Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-01-01

imous forbearance, or tame subserviency, till
remonstrance is regarded as criminal, and it has
become the common law Of the kind, in all the
Slave States, to murder in cold blood, and in a
calm and "digniied manner" any American
freeman who has the split to exercise the con-
stitutional and natural, and inalienable rights Of
free thought and manly utterance
Now in the name of that religion which tea
ches us to love our neighbor as ourself-to do
unto others as we would that others should do
unto us-to break every yoke and let the op-
pressed 60 free,-we pray every follower Of
Christ to bear testimony against this crime a.
gainst man and God which fills our souls with
cruelty and crime-stains our hands with blood
and oyerthrows every principle Of national and
constitutional liberty, for which the good and
great-souled patriots of all ages laid down their
lives, and for which our fathers suffered, bled
and died.
We pray you to SIT your faaos against 81! bosa
%prolessed followers OF Christ, who bctray him in
the house of their friends, and make God out the
founder Of an institution which causes the most
refined, enlightened, and "respectable men" in
the State of Kentucky, where Slavery exists in
its most modified and %Ienicnt supremacy, to raise
the black and bloody flag of "death to liberty Of
Speech and the Press"
We pray you in the name Of lberty-oul
country our common humanity-and the Goo
of all, who is no respector of person-to come
to our help
We know that in l776 the prayers Of The
Church went up from the closet, the altar, anc
from the field ofbattle to the Great Arbiter O
destinies Of war we believe that a time Of e
quail danger and awful responsibility is at hand
and we now ask that the prayers of the univer
sal Church be uttered in the cause Of Libert.
once more.
And as we believe that it is not only our dut,
to pray but to act, we respectfully submit 70
your serious consideration the following suggcs
tons:
list. That all ministers of religion, all owe
the Union, either in their sermons or in thei
prayers once on every sabbath %solemnly warl
their hearers against the special sin # Siaeery.
I'd. That in all religious journals a column
be devoted to slayory-its% economical statistic
and to moral remonstrance.
Sd. That in all addresses of religious bodies
oral or written, wien mural conduct is touche,
upon, that a solemn aud special denunciation c
Slavery be made.
4th. In the exercise fthe elective franchise
, that each Christian will honestly endeayor SO t
use that great and responsible privilege as by a
honorable, just and constitutional means, to de,
troy Slavery in this nation.
We suggest with great dtidcnce for the cor
sideration Of Christians, a Board Of Home III.
si0aS, founded as follows "A common treasur
sustained by all sccts Of Christians, to be lc
Gated in the city Of New York, From this shaI
be sustained, at fair wages, as many missiona
ries, in the same State, as the funds oGthe Soci
ETY., or the interest thereof, when invested il
stocks, will sustain, /, Let an equal numbe
of each sect represented be elected. .. LIE
ministers living in Slave States be preferred
they can be procured. 8. Let them be instruc
ted never to speak Of Slavery in the presence q
DldCNS VI SIdFto' r. Lcl thelu lpI inc pTcSCN
be confined TO the States Of Maryland, Yirgini
and Kentucky. Let them be instructed to preacl
in the counties where there are the lewcst slaves
). Let them be men Of ability and, though no
%flnatical, seIEsacriiciAg and well ycrscd in tn
political and economical bearings Of slavery a
well as in its moral influences, so that they ma.
be able to show the non-slayeholdcr, how Slave
ry impoyerishcs his family-cxcludes them from
schools, churches, the honors of the State ant
the general advantages of fertilization.
We believe that a scheme Of this kind woult
do infinite good. There could be no pretext fo
violence on the part of Shareholders, because thu
Blacks would never hear. 1t would arouse
generous shame in the bosoms of our own Cler
gy and force many to make sacrifices in the caus
Of Religion and Liberty.
Now once more in great %yearuing Of spirl
for the liberty of our country-the happiness o
mankind-and the glory Of God, we pray you t.
question each one his conscience. Neye
let it be said that cur country called on US 70
help, in great wo, and none needed her voice!
We ask all the friends of Constitutional Lib
erty, and pure Christianity, to give the above a,
insertion in their Religious and Political Jour
nals-a request never before made by us.
C. NJ. CLAY.
Lexington, Ky. Dec. 9th, lS45.