The unanimous remonstrance of the Fourth Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn., against the policy of the American Tract Society on the subject of slavery

THE

UNANIMOUS REMONSTRANCE

FOURTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,

HARTFORD, Conn,,

AGAINST THE

ON

THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY

X

HARTFORD:

FOUNDRY OF SILAS ANDRUS & SON.
1855.

f£|F~ SOLD BY SILAS ANDRTJS AND SON. AT $1 50 PER HUNDRED.

res. 75?^.}? rt0.

At a meeting- of the Fourth Congregational Church of Hartford.
Ct., held Nov. 23d, 1854, it was voted unanimously to appoint a Com-
mittee of three to investigate the facts connected with the policy pur-
sued by the American Tract Society on the subject of Slavery. The
Pastor, (Rev. Wm. W. Patton,) John Hooker, Esq. and Mr. Milo
Doty were constituted the Committee.

This Committee, at a subsequent meeting, which was very fully at-
tended, recommended to the Church the accompanying form of a letter
of remonstrance to the Officers and Directors of that Society, which
was unanimously adopted, and a copy ordered to be forwarded to each

Officer and Director, and to be published in so many of the religious
newspapers as might be willing to insert it.

Attest, Wm. W. Patton,

Pastor and Clerk.

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE:

TO THE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

OF

THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.

Brethren : — The eminent civil and religious position
which many of your number hold, combined with your
well-known interest in the cause of piety and philanthropy,
induce us to address you, and through you the Christian
community, with respect to certain relations and influences
of the national benevolent society over which you preside.
It is scarcely necessary for us to express our approbation
of the object for which the American Tract Society was
instituted, and which it has for more than a quarter of a
century so successfully pursued. The fact that some of
us are numbered among its life-members and life-directors,
and that as a church we have for many years contributed
to its funds and aided in the distribution of its publications,
is evidence of our sentiments on that point. We have
believed the circulation of a religious literature common
to all evangelical Christians and selected from among the
productions of the most eminent living and departed authors,
to be an agency for good, both at home and abroad, with
which the church could not wisely dispense. It has been
our gratification, also, to observe the wisdom and pro-
priety with which the operations of the society have in
most respects been conducted, so that its efforts and success
have surpassed those of any other benevolent publication
society. The selection of books and tracts has been highly

4 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

judicious, the style of publication in mechanical respects
has been eminently chaste and attractive, and there have
been displayed on the part of those entrusted with its man-
agement, a business tact and energy which would have
done credit to the most noted secular establishments. En-
tire perfection of method and policy during an extended
work of twenty-nine years, the society would not claim,
nor would we flatteringly ascribe. We have reason, also,
to believe and affirm, that the operations of the society have
been blessed of God to the production of the happiest
Christian results in our own land and in foreign countries.
The private Christian and the pastor, the home missionary
and the foreign missionary, have felt themselves strength-
ened by its influence and have welcomed it as a most suc-
cessful auxiliary ; while multitudes both on earth and in
heaven praise God for the agency which, by his direction,
it had in their conversion. How, then5 could we feel other
than the deepest interest in the continued prosperity of such
an organization ?

It is the fact of such an interest, coupled with our regard
for other aspects of the cause of Christ, that induces us to
address you, the honored Officers and Directors of this
honored society, upon a subject closely connected with its
appropriate object and its future prospects. We come
forward with friendly interest to offer a criticism upon one
feature of its policy, upon which we and others have looked
with pain, and which we desire to see give place to a course
of action more in harmony with what we humbly conceive
to be the spirit of the Gospel, the design of the society as
described in its constitution, the aspects of Providence, and
the growing desire of a large portion of the individuals and
churches which have supplied the society's treasury with
such ample funds.

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE, 5

It can scarcely have escaped your observation, as you
have mingled with Christian circles and have perused the
contents of religious newspapers, that evidences of discon-
tent have manifested themselves with regard to the policy
which has been pursued by the American Tract Society
upon the subject of American Slavery — a subject which
for many years has agitated church and state, and is likely
to engross the attention of God's people in a still greater
degree in time to come. As it is possible, however, that
your attention has not been sufficiently turned to this point,
you will pardon our more particular reference to it.

First of all, we may bear our personal testimony to the
fact. From intercourse with fellow-Christians, both min-
isters and laymen, dwelling in all parts of the free states,
we know that such a feeling as the one just indicated, ex-
tensively prevails ; that it is rapidly on the increase ; that
while embracing not a few of the mature and experienced,
it is fast possessing the minds of the younger portion of the
ministry; and that it is absolutely necessary that some-
thing should be speedily done to meet and pacify it. This
topic is gradually forming a prominent subject of conver-
sation in ministerial and laic circles, and the leaven of dis-
content is working beneath the surface to a degree which
the various officers and managers of the society do not
suspect.

We next advert to the fact that this feature of the policy
of the society is engaging the attention of local churches,
whose members are forming and preparing to express their
opinions. The action of the Congregational church in
Manchester, Conn. — one of the most staid, intelligent, and
influential churches of this vicinity — published in the Reli-
gious Herald of the 19th ult., is an indication of a feeling
which will ere long manifest itself somewhat generally

6 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

among the churches of New England. This action in the
Manchester church was unanimous. After expressing
" deep and tender interest in the American Tract Society
as an institution of great usefulness," and concluding to
forward a contribution for the present year, though de-
creased in amount as we understand, the church condemned
"the policy of the society to maintain perfect silence on the
subject of American Slavery, as wrong, and calculated, if
persisted in, to alienate many of its most efficient friends,
and to cause them, however reluctantly, to withdraw their
confidence and support."

As another indication of Christian opinion, we refer to the
fact that the two newspapers most widely circulated and
ably edited among the Congregationalists in the Eastern
and Middle states — to wit : the Congregationalists at Bos-
ton, and the Independent, at New York — have repeatedly
and pointedly condemned the policy referred to, in which
numerous smaller papers at the East and West concur,
besides the able and influential Quarterly known as the
New Englander — altogether representing a wide-spread
sentiment through the free states.

