The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1839-10-12
zEIED VGEDlA GR ElB8GD0Mo
To the ProprietorS ofthe Meeting House IN H0l-

F'O 'OP' SctOfo " |tC 4'ACCb"S AAOtc'C HS 1h"'
liS street;
My FRIENDS The dongs OF your body, at it
adjourned annual meeting, held on the evening q
the 9th instant, according TO your instructions
transmitted 10 me by your clerk, and are now be
fore me.
From the document communicated by him, it ar
pears that, at your previous meeting Oh the evenln!
of the Cd of the month, vote had been offered b,
Mr.. Windsor Fay, which at the adjourned meet
ing, was Withdrawn in favour of Preamble an(
Vote, introduced by Mr.. Daniel Weld nearly t.
the same effect, to wit, that, in the opinion of the
meeting, my usefulness, as the minister of Hoi,
Street Society, had become so much impaired
that the connection between the society and mysel
ought to be dissolved. The Vote, it further ap
pears, was lost the ballot standing ayes S. nay:
So, and two blank ballots.
On receiving this communication, the first ques
ton that asked myself was, whether any reply
was demanded or expected from me. The vote
offered was lost: and by no rules of proceeding
in either civil or ecclesiastical bodies can the voice
of minority, however large or respectable, be re-
garded as the voice ofthe body. And, in the pres
ent case, since neither the voice of the whole body
of the proprietors was heard, Speaking by ma
jority of their number, nor yet the voice of the
still larger body, the worshipping assembly,
which in cases of this kind cannot be heard at
all, however deep may be their interest in the
ministrations of the church, or however strong
their attachment to its ministers,-but only the
voice of minority of the pews represented, how
ever firm and strong that voice might be ;-I
might not have felt myself called upon to make
perhaps not even justified in maling-any reply
whatever to the CON nunication of your clerk.
But, observing that this expression Of the opinion
of large majority was communicated to me by
the instruction of the ma ority, and considering
the general rule, that written communication
requires written answer, have concluded that
it IS your wish that l should make, TO the docu-
ment before me, reply, that may be acted upon
at the ad burned meeting, this evening. This,
then, will proceed to do, as briefly as can, and
as distinctly.
The Preamble and Vote, then, with a vague
ness that may well serve as model for a writer
who studies rather to conceal, than to discover his
real meaning, and which will not think, greatly
enlighten the future Reader of those Records, of
which they now constitute part, as to the spe-
ciic and real ground of complaint in this case, are
as follows:
Whereas, It is very apparent that, from vari
Gus causes, principally growing out of a wide diff
ference of opinion in regard to the expediency of
discussing certain exciting topics, the feelings of
n large number of the society worshpping in
Hollis street towards their Pastor, the Rev John
Pierpoint, have become estranged and Where
as it is all important that to profit by religious
teaching, there should be the utmost harmony
and union existing, as well as perfect confidence
of the people towards their Teacher Therefore
Voted That, however much we may regret, as
we certainly do, the existence Of any cause, we
nevertheless are constrained to say, that in the o.
pinion of this meeting, the usefulness of the Rev.
John Perpoint as religious Teacher, is so
much impaired, that the connection, between him
and this Society, ought to be dissolved
That, my friends, is the document to which
feel myself called upon to reply. Some Of us
probably not all-know what it means. But it
has gone upon the Records of Hollis Street Soci-
ETY., and must 90 down to the children of our chill
dren. Will they know? Twill do what in me
lies to help them so that, by means of this con-
temporary paper, while they feel after, they may
hapiy find its meaning. And will endeavor to
make up for the obscurlty of that document by
the plainness ofthis.
The communication before me, then, gives US
to understand one thing and not to understand an
other. We understand from it that there are
some subjects. which it calls exciting topics,
which, in the opinion of a large number of this So
ciety, must not be discussed in the pulpit; but we
do not understand from it what those subjects
IleTe, Iueu Is Tie ueEelopeulell vi d PllHcPe, 1u
the conceament of a fact. Against the former
Iprotest. The latter | will try to make manifest.
Iprotest, then, distinctly and aloud against the
principle upon which this document IS based )
namely, that there are some subjects which may
be interdicted to the pulpit, on the ground that
they are exciting topics for, if this principle is
sound, the whole system of Cristian preaching is
unsound and it cannot stand up, an hour, against
the pressure of the principle here disclosed-that
exciting topics may, by the people, be interdict-
ed to the pulpit. For, what topic, on EARTH is so
exciting as the religion of Jesus Christ ever has
been, when preached either by Jesus Christ him
self, or by any one, ever since his day, who
has preached it in any thing approaching his spir-
it?
AS understand it, the province of Religious
Teacher'-the province, especially of minister
of that gospel which was given for the redemp-
ton of all from all sin, of course compre-
bends all men and all sins that it covers the
whole ground of religion and mora Is that,
within this province lie all human interests indi-
vdual or social for time or for eternity that it
embraces all relations of man to man, whether as
a constituent part of the church or of the state,
with all his duties in either and all his oblipa-