Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-05-21
R ELIGI0U s.
For the Green Mountain Freeman.
Consistency Of Christian AbOIitiOnistS.
NO. 10.

MEssRs. EDIToRs:-Slavery, in some shape o
form, has been for ages the great barrier in tae wa
the conversion of the world To extirpae it. there
fore, is great missionary enterprise, in which al
evangelical churches, as they have common interest
should cooperate; and one in which the Legitimate
followers OF Wesley have every encouragement to en-
gage, and even become the pioneers in this grea
movement to renovate the world. 1t is indeed no
only lawful that they should do but at the presen
time, highly expodiont They have hitherto been in
duced to refrain from the agitation Of this subject les
they should thereby annihate their missions among
the slaves and destroy the peace and unity of the
church. But these motives of eXpediency no longe
exist The late movements at the north have sc
changed the aspect of things that the retaining from
agitation can be of no possible advantage The slave
cannot be benefited by it. And as to peace ant
unity under existing circumstances they are not to be
obtained, only condition of our becoming the supple
tools of slave holding minstry-than which, there is
nothing earth more contemplate. Nor can it in
deed be lawful for us to seek for the peace prosper
ity ofsaveholders long they continue impentent
But our relationship to the slaves and non savehold
ers, who compose nine tenths of the church at the
SOUTH is essentially different Most of these have not
left US. And it is by virtue Of lynch law and not by
any action of theirs that they are separated from
u.s. These are indeed our brethren IN bonds, having
neither civil nor religious liberty And as. we are UNI
der the most sacred obligations to remember them
being bound with them, we are never to rest until
they restored to the unity of the church, and to all
those nalienabe rights Of which they now deprv-
ed But as are now forcibly cut off from having
intercourse with them, there be hope of secur-
ing to them these blessings, in any way to essen
TALLY amelorate their condition. only by procuring the
entire overthrow of the system. And this, by the
grace of God, we can most assuredly do! | know we
are every where met with with the objection, awe
can't do anything" And this word, "can't" has ever
been the most formidable obstacle in our way. Those
who have adopted it as their motto having always
thrown their influence against us z6ong nothing
themselves and influencing others to follow their
nmple But our motto should be Gin the nlme of the
Lord we can do all things" And let it be true of us
as people, in relation to this subject, it was once
said of us in relation to the Of sinners, 'that
we are all at it, and always at it," and the days of
slavery are numbered. DR.. Smith, the great champion
of saveholdng Mchodism asserts, with much con-
fdence as if it were seevident fact that the Meth
odsts in Virginia have it in their power any time to
abolish slavery there;" and it is equally scfevident
that we have it in power to abolish it throughout
the land. The puport of the decision of the last Gen
eral Conference was, that the administration of the
government of the church ought not to be committed
into the hands of shareholders it was not for
them to preside in the councils of the church. And
in this decision our people, shareholders cXcepcd,)
acQuiesced with great unanimity. This step, which
was but an effort to check the further aggressons of
of the slave power occasionet the great breakage be-
tween the shareholders and the church. 1t so wound
ed the heel of the dragon that he has since
hbited great wrath as though his time short
And the effects thus produced only show what we
have in our power to accomplish. Indeed, we have
only to take another similar step to settle the ques-
ton. We have only to decide, with as much unanim-
ity and in the legitimate way, that the administration
of the government of the nation ought not to be com
mitted into the hands of savehodersthat is not for
them to preside in the councils of the nation and the
work is done. The iron of the oppressor is brok
en-, and the oppressed 60 free. For although we are
but small minority, when compared with the whole
people, still are sufficiently numerous to outnum
Der the Shareholders and if we united, could
exercise an influence on the community every way
adequate to counteract theirs. If therefore, we re-
member those in bonds as being bound with them if
we do indeed, count them as brethren we shall not
hesitate to exercise the elective franchise in their IA
vor. And when we are disposed to do this, there will
not fail to be sufficient number to cooperate witt us
to rescue the administration of the government out
of the hands of the slave power and place it in the
hands of such will be,dsposed to exercise the
powers with which they entrusted in favor of the
oppressed instead of the oppressor. And if, as is Of
ten maintained the government could not constitution
ally be so administered to abolish slavery by law,
still it will be admitted, even by opponents, that it
could and ought to be administered to protect our
free citizens in the exercise of their inaenable rights
And should this be DONE the work would be accom-
pshed as speedily and as effectually though had
been done by law Slavery is every where sustained
by lynch law and as this is only another name for in
surecon the government is in duty bound to suppress
it Let do this and thereby secure to the friends Of
dne save IN every part OF the and he oeiy olsP00N
of the press and the of the mall and it need do no
more to put an end to the occurscd system 1t there
fore for to say whether slavery shall continne in the
land or not;-whether hundred thousand Mehodsts
shall be recognized in law goods and chatels
in the hands of their masters be restored to all their
inalienabe rights, and be recognized as men;--and
whether between two and three hundred thousand
more who are reputed in law as free, shall neverthe
less be cut off from all intercourse with and, by the
force of lynch law, be placed under the entire contro
of slaveholdng Bishops, Elders and Deacons Ant
WHETHER church, we to be filled with dlssen
snna and cnmmntinna-in be rent with diYlslons am