Moreover, the subject has engaged the attention of the
ecclesiastical bodies of the North somewhat generally, but
especially among the Congregationalists, from whom larger
donations, it is believed, flow into your treasury than from
any other denomination. Some of these bodies have refused
to take action on the subject ; but, even in such cases, large
and influential minorities appeared. Others have delayed
action until another year, for the purpose of inquiry and
consideration. SeveraV have expressed their views de-
cidedly in opposition to the course pursued by the society,
and we will briefly refer to the action of those whose
record of proceedings happens to be at hand. About two

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 7

years since, the Congregational Union of Fox River, 111.,
adopted a letter of remonstrance to your society on this
subject, ably discussing the principles applicable to it, and
stating that "good men can give but a hesitating support
to institutions of powerful but defective influence," to which
Rev. R. S. Cook, one of your secretaries, replied, defend-
ing the society's policy. After a careful consideration of
this reply, the Union reaffirmed their sentiments, and de-
clared themselves unconvinced by the secretary's logic.

In 1853, the General Association of Massachusetts
passed the following vote nearly or quite unanimously :

"Resolved, That while the General Association of Mas-
sachusetts entertain a profound regard for the large pub-
lishing societies, and rejoice in the great good they are
accomplishing, they would express an earnest desire that
these societies would not make the subject of slavery an
exception in their efforts to rid the world of all iniquity by
diffusing throughout it an evangelical literature, but would
set forth in their publications the sentiments of our com-
mon Christianity on the enormous sin of slavery, with the
same freedom and faithfulness with which they exhibit and
rebuke all other sin."

The present year the subject again came up, and a com-
mittee was appointed to confer with the delinquent societies.

The attention of the General Association of New York
was also called at its recent meeting to the same defect,
and a committee was raised to report upon it the en-
suing year.

The General Association of Michigan appointed a com-
mittee in 1853, to examine and report upon this matter,
which they did at the meeting the last summer, severely
censuring the society. The report was adopted with but a
single dissenting vote. After an earnest address from
Rev. Dr. Bacon, of New Haven, Conn., who was present,

8 letti;r of remonstrance,

and who bore a very decided testimony against the society's
policy, a resolution was adopted, calling upon the society
to do at least so much as to publish a tract composed of
quotations from Scripture bearing on the various elements
of oppression which enter into slavery.

The Council Bluffs Association, of Iowa, at its recent
meeting, on the 12th inst., after expressing their gratifica-
tion that the "American Board " had "decided to treat the
sin of American Slavery as it would treat any other sin
that so directly opposes the evangelization of the world,"
passed the following :

"Resolved, That we long to see the American Tract
Society, and the American Sabbath School Union, and
other benevolent societies, take similar ground."

The Central Association of Illinois have, within a few
weeks, taken action to the same effect.

Not to multiply instances further, suffice it to quote the
following action of. the General Association of Iowa, taken
in June last:

" Resolved, That our confidence in the American Tract
Society and in the American Sunday School Union is
greatly impaired by the course they have taken in ex-
punging anti-slavery sentiments from their publications,
and in refusing to speak out plainly against the sin of
slavery, while they testify freely against every other pre-
vailing sin."

These facts prove, that we do not represent a small, dis-
contented, and insignificant faction, but that a feeling of
displeasure and disgust is spreading rapidly throughout
the North. The words of remonstrance come from every
quarter. The old Puritan state of Massachusetts raises its
voice of protest, and the echo returns to us from the far-off
prairies of Iowa.

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 9

We proceed then to state definitely the grounds of our
dissatisfaction, that you may judge, as those accustomed to
weigh evidence, whether our complaints are reasonable.
In this we have nothing to do with the motives of those who
have managed the society. We are quite willing to allow
that it has been their intention so to administer its affairs as
best to secure the end for which it was instituted. A seri-
ous mistake, however, we do allege, and one of a most
mischievous nature, which, when discovered, it becomes
the society immediately to rectify. However natural and
excusable the original error, persistence in it will shake
public confidence in the wisdom and integrity of the com-
mittee and directors.

I. The first charge which we bring against the society,
is one of suppression. It has in sundry instances sup-
pressed the anti-slavery opinions of authors whose works it
has republished. Those sentences which have condemned
slavery as sinful, have been stricken out. This has been
done not merely by way of general abridgement, but for
the avowed purpose of avoiding the expression of senti-
ments which would be distasteful to slave-holders. Though
the fact is admitted, and you are probably acquainted with
some of the details, yet as many who will see this letter are
not so familiar with them, we will adduce sufficient proof to
exhibit the nature of the suppression alluded to.

It pleased your society to reprint a work of that venera-
ble Boston minister of the Puritan age, the Rev. Cotton
Mather, D. D. — to wit: his "Essays to Do Good" — and in
the preface you declared :

"In this edition, such portions of the original essays are
omitted, and such changes have been made in the phrase-
ology, as might be expected after the lapse of more than a
century since the work was written" —

10 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

language which honestly implied that the changes and
omissions were simply of obsolete phrases and of matter
which had no application to any thing at the present day.
What will the public say of the following alterations and
suppressions on the subject of slavery — a subject which, so
far from being by-gone, never attracted so much and so
necessary attention as at the present time ? On page 44,
Tract Society's edition, occurs this sentence :

"O that the souls of our servants were more regarded
by us ! that we might give a better demonstration that we
despise not our own souls, by doing what we can for the
souls of our servants. How can we pretend to Christian-
ity, when we do no more to christianize our servants?"

By turning to the correct edition of the Massachusetts
Sabbath School Society, page 102, it will be seen that Cot-
ton Mather wrote "slaves" and not "servants" in those
sentences, and that between the two you#have suppressed
these words :

" And not using them as if they had no souls ! That
the poor slaves and blacks which live with us, may by our
means be made the candidates of the heavenly life!"

On the same page, a little below, you have suppressed
an entire paragraph, as follows :

"But if any servant of God may be so honored by him
as to be made the successful instrument of obtaining from
a British Parliament 'an Act for the Christianizing of the
slaves in the plantations,' then it may be hoped something
more may be done than has yet been done, that the blood
of souls may not be found in the skirts of our nation ; a
controversy of heaven with our colonies may be removed,
and prosperity may be restored ; or, however, the honora-
ble instrument will have unspeakable peace and joy in the
remembrance of his endeavors. In the mean time, the
slave-trade is a spectacle that shocks humanity.

