, from the acquisi-
tion of knowledge; neither were they excluded from the
privilege of giving testimony, even against their masters.
When cruelly treated, they had a right to prefer their
grievances to the civil authorities, and the magistrates
were bound to hear and redress their wrongs. —

But the negro slave of the United States is deprived of
all these advantages. - He has no rights of hisown; they
are all merged in the dominion of his master. Heisnota
competent witness against a white person; has no tribunal
to which he can legally resort for justice; no asylum to
which he may flee from cruelty and persecution, and find
safety. He is, in most cases, no better than an outlaw

* African Observer. t Stephen

q

9

in the midst of a civilized and christian community; de-
prived by legislative enactments of the advantages of
intellectual culture; debased and brutalised by a system
the most odious and revolting to humanity that the world
ever beheld; and stigmatised as unworthy of the common
rights of man, because of the degradation which this
system must necessarily produce. These, then, are some
of the features which distinguish the servile condition
known among heathen nations, from the absolute and
hopeless slavery of the African race, in this christian
country—this land of liberty and equal rights—this asy-
lum for the oppressed of all nations. It is against a sys-
tem of wrongs the most wanton—of oppression the most
galling and degrading to human nature, that the christian
minister and christian societies are called upon to bear
_ their testimony to the world. What theme can be more
suited to the functions of a christian minister, than’ such
a combination of wrongs and injuries, of cruelty and in-
justice? What moral pestilence more deserving the
interposing influence of christian ministers to check its
ravages? Let them, like the mitred Israelite, place
themselves between the living and the dead, and stay the
* plague.

It has been said, in palliation of negro slavery, that the
law of Moses recognized and sanctioned the practice of
holding slaves. Such an argument would be more con-
sistent in the mouth of a Jew than a Christian. Are we
to turn from the precepts and authority of our Lord and
Master, to the rituals of the Mosaic law which he came.
to fulfil and to abolish? Shall we leave the dispensation
of the gospel, ant go back for authority to that dispensa-
tion wach was permitted only till the time of reforma-
tion:

But granting, for the sake of argument, the civil pro-
visions of the law of Moses to be obligatory upon us, the
advocates of negro slavery would gain nothing by the ad-
mission. For we have already shown that the latter has
no parallel in ancient history. If the comparatively mild
system of servitude which existed among the Hebrews
and the neighbouring nations, was sanctioned by the Jew-

: 10

ish law-giver, does it follow that the more cruel and de-

basing bondage in which the negro race are held in the ©
United States, would also have been tolerated? The
many humane provisions contained in the law, in favour —
of the bond servant, prove the contrary—provisions which,
if admitted into our code, would be found incompatible
with the present system. That of Deuteronomy, xxiii. 15 —
and 16, would alone be sufficient to put an end to slavery
in this country, and proves the mildness of servitude
among the Hebrews. ‘‘ Thou shalt not deliver unto his ©
master the servant which is escaped from his master unto

thee; he shall dwell with thee, even among you in that

place which he shall choose, in one of thy gates where

it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.” Again:

The penalty for man-stealing, by the 21st chapter of
Exodus, verse 16th, is death. ‘And he that stealeth |
a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he

shall surely be put to death.”” ‘The crime is ranked in

immediate connexion withthe capital offence of smitimg

or cursing father or mother, and the same punishment is

awarded to each. ‘The 26th and 27th verses of the same

chapter ordains, that ‘‘if a man smite the eye of his ser-

vant, or his handmaid, so that it perish; or if he smite

out his servant’s tooth, he shall go free for the eye, or the

tooth’s sake.’”* Besides, an effectual limit is put to that

species of servitude practised among the Hebrews, in the

25th chapter of Leviticus, verse 54, which provides that

the servant shall go out free in the year of Jubilee, “both

he, and his children with him.” This provision is gene-

fal, and applies to all servants, without distinction or na-

- tion, country or religion. But the Hebrew servant was

to be free at the end of six years, the utmost limit

of his servitude, which the law provides. ‘“‘ And if thy

brother, an Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold
unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh

year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when

thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let

him go away empty. Thou shalt furnish him liberally

out of thy flock, and out of thy flour, and out of thy wine-

press,”? &c. (See Deut. xv. 12 to 14.) ’

ii

If the Mosaic law is to’be resorted to in justification
of slavery, let us take the whole of it as it was given by
the inspired law-giver; and let not the hapless servant be
deprived of its lenient provisions in his favour. If we are
to be Jews and not Christians, let us at least be consist-
ent Jews, and conform literally to all the instructions of
our law-giver.

