Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1842-11-19

until the day dawn. and the sun 10 enlIg hie
the whole earth. SO IS the divine government
the hearts Of his rational family; and hav
need Of patience and of charity, lest in yea
for the truth wa act lndIscreety; requiring IN
effects OF fall illumination and knowledge ror
those, on whom the rays Of light may not hav
yet fully rlsen,-expecling to reap the corn whll
/, is yet only in the blade. That criminaiIt
comes of wfulIy shutting out the light, is shew
by the case Of him who knew his Lords Will an
did il moi. and thus incurred the penalty Of man
stripes; hence the committee says:-Inst ead the
OF joining with others IN conirlving or supporting
a system of coercion, whereby the slav ehode
shall be compelled to perform act which b
may not apprehe nd himself called upon 10 do, W
believe II would be more consistent with the mil
and benificent spirit of the Gospel, and with III
example of the holy and immaculate Pattern @
all perfection, IN the language OF kindness an
Cancellation 10 call the attention Of The slav ehold
er to the unerrlng standard of righteousness IL
hImself-to urge hun to a solemn consideration o
the position in which he stands, that thus, happIl,
for himself, he might be persuaded voluntarily Il
do Justly to those IN bonds 10 him, whereby mer
cy and truth, by the force Of their own benign in
fuence should triumph over cruelty and oppres
sion.
/ For more than one hundred years after the rise
Of our religious society, there were amongst ou
own members many Shareholders, sincere heart
ed men and women, who were conscientiously de
sirous of maintaining all the testimonies of The
Society. But of the enormty Of the evils conse
quent upon oiavery they had not then become
sensible and were qIIetly resting under the sys
tenn, as many now are, without any mantle Ia lion
OF uneasness, or apparent convection that they
were doing wrong. But in the course Of time,
under the enlightenng Influence of the same di.
vine principle of LIFE and TRUTH in the soul, tha
had mn Tested to dedicated predecessors ma
ny evils than then abounded IN the world the IN
justice Of the African slave trade, and of slavery,
.sla a,tx hair ,IarS
saw that the Whole system was IN direct viola
ton of that positive IN JUNCTION of the Divine
Master "wha;soever ye would that men should do
unto you, do ye even SO unto them" Their mind )
being thus drawn TO the subject, they were led TO
trace this system through all its stages, from its
commencement to its termination during which
examination they perceived, that the annals of
human albarIty furnished no instances of great
er cruelty, outrage, ard oppression than were in
flcted on the African race, by this trade, aud the
system that supported it. The consequence was
so far as we were concerned it was our duty TO Sc
parate ourselves from any participation IN such
accumulated guilt. First, by Withdrawing from
anv copnexion either with the foreign or domes.
tic slave trade; and secondly. by manumittng
and discharglng from serviiude Whatever slaves
might be 10 possession.
The Society of Friends, in thus taking up a
testimony against slavery, publicly and openly:
did not desire to invade the privileges OF their
neighbors, nor in any way improperly to inter
fero With them. With it purely reiigI-
ous concern unconnected with any political or
TEMPORAL consideration; and valuing above all
earthly privileges the Inestimabe blessing ot ib-
ery act freely, according to the dictates oil Dr.
vine Light. the Society felt no disposition TO IN
wade the sacred right of others to the same enjoy
ment.
We have neither, in the example nor petcepts
of our Lord and Master, any authority to compel
people to do what we may believe TO be right
Ii Is our priv lie oe and duty TO act according
TO the dictates of conscience, and therefore, for
the relief Of our own minds, We gave freedom to
the slaves under our control. Having thus borne
our testimony against slavery, and set an exam
pie OF Justice to those around us, we SO far had
discharged our duty, and others were left TO the
free exercise OF their own judgment IN the case.
No i'll feeling towards our neghbors. who sui con.
tlnued hold slaves. was entertained. They
were only doing VIVA, we ourselves had very re-
Gently done, and with hearts filed with gratitude
to the Source and Fountain of all good, for his
great mercy in opening eyes 10 see the euor-
mIty Of his evil and giving us strength 10 re-
lieve ourselves from it, we looked with feelings
Of tenderness those who were still entangied
in it, and with feryent desires that they might
tiod relief
Deeply imbued with sense OF the injustice OF
slavery as great moral and political evii, threat
eniny disaster to the country, and being 5enef-
cial TO neither the master nor the slave, and the
system being without any :edeemiug quality 10
justify or palate it. they did, from time TO time
when they fell, themselves religiously called upon,
address TO the legislative bodies of our country,
and occasionally 10 the people OF the I. States,
such views of The suhjec under the influence
of that love which breathes peace earth and
good Will to men, might lead to solemn consd
Grafton of The matter and be of remoy-
ing this enormous evil
These movements of Friends, influenced Who'll
h. kar Cd III,
mind of the slaveholder no hostile feelings either
towards US, or towards The coored population Of
our country. They created no dangerous excite
ment in the public mind ending in tumults and
riots: Ga the contrary our appeals were receIv-
ed with respect and listened 10 with patience
Many were brought 10 reflect, very seriously,
the subject, and thousands of slaves were volun-
Tar IL IL I