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 11

" The harmless natives basely they trepan,
And barter baubles for the souls of men;
The wretches they to Christian climes bring o'er
To serve worse heathens than they did before."

As we do not find this book on your recent lists, and as
your edition was severely criticised a few years since for
doctrinal omissions and alterations, we suppose the offen-
siveness of those doctrinal changes has led to its entire
suppression.

There is a curious fact in connection with the different
editions to which we may properly refer. After its publi-
cation by the author, the* work remained out of print, we
believe, till issued in England, under the editorship of Rev.
Mr. Burder, who undertook to modernize the phraseology.
When he came to the passages above, he omitted them,
stating, however, in a note at the bottom of the page, that
the author had there made remarks concerning slavery,
which, being happily inapplicable to that country, (Eng-
land,) were omitted. Mr. Burder's edition was followed in
the reprints in this country, all of which inserted his note.
But your edition suppressed the note, and thus left the
reader in ignorance of what the author had done. The
English editor made omissions because they were inappli-
cable to his country ; but you suppress the same passages
because they were applicable to yours!

In the Tract Society's edition of Mary Lundie Duncan,
the following passage, found on page 67 of Carter's edition,
is suppressed :

"We have been lately much interested in the emancipa-
tion of slaves. I never heard eloquence more overpowering
than that of George Thompson. I am most thankful that
he has been raised up. O, that the measure soon to be
proposed in Parliament, may be effectual!"

On page 87 of Carter's edition, is found a reference by

12 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

the biographer, to the departure of " George Thompson, the
eloquent pleader for the abolition of slavery," to visit the
United States to advocate his cause there. That reference
is suppressed, as are also the stanzas, on page 80, which
Mary Lundie Duncan addressed to him upon that occasion,
from which we quote the third and eighth :

"Yet go, heaven-favored hero, go!
Pursue your glorious plan;
Abridge the weight of human woe,
And raise the slave to man.

"Heaven bless your cause! your country's prayers
Attend you o'er the sea!
Go, break the chain that slavery wears,
And bid the oppressed be free."

Again, on pages 108, 107, similar suppressions are found
of phrases which speak of the emancipated slaves in the
West Indies, as " no more degraded lower than the brutes
— no more bowed down with suffering from which there is
no redress," and as now being able to "seek the sanctuary
fearless of the lash," and "to call their children their own."

We hear that the authoress has recently consented to
have the book remain on your list thus altered, rather than
have it wholly suppressed. But why did you not consent to
restore the omitted passages, or at least those which did not
refer to and endorse Mr. Thompson as an individual ?

We learn, moreover, that the author, Mrs. Lundie, while
in this country, was seen by one of your secretaries before
the society republished the work, and though urged to con-
sent to this mutilation, absolutely refused, declaring that
the lines sought to be suppressed, were precious to her for
their sentiment and for her daughter's sake ; that the sec-
retary then reminded her that, as there was no copyright
for it in this country, the society could go on and publish it
in such form as they wished ; and that she replied, that

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 13

she knew she was in their power, and they could do as
they pleased.

The society publish also an edition of J. J. Gurney's
" Habitual Exercise of Love to God ;" but before consenting
to do so, the committee constrained or induced the author,
no doubt by the* plea of greater usefulness, to consent to
suppress the condemnation of slavery which his treatise
contained in its remarks upon love to man. The original
edition reads, page 142 :

"If this love had always prevailed among professing
Christians, where would have been the sword of the cru-
sader? Where the African slave-trade? Where the
odious system which permits to man a property in his
fellow. men, and converts rational beings into marketable
chattels?"

In the Tract Society's edition, page 142, after the first
question, it reads :

"Where the tortures of the Inquisition? Where every
system of oppression and wrong by which he who has the
power revels in luxury and ease at the expense of his fel-
low-men?"

Of such suppressions as these we complain, both on gen-
eral grounds of opposition to all alteration and suppression
of a writer's peculiar sentiments, and also because of the
specific wrong in connection with slavery. You will re-
member the agitation caused a few years since by the dis-
covery that the Tract Society had been guilty of similar
suppressions with reference to doctrinal opinions pro-
pounded in works which it republished, and the virtual
pledge of a different policy for the future which it gave,
and to which we presume it has adhered. The principle
contended for then, covers the case now before us. If the
society does not like the sentiments of the author, it is under
2

14 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

no obligation to republish his works ; but if it does so, his
opinions should stand in their integrity. This is peculiarly
true in a biography, which professes to describe the indi-
vidual as he was. To suppress the allusion to his peculiar
principles or practice, on any point, is to do him injustice and
to defraud the public. And then as to the particular direc-
tion which the policy of suppression has taken in the
instance before us and in those of a like nature, we feel a
special burden of grief; for, if there be any subject with
reference to which the truth which has been once uttered
should not be suppressed, it is American Slavery. If holy
men and women have at any time been outspoken against
this curse and shame of our land, in God's name, let the
fact appear ! There is sufficient power enlisted in its sup-
port, and there are men enough who do and say nothing
for its overthrow. Diminish no influence which is bearing
against it; blot out no condemnation which pious souls
have uttered. To say the least, the appearance of your
suppressions is that of a subserviency to the dictation of
slave-holders, such as no self-respecting men, and last of
all, the conductors of a religious society, should ever evince.
II. Our second and similar charge, is, one of studied
and persistent omission. It has been the deliberate policy
of the Society, in its numerous tracts, volumes, and monthly
papers, not to utter a direct condemnation of the most giant
iniquity of our land. Slavery, which reduces three mil-
lions of fellow-men to property, deprives them of knowl-
edge, takes away from them the Holy Scriptures, makes a
race of heathen in a Christian land, robs them of liberty,
compensation for their labor, the rights of marriage and of
the parental relation ; which sustains an internal slave-
trade, equal in horror to that between Africa and Cuba,
and in fifteen of our states inflicts untold cruelties and per-