_ Do we look for any palliation, much less authority, for
the practice of slavery in the precepts of the gospel? We
shall search in vain. The religion of Jesus Christ teaches
_ us to do good for evil—to forgive even our enemies—to
do in all cases to others as we would wish that they should
do unto us—to love the Lord our God with all our heart
and our neighbour as ourselves. |

The gospel dispensation was announced to the Jews in
the fulfilment of the declaration of the prophet Isaiah:
“‘'The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the
_ Lord hath anointed me to preach glad tidings unto the
meek: he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captwes, and the opening: of the pri-
_ son to them that are bound.’’—Isaiah |xi. 1.—Luke iv. 18.
And the spirit and precepts of the Christian religion are
in harmony and accordance with this first public testimo-
ny of our Lord. If we fulfil the injunction of our reli-
. gion, to do.to others as we would wish them to do unto
us—if we love our neighbour as ourselves, can we con-
_ sign him and his posterity to hopeless and interminable
_ slavery? Nay, are we not walking in the footsteps of
. the Scribes and Pharisees, who bound heavy burdens

upon men’s shoulders, and would not move them with one
of their fingers? And if we thus actively and knowingly
violate the precepts of the gospel, and the commands of
Jesus Christ, can we be Christians? Can we with any
colour of justice call ourselves the disciples of Him who
came to preach deliverance to the captive, and the open-
ing of the prison doors to them that were bound?
ut the case of Onesimus has been “alleged to give
an implied sanction to negro slavery,”’ because Onesimus
was a slave, and he was sent back to his master, a chris-
tian convert, without any injunction to alter his condition.

12.

To this it has been replied, that christianity, in this, as
in many other cases, has provided, without express pre-
cepts, a sure and inoffensive corrective of all oppressive
institutions, by the gradual influence of its liberal and be-
nignant maxims; which did, in point of fact, dissolve the
bonds of slavery in most parts of the christian world.—
Hence, it is assumed on the one hand, and admitted on
the other, that the state of Onesimus was substantially the
same with that of negro slavery; an assumption without
any evidence, and grossly contrary to the fact. And un-
til it is shown by something stronger than the coincidence
of a vague general appellation, that the case of Onesimus
and that of negro slavery are in moral considerations
the same, it is false reasoning to infer the lawfulness of
the one, from the supposed toleration of the other.” —

If, then, the negro slavery of the United States and the
West Indies has no parallel in the practice of the nations
of antiquity—if the servitude which existed among the
ancients, was gradually abolished in Europe by the ope-
ration of the mild but effectual influence of christianity—
and if the modern system of negro slavery finds no sup-
port in the scriptures, either of the Old or New Testa-
ment, and is directly at variance with the spirit and de-
sign of the gospel of Christ, how can christian societies,

and christian ministers absolve themselves from the duty -

imposed upon them by their profession or calling, of en-
deavouring, by every means in their power, to lessen the
evils of slavery, and finally to effect its total abolition ?—
That such a duty is obligatory upon them, scarcely ad-
mits of a doubt. For what are the legitimate objects of
christian societies? The most obvious and important de-
signs of such associations appear to be, to promote the

cause of truth and righteousness in the world—to extend —

the Redeemer’s kingdom among men—to turn people

from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto

God. Can truth be promoted by the toleration of slave-
ry? Can righteousness exist in connexion with wrongs,
injustice and oppression? Can the Redeemer’s kingdom

be extended in the hearts of those who bind heavy bur- |
dens upon their fellow men, which neither we nor our —

