Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-08-13

TO The Members Of The late Congregational Convention
Of Vermont:
Respected ByeiAren,-If believed the dongs ofyour
body in relation to Slavery were the heortess resolves
of men no longer abe to buffet the strong current Of
righteous public opnion-doings induced, not by any
holy sympathy with the outraged slave, but from
did fear of personal disadvantage, unworthy hope
of denomnatona preservation, and scctarGn security
if thus believed, would not have imposed upon
myself the labor of thus addressing yon especially
to my humble self most of your body are strangers for
whose consistency of character could not, of course
be supposed to entertain any overzcaous regard. I'm
der such belief my only sentiment would be-"My
soul, come not thou into their secrets"
But such is not my opinion. Notwithstanding the
past individual action of the great majority of your
members on the subject of slavery, have the charity
to believe that you uttered the sincere feeling of your
SOULS when you declared American slavery to be ut
tcry sinful before God"-and that all men ought to 10
'chateuc they righfhy and juticousy can to bring it
to final and speedy termination" dare not, will not,
suffer myself to believe that is possible to congre
gate upon the soil of Vermont Tor upon any other spot
north Of Mason and Dixon's line such body of self
adjudged hyOocrtes, as your whole Convention must
have been, from the President downwards, if your de-
berato resolves, thus soemny announced before God
and man. to wage eternal warfare against American
Slavery, not the declarations of honest and sin
core hearts.
Such then, brethren, being yom determination, bear
with me while essay to make some suggestions with
the view of facilitating the labor, which thank Heuv-
en- you have thus pledged yourselves to perform in be-
half Of God and humanity.
Three hngs,ony were in the outset requisite to be
done, in order to abolish Slavery in the United States
First 10 conuincc the people that Slavery ought to be
abolished. singular contest this most remarkable,
astonishing moral phenomenon of the 19h century, A.
merican christians, nay, American clergymen, even,
gravely debating the question, ought one man to cx-
ercse the power of perpetually and forciby chatte
izne another man and his wife and their children
gains their wl?"for this, and nothing short of this
is perpetual slavery But such has been the subject
of discussion for dozen long years. into which the an
tlsavery pioneers have carried not only their pen and
their voice. but their tears and prayers and in some in
stances their blood,-boaring the martyrs testimony
that the servant is sometimes entitled oshare the same
honor with the MASTER. But that day has with us
gone BY Throughout New England, and indeed the
whole country with the exception of the Shareholder
and the shareholders mnion) no man can now be found
so debased morally detic as to deny the self.ey
dent truth, that Slavery should be abolished and that
immediately Hence you perceive, that you have been
already saved the necessity of aborng in this State to
convert men to my first propositions for the people are
already converted to this faith
The second requisite is to convince the people, ,Cha
each one oNgH 10 d. to abolish slavy Here is an open
field where hold it to be the duty, not only of the
Gospel Ministry of all denominations, but the duty Of
all phanthopiss, to meet on Bible ground, and in I'M
broken phalanX GdUancc against the common enemy
But in order to do this successfully the Commandments
especially should be thoroughly versed in the plan o.
operations to be persued otherwise they will not be
bic to say so fought not as one beating the air." L.
noranco upon this subject he modus operandil is, al
this late day of the antslavery cause, utterly inexcu
sable. And yet there exists among us, even now, sucl
thoroughly effective system of the blind leading
the blind" that not few men in our State can be
found, Who though they believe slavery to be before
dreamed of any plan of operation to effect its removal
Many of the subscribers of the Vermont Chronicle, ant
the n. Y Observer are no doubt in tits pltiabt
position. Why should not this be their condition P
They have long and long looked to these tUutcimen
for light and 10! the light has been darkness-gros
darkness and to this day they have never been favor
ed with much as vision of "men trees toaling,
unless it broke upon them from other quarter
the moral and religious heavens So dee.erious is tn
influence of those Journals upon the cause of the sav
direcy,& indirectly upon the general cause ofbenevo
ence, that were now about to leave this world and wis
ed to make permanent bequest to the Congregations
clergymen of Vermont trustees for the cause trut
and righteousness earth can think of none richie
= of none which to my mind would promise such blesse
results to every worthy cause, as this short edmonton
: llegacy-ElTHER REFORM, OR ABOLISH THE VERNON