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 15

petuates crimes of nameless abomination; slavery, which
corrupts the master, degrades all honest toil, hinders all
public improvement, and is a most formidable obstacle to
education, religion, and the unity of our nation in its eccle-
siastical and political relations — this "sum of all villanies,"
as John Wesley justly termed it, has never been directly
and purposely recognized by the American Tract Society
as a sin deserving distinct discussion and condemnation ! —
And yet its Constitution declares its object to be, uto pro-
mote the interests of vital godliness and sound morality"!
Is it astonishing that men of anti-slavery principles are
beginning to be disgusted with such a policy? The Society
has issued in the course of twenty-nine years some six
hundred distinct tracts, and nearly three hundred separate
volumes of various sizes, in which it has waged a Christian
warfare upon almost every conceivable sin ; and yet its
first distinct, direct, and intended assault is yet to be made
against a sin more than almost any other, open, flagrant,
and ruinous — a sin which is a greater blight and corruption
to our politics, literature, and religion, a greater disgrace
to our country, and a greater hindrance to the universal
triumph of the gospel, than any other practice which can
be named ! By an examination of the titles of the tracts
of the Society — which, however, are a very insufficient
guide to the subjects discussed — we find that the Society
has been outspoken in condemnation of the following vices
and immoralities, to wit: profanity, Sabbath-breaking, use
of intoxicating drinks, covetousness, gambling, breaches of
the seventh commandment, attendance upon the theatre,
dancing, gayety and extravagance in dress, novel-reading,
and sleeping in church. Now these are doubtless grave
sins, and worthy of marked reprobation ; and we would give
due honor to the Society which has placed its condemning

16 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

brand upon them ; but to think that these should have been
selected, and slave-holding omitted! It is this contrast of
treatment which makes the policy of the Society equally
notorious and culpable, bringing upon it by a necessity of
mental association, an application of the words of the
Saviour, "Ye blind guides, who strain at (out) a gnat and
swallow a camel." If the Society did not profess to notice
immoralities, if it avowedly confined itself to an inculcation
of evangelical theological doctrine, the omission in question
would be unnoticed; but when it deliberately enters upon
the work of securing a "sound morality," and proceeds in
numerous tracts to set forth the flagrant wickedness of showy
and expensive dress, of the practice of social dancing, and
of the habit of sleeping in church, and then passes by
American Slavery, the inconsistency is too gross to escape
detection.

We are aware that in some of the earlier publications of
the Society, such as Beecher on Intemperance, the writers,
while discussing other sins, have dropped by a passing
phrase, and, in the way of illustration, an incidental con-
demnation of slavery as sinful, showing that then the Soci-
ety was not so rigid in its policy as now, and corroborating
our statement hereafter made, that formerly there was an
agreement among evangelical Christians as to the iniquity
of the system. We have also perceived with pleasure, that
in the commentaries on the Bible from the pen of Dr. Jus-
tin Edwards, published by the Society, he avoids placing
a pro-slavery construction on any passage, and asserts gen-
eral principles favorable to liberty, though he does not any
where directly condemn slave-holding as sinful. Probably
the officers of the Society are not themselves aware of all
the incidental allusions referred to above, and would scarcely
thank any officious friend who should collect and publish

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 17

them, so that they would meet the eye of the South. Even
under a strict censorship, something will occasionally escape
notice and get into print. '

We cannot, however, regard such trifling and indirect
reflections, occurring in rare instances in the midst of vol-
umes on other subjects, as the discharge of duty, or as
practically affecting the charge of studied omission. Espe-
cially can we not consent that the Society should have
them culled out by agents at the North, and orally stated
as showing an anti-slavery policy in the Society, while
the Secretaries publish to the world that the Society does
not and can not commit itself on this subject. The pol-
icy of the Society must be taken from the official state-
ments of those who manage its affairs. The letter of
Secretary Cook in reply to the Fox River Union, is such a
statement, in which he argues for entire silence on this
subject, and defends it as the policy of the Society.

We contend that such a policy is a wrong to all the
parties concerned. It is a wrong to the slave ; for it with-
holds an influence in his favor, which, if exerted, would be
felt throughout the entire land, and would hasten by years
the advent of his freedom. It is a wrong to the slave-
holder; for it aids to perpetuate his blindness and to con-
firm his sin. It is a wrong to evangelical Christianity ; for
it virtually declares that slavery is not held by evangelical
Christians to be inconsistent with " sound morality." It is
a wrong to the South ; for it is a false friendship, conceal-
ing the disease which is consuming its very vitals. It is a
wrong to the North ; for it subjects the religious literature,
the publication and circulation of which is principally paid
for by Northern money, to the offensive and degrading cen-
sorship of the South. It is a wrong, you will permit us to
add, to your own souls, brethren who conduct the Society ;

18 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

for its tendency is, to induce you to overlook the woes of
the slave, to fellowship the sinning master, and to cultivate
a habit of sophistical reasoning in the endeavor to avoid
unwelcome duty.

We are aware that those who have officially and unoffi-
cially represented the Society, have urged certain grounds
of defence before the Christian public, and as we would
not seem to evade arguments which some have deemed
forcible, we will briefly state and answer those which have
fallen under our notice :

1, It is alleged, that to publish on the subject of slavery,
would be to turn aside from the specific object of the soci-
ety. Were this the case, we should acknowledge the suf-
ficiency of the defence. We would not have the society
undertake a work for which it was not organized. We do
not propose to have it become specifically an anti-slavery
society, any more than an anti-gambling society, or a tem-
perance society. But as it does not shrink from uttering
Christian truth with respect to gambling and intemperance,
as it meets them in the prosecution of its comprehensive
work, so we desire it to make no exception of slavery. The
specific object of the Tract Society, as set forth in its con-
stitution,'is sufficiently general to include all violations of
the moral law, and whatever is offensive to genuine piety ;
for the first article declares, that "the object shall be to
diffuse a knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Re-
deemer of sinners, and to promote the interests of vital god-
liness and sound morality" It would seem in this day of
light, to require no argument to prove that slavery is op-
posed to "the interests of vital godliness," and is inconsist-
ent with " sound morality." But if such be its character,
you are authorized and even required to publish tracts and
volumes in its condemnation.