|
-|
*|

13

fathers were willing to bear? Can those men be turned
from darkness to light who will not.permit. the slave to be
taught to read the volume of inspiration, while the lash
of the task master is still sounding in their ears? Can
they be rescued from the power of satan, who permit the
dearest ties in nature to be broken by members of reli-
gious societies? Are men’s hearts turned unto the God
of love, who made of one blocd all the families of the
earth, when those who assume. the name of Christians
turn a deaf ear to the cries of the oppressed, and re-
gard not with feelings of compassion the agonizing tears
of the mother, when torn from the offspring of her love?
Can these things be tolerated by the proiessors of that
religion which breathes peace on earth and good will to
all men—which, in its nature and design, is gentle and
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits?

The enormity and magnitude of the evils of slavery in
the United States—its demoralizing tendency upon the
community, where it prevails to ang onencisrehle extent
—and the tremendous and appalling Consequences to this
favoured nation which must result from its continuance,
would furnish ample materials to fill a volume. The
limits of this essay will not permit me to discuss these
points at large. But when we reflect that there are now
little short of two millions of this degraded cast within
our borders, and that their number is rapidly increasing;
in some of the States in a ratio much higher than that of
the white inhabitants,—that there are born in the United
States, annually, about seventy thousand human beings |
in the condition of slaves for life;—the subject demands
the solemn consideration of every christian philanthro-
pist, to mitigate its horrors, and to devise the most effec-
tual means for its extinction.

What means would be better adapted to the end—what
course more consistent with the doctrines and precepts,
the spirit and tendency of the christian religion, than for
religious societies and christian ministers to join heart
and hand for the accomplishment of this important object?
The powerful and extensive influence which religious as-
s0ciations exercise over the minds of the people would

4

14

give efficiency and force to their exertions in the nght-
€ous cause, Every man who reflects coolly on the sub-
ject would feel that their testimony against slavery was
just, and founded in the eternal principles of rectitude and
truth, which the ever varying circumstances of this world
cannot alter. Hence the voice of conscience, on the one
hand, would second the labours of religious instructions
on the other, and the iniquity of slavery would be seen
and felt by all classes of professors. More good would
thus be effected by associating religion with abolition,
(and what association can be conceived more natural,)
than can be accomplished by benevolent individuals alone,
or by abolition societies, or associations of statesmen and
politicians. These are limited and partial in their opera-
tion. ‘They are confined in their influence to small por-
tions of the community, and-cannot so generally, and ef-
fectually influence public opinion, as the united efforts of,
religious Societies. For religion comes home to the feel-
ings, and to the domestic circle of almost every man of
influence in our country. It is the business of every
man’s life to prepare for that state of retribution which
awaits us when done with time. And all are more or less
subject to the influence of those important duties, and
high responsibilities which religion presents for their con-
sideration. Let then the clergy from the pulpit bear a
faithful and fearless testimony against the practice of hold-
ing their fellow creatures in bondage—tet them describe
in the solemn and impressive language of inspiration, the
unlawfulness of the gain of oppression—the sinfulness of
grinding the face of the poor, and causing the objects of
redeeming love to languish in interminable bondage. Let
religious Societies exclude from membership all who will
not emancipate their slaves—let them make it a sine qua
non, in their admission to communion and church fellow-
ship. Let them interpose the powerful agency of religion
tothe further progress of this moral pestilence—let them
plant their standard upon this ocean of bitter waters, and
say, hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and here
shall thy polluted waves be stayed—let them preserve
their own pure camp from the leprosy of slavery, and show

~>

Ee

to the world an bag dote of oh aig philanthropy, which
will be felt and approved by the pious, the benevolent,
and the wise in every section of our country—let them
do all these things, and the curse of slavery will ere long
be removed from our borders.

