Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1846-09-11
Irish PreSbyterianS.

'bh ASooy
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Ireland, addressed a letter to the
General Assembly in this country, which
was read at the last meeting of that body
The part relating to slavery we copy.
We have noticed with much pleasure the
imnkness and good feeling which you mani
Test when abiding to our circumstances on
The subject of slavery. 1t is the duty Of
churches, as well az Of individuals to ad-
monlsh and advise each other in the spirit
OF gentleness, and to receive with meekness
admonltlons which are so rendered. We
pretend to no superiority, and assume no at
thorlty over our brethren in America, but we
feel tito be our duty, on the present occasion,
TO lake the liberty in all kindness, of express
sing more fully our views Of the American
slave system.
You appear proud of the liberty which the
inhabitants OF the United Ste;es enjoy, and
you quote what has been called the golden
rule of doing 10 others as we would that, in
like circumstances, they should do to u.s.
Permit us, then, 10 ask, when your own
hearts are buoyant with the triumphant feel
ings Of conscious liberty, what must be the
bitter experience Of the poor slave in Ameri-
- ''N nv l'SPNAb1 VI iN
ter as his OK or his ass, and who has no lib
erty, but to submit, suffer and obey! Men
stealers' are classed in the Divine Word
with nurderers Of fathers and murderers Of
mothers; and we cordially adopt the decla-
ra2on, that Menstealers' are .all those who
are concerned in bringing any of the hui
man race into slavery, or retaining them
in it,
You say that you would not, 'by any means
countenance the traffic in slaves for the sake
of gain and you repudiate the idea that
masters may regard their servants as mere
property. Does not this Acknowledgement
imply that you are bound 'as far as in you lies
TO seek the immediate abolition of slavery in
the country Of which you boast as the land
Of unrivalled freedom?
You refer to defective and oppressive laws;
and it has been asserted by the advocates of
those enactments that the teaching of slaves
to read, and especially to read the Holy
Book of God, or the placing OF the institution
of marriage among them on the permanent
footing on which our Lord places it, would
be subversive Of the whole American slave
sysiem-
You declare that you do not countenance
the enormitIes to which your civil code lends
its sanction; but we pray You consider
1Oh NhhO" nc d . SlllSlldlS tllOSG
who commit them. Is any one admitted TO
your fellowship who keeps possession of a
slave, of whom he has obtained possession,
directly or indirectly, by the crime of man
stealing? Is any admitted, who, in obedi-
ence to any laws, withholds from his slave
or servant the use of the Holy Scriptures or
Christian instruction-who does not mere
ly fail to put the Bible into his hands, or 10
teach him the Gospel, but who, in obedience
to an unrighteous enactment, interposes be-
tween him and the Bible, or those who
would instruct him Is any man recognized
as a Christian brother who has separated
husbands and wives, parents and children or
who even holds slaves on such a footing,
that if God were 10 remove him by death,
the members of families thus intimately rela-
ted would be exposed TO compulsory separa-
tionl We are persuaded that our Lord and
His Apostles would not have acknowledged
as disciples those who, under any name
or pretence, were guilty Of such wicked
ness.
We know that when attempts were made
under the plea of law, to prevent the Apos-
ties from preaching the Gospel to any indi-
vidual, they avowed it as their determination
TO 'obey God rather than men, We con-
ceive, therefore, that whatever may be the
law OF any slate or country, no Christian
ought to hold in forcible servitude any one
OF whom he has obtained possession, directly
or indirectly, by the crime of man-stealing =;
that no member Of the Church ought to in.
terpose his authority to withhold religious
instruction and the Divine word from any
human being that no consistent professor OF
the Gospel should hold his fellow man in
bondage under circumstances in which he
might be forcibly separated from his wife and
children; and we conceive that no Church
should hold communion with those who are
guilty Of such violations, alike Of the laws
of nature and Of revelation
You say, dear brethren, that You do moi
approve OF such slavery and such laws con.
nected with il as are to be found in your coun.
try. We conceive that declarations Of this
description will be of no avail if you ADM,
to Christian privileges any who support by
their practice such cruel and unscriptural en-
actments, and we would suggest that your
duty Is to institute an inquiry into The con-
duet OF the slave proprietors at present at
taehed to your denomination, and should il
be found that they withhold from those over
whom American law has given them such
nnwarrantable power, anything that is just