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 19

2, It is next urged, that another clause of the first article
of the constitution, forbids the circulation of works which
do not meet the approbation of all evangelical Christians,
and that the society, according to article sixth, can publish
nothing to which a single member of the publishing com-
mittee shall object. Hence it is argued, that as slavery is
a disputed topic among evangelical Christians, and as dif-
ferent views would be entertained by different members of
the publishing committee, it is not possible for the society
to make any reference to it. The latter half of this objec-
tion is easily disposed of. Let it once be decided that the
society will issue tracts and volumes on this subject, and it
will be no difficult matter to select a publishing committee
from the different denominations, who will agree upon anti-
slavery works, new or old.

With reference to the former part of the objection, we
would submit certain considerations which we think will
entirely relieve a point which has labored in many candid
minds. There need be no doubtful construction of the
article in question. We rely upon well-established princi-
ples of interpretation. Where the meaning of a written
document is in dispute, that interpretation which harmon-
izes most perfectly with the letter and spirit of the instru-
ment, and which can appeal to uniform and long-continued
practice under it, must necessarily be true ; for it combines
every element of correctness for which any class of inter-
preters, be they loose or strict constructionists, can contend.
To such a test we propose to submit our view of the mean-
ing of that part of the Tract Society's Constitution to which
reference is now had.

The first article reads as follows: "This Society shall
be denominated the American Tract Society, the object of
which shall be to diffuse a knowledge of our Lord Jesus

20 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

Christ as the Redeemer of sinners, and to promote the
interests of vital godliness and sound morality, by the circu-
lation of Religious Tracts, calculated to receive the appro-
bation of all evangelical Christians." That the directors
of the society have not been very rigid in the construction
of this article where favorite ideas were to be carried out,
is evident from the fact that the words "Religious Tracts,"
which have always had a definite meaning as referring to
small unbound pamphlets, have been stretched to include
large bound volumes on the one hand, and monthly news-
papers on the other. Why those who have no scruple in
thus expanding the fundamental idea of the society beyond
the prescribed limits, should suddenly become so conscien-
tious in adhering to the letter of the constitution in other
respects, is not so clear as could be desired. But we are
prepared to appeal to the very letter of the constitution, as
permitting the publication of anti-slavery tracts, even
though some who are evangelical Christians should not
approve of them.

(1.) We contend that the clause in question, refers only
to a doctrinal difference of a theological character, and to
the sentiments of denominations rather than individuals.
Almost every word in the sentence, and every fact in the
origin and relations of the society, demonstrates this. The
design of the society was informally to unite the various
evangelical denominations in the publication of those doc-
trinal and practical tracts which would not come in collision
with the peculiar tenets of any of the associated sects. A
reference to all the explanations of the necessity and design
of the society, contained in the early reports and magazines
and appeals to the public, will prove this. Indeed, the fact
is too notorious for denial. To express this idea was the
intention of the clause in question, and no reference what-

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 21

ever was had to merely practical points in which there
might be and must be differences of judgment among indi-
viduals. The use of the word " evangelical " supports this
idea, for it shows that the founders of the society were
thinking only of avoiding those subjects which divided the
various sects of evangelical Christians, which subjects are
ecclesiastical and doctrinal in their nature, and not ethical
or practical. What peculiar relation has the subject of
slavery to the differences of evangelical Christians? It is
neither a point in dispute between them on the one side,
and heretics on the other, nor is it a dividing line between
any two denominations of themselves. The fact, then, that
the constitution employs the word "evangelical" in the
connection, proves that no reference was had to subjects
of mere practical judgment, but only to those of a doctrinal
nature.

Then again the word "calculated " favors the same view.
The tracts must be " calculated to receive the approbation
of all evangelical Christians;" that is, they must be such
as do not interfere with denominational peculiarities, and
of such a Christian character as should properly commend
them to all true followers of the Lord Jesus. This does
not require that every individual evangelical Christian shall
actually approve every sentiment published by the Society;
which were absurd, and would make your whole enterprise-
impracticable. But it is enough, if the tracts do not theo-
logically offend any evangelical denomination, and if their
inculcations are such as ought to please sanctified minds.
Anti-slavery tracts can easily be supplied, meeting these
reasonable conditions.

All this is further corroborated by the sixth article, which
reads thus: "To promote in the highest degree the objects
of this Society, the officers and directors shall be elected

22 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

from different denominations of Christians; the Publishing
Committee shall contain no two members from the same
ecclesiastical connection ; and no tract shall be published
to which any member of that committee shall object."
Here again the use of the words "different denominations"
and "ecclesiastical connection," proves, that all that was
aimed at in the way of exclusion was, to prevent the pub-
lication of doctrinal or ecclesiastical matter offensive to
denominations as such,

(2.) To make our position invincible, and to show that
these are not after-thoughts of hypercritical minds striving
to extract a given idea from given words, we refer with
confidence to the whole practice of the Society from the
beginning to the present time, as sustaining and illustrating
the distinction which we have made. Take the publica-
tions of the Society, and examine the subjects discussed and
the sentiments propounded. Are they such as secure or
even claim to secure the unanimous verdict in their favor
of "all evangelical Christians" exercising their individual
judgments? Not at all. Far from it. They avoid topics
of doctrinal discussion, but not of difference of practical
judgment as to duty. They do not discuss election, or
baptism, or liturgies, or church government ; but they do
discuss practical points on which "evangelical Christians"
widely differ among themselves, as individuals, and not as
denominations. Thus the Society publishes over twenty
tracts against the manufacture, sale, and use of intoxicat-
ing drinks as a beverage. But "all evangelical Christians"
are not agreed in that position. There is not a denomina-
tion represented in the Society that does not contain mem-
bers and ministers who use such liquors, and defend the
practice from the Bible. Not only so, but to render the
case still more decisive, it will be found, if we go abroad