It is not necessary to define the manner of excluding
slave holders from the advantages of membership in reli-
gious Societies. Each Society has its own code of disci-
pline, or form of church government. If the principle .
should be adopted that the holding of slaves shculd be a
barrier to communion or church fellowship; the mode of
acting would be regulated by the same rules as in other
cases ; of admission or exclusion from membership. The
example of the Society of Friends proves the importance -
of the measure to the cause in general, and its salutary
effects upon the community. It is about seventy years ;
since the Society in this country made it a part of their
discipline that none of their members should hold slaves.

Among the first advocates of the measure in Pennsyl-
vania, were Benjamin Lay aud Ralph Sandiford. These
men may be considered the pioneers in the great and glo-—
rious work of emancipation. ‘They bore a fearless testi-
mony against the slavery of the African race, at a time
when public opinion was opposed to abolition ; ; and we .
have reason to believe that they were instrumental in
opening the eyes of many to the iniquity of slavery. Af
ter them fellowed Lenezet and Woolman in the same
cause—men whose universal philanthropy, and christian
benevolence shone conspicuous in cvery important ac-
tion of their lives. For many years the testimonies of

such men as Lay and Sandiford were received by some of |
their brethren as the ebullitions of fanaticism, or the va-
aries of a heated imagination. But the voice of truth
‘and philanthropy was heard by many with calmness and
‘impartiality. A consciousness of the unlaw‘ulness of hold-
ing mankind in bondage was extended among the mem-
bers—other advocates of the cause of emancipation. were
raised up, and justice at length triumphed in the utter ex-
tinction of slavery in the Society. Benjamin I ay lived to
7 the accomplishment of the desire of his heart—the

16

adoption of a rule of discipline of the yearly meeting of
- Pennsylvania for disowning all those who would not free
their slaves. - When informed of this conclusion, by a.
friend who called to see him for the purpose of giving him
the information, ‘‘The venerable and constant friend and
advocate of that oppressed race of men, attentively listen-
ed to the heart-cheering intelligence, and after a few mo-
ments reflection on what he had heard, he rose from his
chair, and in an attitude of devotional reverence, poured
forth this pious ejaculation; Thanksgiving and praise be
rendered unto the Lord God. After a short pause he ad-
ded—I can now die in peace.”’* He lived but a few
weeks after this event.

From that period to the present time, the Society of
Friends have been proverbial for their opposition to sla~
very. They have revived the subject from year to year
in their annual assemblies. The younger members have
been trained under the influence of a settled aversion to
the system. The testimony against slavery has become
identified with their religion, influencing their habits, and
giving a direction to their actions. The consequence is, that
the whole weight of their influence as a religious associa- -
tion, has been exerted to loose the fetters of the captive.
To this influence, in a great measure, Pennsylvania owes
the honor of having been the first State in the Union to
pass a law for the abolition of slavery. The first act of
legislation, expressly designed for the extinction ofslavery’
was passed by the general Assembly of Pennsylvania
March 1; 1780. The example has been followed succes-
sively by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhede Island, New-
Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey. In five other |
States, slavery is prohibited by the Constitution.

A cursory view of the effects produced by the decided
stand taken by the Society of Friends, agaist the iniqui-—
tious practice of holding mankind in bondage, will be suf-
ficient to show the vast and incalculable influence which
would be brought into action, were the more numerous
bodies of christians in our country to unite their effortsin—
the'same cause. ‘The Methodists have done much in this

* Life of Benjamin Lay,by Roberts Vaux. ,

17

good work. Though they have not fully’ incorporated
abolition with their religion—though they have not in all
cases, made the holding of slaves a barrier to communion
and church fellowship ; yet their preachers have not ceas-
ed to proclaim the important truth, that all men ought of
right to be free. They have often boldly and conscien-
tiously discharged their duty as christian ministers, by
urtraying in glowing colours the sinfulness of slavery.
hey have opened their mouths for the dumb, and plead
the cause of the poor and the oppressed. ‘They have bro-
ken the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of
his teeth. Wherever the influence of this Society has ex-
tended, the cause of the degraded African, has found able
and efficient advocates. Through their means many thou-
sands have been restored to their rights ; and a direction
given to public opinion, in many places, unfavourable to
slavery. It is devoutly to be wished, that they would ad-
vance yet one step further, and cleanse their camp from
the unclean thing that still remains—that they would
make no compromise with slavery, but wash their hands
of the pollution.
Great credit is also due to the Presbyterians in the
Western States. Some of them have laboured with a no-
ble and disinterested perseverence in the cause of eman-
cipation. ‘Their resolution appears to be formed, never
to cease their efforts, until their Society is purged from the
stain ofslavery. Ifthis consummation should be achieved,.
which we ardently hope, and confidently believe will even-
tually crown the labours of those christian philanthropists
who have engaged in the work, the cause of abolition will
acquire a moral force and preponderence in the community
which will be felt in every section of the country.