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 23

and include the old world, that the overwhelming majority
of evangelical Christians reject the sentiments taught by
the Society on that point. The e* evangelical Christians"
of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Switzerland, have
never as a body, or by more than a mere fraction, say one-
tenth of their number, given in their adhesion to the doc-
trine that total abstinence is a Christian duty. A far larger
proportion of evangelical Christians through the world
are opposed to slavery, than are opposed to the use of in-
toxicating beverages. And yet you publish against, the
latter, and refuse to condemn the former! The Society
publishes several tracts against dancing as a social amuse-
ment. Are "all evangelical Christians" agreed in this
view? Ask our Episcopal brethren. Ask the pastors of
the city churches among all the evangelical denominations.
Ask the Christian world in Europe. The sentiments of
many of your tracts on that subject are repudiated by
thousands of "evangelical" families, even among those
who contribute to your funds. The same may be said of
ideas advanced in tracts against card-playing, and other
forms of gambling, Sabbath-breaking, attendance on the
opera and theatre, and novel-reading. No one of them
would receive the approbation of all "evangelical Chris-
tians," and some of them would even be condemned by a
majority. Why then do you publish them? On what
ground do you rest your defence against the charge of
having violated your Constitution from the beginning'?
You must resort to the very distinction which we have
raised. You must claim that these are not topics which
divide evangelical denominations, as such, but only lead to
differences among individuals irrespective of denominations.
The distinction is valid, and we ask you to apply it to the

24 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

subject of slavery. If you attack the sin of slave-holding,
you may come into conflict with individual judgments
among evangelical Christians, but you will cross no denom-
inational lines. No Methodist, nor Episcopalian, nor Pres-
byterian, nor Congregationalist, nor Baptist, as such, will
be wounded. Why then repudiate an interpretation of
your Constitution upon which you have impliedly acted
from the beginning, merely to escape responsibility with
reference to slavery?

(3.) We also insist, that the overwhelming majority of
Christians in this country are so far agreed on this subject
as to allow the publication of numerous tracts in which
they would accord. They might differ as to whether a
voluntary retention of the legal relation of slave-owner
always involved guilt and deserved church discipline, and
they might also disagree as to the best time and method of
emancipation. But they are agreed with respect to the
unrighteousness of the general system as defined and pro-
tected by the slave-code, and\ as sustained by ordinary
practice. They are agreed in the condemnation of the
interna] slave-trade, the separation of parents and children
and husbands and wives by sale, the non-existence of legal
marriage, the exaction of unpaid toil, the use of the lash
and other instruments of torture, the prohibition of other
than oral instruction and consequent denial of the Bible
to the slave, the rejection of colored testimony in the courts,
depriving the slave of all legal protection, and other prac-
tices which enter into American slavery as it is. They
are also united as to the duty and policy of emancipation
in some way, and at as nearly a period as practicable.
Upon each of these points a tract might be written, accord-
ing with the convictions of nineteen-twentieths of the evan-

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 25

gelical Chtistians of the land, and running counter to no
denominational peculiarity.

(4.) We furthermore urge, that such disagreement as
exists upon the topics just mentioned, is entirely of recent
origin, and is owing to the apostacy of the Southern
churches from the common faith of evangelical Christen-
dom ; for extended proof of which fact, we refer to an able
article in the last number of the New Englander, (October,
1854.) from the pen of Rev. Dr. Bacon. In 1818, the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian church unanimously
adopted a very strong expression of their abhorrence of the
whole system, and its ordinary cruelties and wrongs. Not
a minister or layman from the South voted against it, for it
was then Southern as well as Northern evangelical doc-
trine, that slavery is of itself wrong, and should be aban-
doned as speedily as practicable. The sentiment was the
same in other denominations. But since earnest anti-
slavery men have pressed the duty which results from
such a concession, the south have been driven by force of
logic and conscience, either to abandon what they ac-
knowledged to be wrong, or to take a new position, and
deny the wrong. They have chosen the latter alternative,
and in so doing, have apostatized from the universal faith
of Christendom. But is that any reason why the American
Tract Society should refuse to hold on the even tenor of its
way, and abide by the faith of the Christian world? Shall
it refuse to adopt as one of its tracts the unanimous declara-
tion against slavery of the General Assembly of 1818, or
John Wesley's " Thoughts on Slavery" once universally
acceptable, because within twenty years there has been a
wide-spread . apostacy from the evangelical faith in one
section of the land? If so, then if a similar retrogression
of correct sentiment should occur with reference to the
3

26 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

sale and use of intoxicating beverages, the society would
feel bound to strike all its temperance tracts from its list ?
Men of principle ordinarily see in the fact of apostacy
from correct doctrine, an additional reason for proclaiming
the truth. If, then, there was once a universal, and is now
a prevailing sentiment among evangelical Christians against
slavery, then the Tract Society should echo it in their pub-
lications, not swerving from the path of duty because in a
certain section personal interest and the necessity of logical
consistency in evil, have induced professed Christians to
deny what they once admitted.

(5.) Nor is it improper that we should suggest the ex-
ceeding impolicy of the construction which you place upon
the constitution of the society. Its tendency is to drive anti-
slavery Christians from your support, and to make it neces-
sary for them to sustain a new and rival society. We do
not desire such a result, if it can be avoided. But if you
thrust your constitution in our face, and declare that it is
impossible for you to comply with our request, what alter-
native do you leave us, but to withdraw and sustain a more
comprehensive organization ?