The Baptists, too, in some parts of the Western States
have taken up the question of slavery as a religious duty,
I regret that my information is so limited in regard to the
labours of these two last named Societies. It appears that
they design to accomplish the total exclusion of slavehold-
ers from communion and church membership in their re-
spective Societies. How far they have progressed in their
endeavours to cleanse their camp from so foul a pollution,

18

I am unable at present to say. But every friend to hu-
manity can join in cordial approbation of their efforts in
the righteous cause, and in the hope that they may per-—
severe until they sce, as did the pious ] ay, their labours
crowned with success—sce of the travail of their sculs,
and be satisi.ed.

Every individual in the community should be encoura- ~
ged to the performance of his duty to the cause of eman-
cipation however small may be his means of usefulness : _
for by individual faith-ulness, great results have often been
produced ; and apparently insignificant causes have scme-
times effected important reformations. Thomas Clarkson
was engaged to devote his life to the cause of abolition,
by being called upon to write a prize essay onthe subject —
ofslavery. “When he first turned his attention to the ques- —
tion to be discussed, he knew not where to begin. He was
totally ignorant of the subject upon which he was about
to write. He was destitute of the means of acquiring the _
knowledge necessary to enable him to discuss the question |
of slavery. He kncw not to whom to apply for informa-
tion, or where to prec ary the necessary | authorities. In
this hopeless condition, he saw in a window, as he passed
along the streets of J ondon, Anthony Benezct’s accoun
of Guinea. He bought the book, and found it to contain —
a clue to all the authorities he required. He engaged in
_ the contest for the prize, and obtained it ; and trom this
small beginning became the principal instrument for the
accompli:hment of the abolition of the British slave trade.
Again. ‘The labours of those who conscientiously enga-
ged in the cause of abolition as a rcligicus duty, gave a
tone to public opinion in the northern and middle states,
which resulted in the enactment of laws for the total ex-
tinction of slavery in those states. ‘To the same cause
may be attributed the ordinance of 1787, by which slayer
has been forever excluded from the States and Terri-
tories North and West of the river Ohio. ‘Their rapid —
and unexampled advance in wealth and population, fully _
establishes the wisdom of the measure.

These, and similar examp les show the importance ofin-
dividual {aithiulncss in the performance of every duty. It ©

19

is by such means that all great and important reformations
of abuses have been effected: for society can only act
efficiently by means of individuals. Let each man labour
in his own particular sphere, and the influence of his exam-
ple will extend to those with whom he is connected in civil
or religious society. And thus organised associations may
be brought to act efficiently in a collective capacity.

Let then every Christian minister, and every religious
association, and each individual member of a religious so-
ciety endeavour to eradicate the stain of slavery trom our
land, by the effectual’ operation of the lenient princi-
ples of Christianity. Let the voice of justice and buman-
ity be heard from every pulpit, and resound from the walls
of every church—let the fiat of universal emancipation be
issued from every Conference, Synod, and General As-
sembly throughout the country,—let the pious associations
of the present age, for distributing the Scriptures, and
communicating a knowledge of the Christian Retigion to
distant regions, proclaim freedom to the captive, and the
work will, ere long, be accomplished. Slavery will soon
cease to be a curse upon our country, and a disgrace to
our nation. ‘Then will the blessing ofhim that was ready
to perish, come upon us, and the soul of the emancipated
slave will be made to sing for joy.

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