3, But it has been contended by some who advocate the
continuance of the policy of silence, that it is really open to
no charge of favoring slavery ; that the society simply ex-
presses no opinion on the subject, but contents itself with
preaching the gospel and thus preparing the way for the
ultimate emancipation of the slave, in the mean time leav-
ing anti-slavery societies to do the work of opposing slavery
specifically. But why not in like manner leave temper-
ance societies to do the whole work of opposing intemper-
ance? Why does the Tract Society also publish tracts
upon that subject? Why does it denounce breaches of the
seventh commandment in its publications, instead of leaving

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 27

the subject of chastity to moral reform societies? Had the
society refused to publish on those points, would it not have
been charged with withholding the truth? Where a sub-
ject meets us in the field of our operations, we cannot evade
it without practically assuming a part in the controversy.
Hence, Christ said, "He that is not with me is against me,
and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." The
slave and his friends can say the same. You meet the sin
of slavery in the direct prosecution of your work of "pro-
moting the interests of vital godliness and sound morality."
Your publications go where it prevails. Two hundred and
fifty of your colporteurs labor in the midst of it. You are
thus necessitated to take a stand for or against it. If you
are silent on the subject, that is regarded as tantamount to
a tacit approval or friendly toleration, especially as the
mean while you are performing acts of fellowship with
those who are guilty of the sin, and are thus endorsing their
Christian character and standing. In this manner you omit
an influence for humanity which you are bound to exert,
and throw the weight of your position as a great national
Christian society into the scale of slavery.

It is sometimes attempted to compare your relation to
the subject with that of the Bible Society ; but they are
quite different. The Bible Society has for its single object
to publish and distribute the Bible without note or comment.
Its naked work is to circulate Bibles. It seeks to proclaim
no truth in any other way. But the Tract Society aims at
the very thing which the Bible Society leaves untouched,
viz : the inculcation of specific moral and religious truth,
or the application of the general doctrines and precepts of
the Bible to the circumstances of men. And yet even the
Bible Society may so conduct its cause as to connive at
slavery. Jf, for instance, it refuses to give the Bible to

28 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

such slaves as can read it, and if it refuses to condemn the
laws which prohibit the teaching of slaves to read God's
Word, then it proves recreant to duty by not opposing
slavery as it is met in the prosecution of the legitimate work
of the society. We contend that a benevolent society is
bound equally with individuals, to do all the good and re-
move all the evil that it can, in its natural sphere of action.
As therefore slavery lies directly in your path, for your
society not to notice it, is deliberately to avoid duty, and
like the priest and Levite, to "pass by on the other side,"
leaving your robbed and wounded "neighbor" to perish.
And will not Christ say, " Inasmuch as ye did it not to one
of the least of these, ye did it not to me?" The omission
of good is the commission of evil, an act of disobedience to
the command, " As therefore ye have opportunity, do good
unto all men." Vain is the thought of evading respon-
sibility.

* * * " Fatal mistake ! the dread account proceeds,
And our not doing is set down among our vilest deeds."

4. But lastly, it is argued in defence of the Society's
past and present policy, that to publish any thing against
slavery would result in the exclusion of the Society's
agents and publications from the Southern States; that thus
multitudes would be left without the gospel in any form, as
no part of the land is more destitute of the means of grace ;
so that without benefitting the slave, the gospel would be
taken from the poor whites, and also from the free colored
population, sacrificing a real and present good to a mere
abstract principle. This, we have reason to believe, is
relied upon as the strong argument in opposition to the
views which we present. That it is but a broken reed
upon which to lean, can be easily demonstrated.

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 29

First, let us inquire whether the position thus taken in
apparent defiance of the obligations which Christian prin-
ciple imposes, is not an adoption of the maxim, " Let us do
evil that good may come " ? We have proved that the
object of the Society, the claims of religion and humanity,
and a sense of consistency, require you to attack slavery
as you would any other prevailing sin. Is it then a suffi-
cient answer, to affirm that to do so would embarrass the
Society, and create opposition ? Is it Christian, or is it
Jesuitical — is it like Paul, or is it like Ignatius Loyola — to
consent to suppress part of the gospel in order to preach
the remainder? If there be a plain duty of rebuke owed
to the slave-holder, and of compassion and aid owed to the
slave, then no possible anticipation of success can justify
the neglect of that duty. The apostle declares that "the
damnation is just" of all who act upon the corrupt princi-
ple of doing evil that good may come. The prior question
of duty, growing out of the unchangeable and impartial
law of love, must be decided, before the claims of a low
expediency can have a hearing.

We cannot but regard the principle thus avowed in de-
fence of your policy, as corrupting in the highest degree.
If consistently carried out, it would lead missionaries to
China to avoid condemning the use of opium • missionaries
to India to be silent with reference to caste ; missionaries to
Turkey to refrain from attacking polygamy ; missionaries
to Africa to be speechless concerning the slave-trade ; lest
the rulers or the populace should expel them from the
country. Were it not better for religion that they should
be expelled, rather than a compromise should be made of
principle, and the nations should be presented with an
emasculated gospel, devoid of purity and power?

You will soon have an opportunity of testing the opera-
3*

.30 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

tion of this principle in our own land, in a novel applica-
tion of it. The territory of Utah' is in the possession of the
Mormons, who are rapidly filling it with cities and villages.
You will of course send colporteurs to labor amid the pop-
ulation. The Mormon faith allows polygamy, and that sin
is now extensively and publicly practised there under the
protection of the authorities. Will you keep silence
respecting it, lest your agents should be driven from the
territory, and thus lose all opportunity of doing good?
Will you expunge from your list all tracts in favor of
chaste marriage, lest your Society be obnoxious to the Mor-
mons? Will you consent to carry an antinomian gospel?
To preach faith without works? To call upon men to re-
pent, without specifying the sins which they notoriously
practice ? Surely you will not thus succumb to polygamy.
Why then succumb to slavery upon a principle which you
repudiate in its other applications ?

This attempt to weigh out future consequences, and
decide upon resultant good in advance, is a very hazard-
ous matter. No man has foresight of the future sufficient
to trace out all the results of a given course. Present
appearances of -a flattering nature are no proof whatever
of the ultimate wisdom of a prescribed policy. Immediate
success may be gained at the cost of eventual disaster.
This fact, Swartz and other early Protestant missionaries
to India unhappily demonstrated, when, to avoid conflict
and secure success, they tolerated caste in the churches.
Thousands were easily converted, and their policy seemed
wise. But longer experience proved that they committed
a disastrous error, as is now admitted by nearly all the
missionaries in the field of every denomination. Converts
who were allowed in a flagrant breach of the law of love,
were found to be a source of weakness rather than strength.
It is much safer, therefore, to be guided by general princi-

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. . 31

pies of right, leaving God to take care of the consequences.
Let us illustrate from Scripture. John the Baptist was a
great favorite with King Herod, who made him court chap-
lain, "heard him gladly," and even "did many things" at
his suggestion. But John saw that Herod was living in
gross sin, having formed an adulterous connection with his
brother Philip's wife. What course should he pursue?
Perhaps some of his disciples advised him to observe a
prudent silence ; not indeed expressing any approbation
of the sin, but being careful not explicitly to rebuke it and
contenting himself with reproving other sins about which
Herod was not so sensitive, and with inculcating the. gene-
ral duty of fearing God. Perhaps they reminded him of
the favor with which he was now regarded, of the many
opportunities which he consequently had of exerting a
good influence at court and throughout the nation, of the
improvement which Herod had already made, and of the
hope that might be indulged, that eventually he would him-
self see the sin of his adultery, and repent of it; whereas,
were John to attack that sin directly, he would be disgraced
and probably imprisoned and beheaded, and thus all hope
of good be lost. But John despised this timid, compromis-
ing policy. He did his duty as a preacher of righteous-
ness, and trusted God to protect his own cause. Was he
wise ? Did Tie right ? Let universal Christendom respond
its approbation. True, he was beheaded, and his career as
a reformer terminated ; but his example of faithfulness has
done more for religion in all subsequent ages than could
have been accomplished by thousands of converts at the
court. It has inspired heroism in those called to combat
with error and sin in each succeeding century, and not
a day passes in which some struggling soul is not strength-
ened by the memory of that stern fidelity to truth. — Breth-
len, will not such be your influence, if you speak for God

32 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

and the slave despite the frowns of the oppressor? Will not
the noble testimony thereby borne to the power of Christian
principle, be a means of good beyond human calculation,
as the knowledge of it shall spread from land to land, and
be handed down from generation to generation ? On the
other hand, will not your silence aid to propagate a weak
and shame-faced gospel, at which infidels will scoff, and
which even Christians cannot respect? Will you not assist
in recognizing and perpetuating a religion tolerant of slave-
holding, which is to say, a religion tolerant of a system
that is prolific of ignorance, wretchedness and heathenism?
Thus amid apparent success you are destroying with one
hand what you build with the other. You declare that the
South is the most truly missionary field in the country ;
but you well know that slavery makes it such. Why not
attack, then, that which is the source of such moral and
religious destitution ?

And are you not mistaken in supposing that by simply
preaching evangelical doctrine and general principles of
right, you are sapping the foundation o£ the whole system
of slavery, and preparing the way for ultimate emancipa-
tion? Are you not aware that the Southern Church of all
denominations now claims that the Bible is the best defence
of slavery? Is it not an obvious and significant fact, that
under the preaching of such a gospel as you propose to
carry, slavery has increased for two hundred years, till
professed Christians are as deeply involved in the sin as
others, the curse has spread over fifteen states, and its vic-
tims number three millions? If, then, you pass through
the states, fellowshipping those churches and ministers, and
carrying an abstract theologic gospel which is silent respect-
ing this great iniquity, how can your influence be favora-
ble to liberty ?

But has it never occurred to you, that some such act as

LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE. 33

the expulsion of your agents and the exclusion of your
publications from the South for opposition to slavery, may
be the very thing which is needed to usher in the dawn of
freedom'? Suppose the worldly politicians of the South
should accomplish such an expulsion ; might not the effect
be, to start the conscience of good men in that section into
new life ? Would they not begin to inquire, what it meant,
that their adhesion to slavery was thus separating them
from the whole Christian world ? Might they not make a
stand at last against politicians, and claim the right of free
discussion ? There are thousands at the South who hate
slavery, but are afraid to brave the wrath of the oppressor
by openly laboring for its overthrow. Let your society
assume an anti-slavery position, and it would instantly em-
bolden them, and if acts of violence were resorted to against
your,, colporteurs, the indignation of the entire North com-
bined with the aroused action of Christian men at the
South, would ere long open the field again. Remember
that the actual slave-holders are but three hundred and fifty
thousand in number, and that if they strain the cord of
tyranny over the three millions of non-slav,e-holding whites
at the South too far, it will snap asunder.

But theory aside, we can present facts which prove that
the South will not be closed to your operations should you
assume anti-slavery ground. The American Missionary
Association has during the past year sustained three col-
porteurs in the slave states, whose business has been in
large part to distribute Bibles to slaves, and to circulate
anti-slavery tracts and books among the whites. This
. work has been pursued without serious opposition, and with
encouraging success. Each year finds the field enlarging.
Besides these laborers, the association has organized eight
churches in Kentucky and six in North Carolina, that do
not receive slave-holders to communion, and sustains four

34 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE.

clerical missionaries, who in addition to their ordinary
duties, lecture frequently and in many places against the
sin of slavery. If then professed abolitionists find the field
open, why need your society fear exclusion from the South
for beginning to discharge this long-neglected duty ? Such
exclusion would be at the worst only partial, and in no
state could it be permanent, while so far as ground was
retained or regained, the victory for truth would be lasting
and invaluable.

We have thus, brethren, at no little expense of labor to
ourselves, and we fear of patience to you, gone over the
entire subject in dispute. It has been painful to us to crit-
icise the action of a great and good organization, but fidelity
to truth seemed to require it. Pardon us, if in the ardor
of discussion we have spoken too warmly or seemed to
censure your course too severely. Weigh carefully the
facts and arguments which we have presented, nor esteem
them unworthy of notice till you have prayerfully com-
pared them with the word of God. "Faithful are the
wounds of a friend." We appreciate the work in which
the Tract Society is engaged, so vast in extent, so compre-
hensive in scope, so successful in prosecution. Our only
desire is, to aid its progress, to save it from inconsistency,
and to enlarge its resources. Not for what it has done so
much as for what it has not done, do. we send this remon-
strance, saying with the Saviour, " These ought ye to have
done and not to leave the other undone."

Wishing you all prosperity in the faithful prosecution
of your work, we remain,

Your brethren in the gospel of Christ,

THE MEMBERS

Of the Fourth Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn,