Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1846-01-01

ION:
To all the adherents 0fthe Christian religion
Cathelic and Protestant, in the American I'm.
Jon, the writer Of this article would respectful
ly represent that he Is but single individual,
Of humble pretensions, struggling with honest
zeal for the liberties of his country and the
common rights Of all mankind He sets up
no claims TO piety, or purity oflife, but whilst
he him self subject to all the infrmities Of
our common nature, he believes in an omnipo-
ent and benevolent God oyerruling the universe
BY fixed and eternal laws. He belieues that
mans greatest happiness consists in true un.
dersianding and strict observance If ell The
laws of his being, moral, mental, and physical,
which are best set forth in the Christian code
of eth 81. He believes that the Christian Teli-
gicn is the iruest basis Of justice, truth, mercy,
happiness, known among men. AS apoiIticians
especially, does heregard Christian morality a.
the sole basis Of national and constitutional
liberty. He believes that the liberty Of con-
science was the antecedent of civilliberty, and
that to Christianity did our father owe the
emigrationfrom the Old World, and our nation
al independence in the New. He believes that
there ID now crisis in the affairs Of our ma.
tion which calls for the united efforts of all
good men TO save us from dishonor and ruin.
Slavery is our great national sin, and must be-
destroyed, or we are lost. From a small cloud
not larger than mans hand II has oveTsPreads
the whole heavens. Three millions of'cur fell
low men, all (if our religion be not fsble)
children Of the same Father, are held in absO--
Lutte serytude and the most unqualified desPo-
tism. BY strange oversight or self avenging-
criminality Of our fathers, an anti-republican,
unequal, sham representation has given the
slayOcracy a concentrated power, which SUBJ
jects the additional fifteen millions of whites
Of this nation to the caprice and rnle of some "
three hundred and Jfiy thousand stockholders
They Tnanopolize the principal Offices Of honoE~
and profit, control our foreign relations and in
ternal policy Of econimical progress. They
have forced US into unjust wars-national bad
faith--and large and unnecessary expenditures
of money. They have violated time after time
the national and state Constitution. They
have tvamplede under foot all Of the cardinal
principles Of our inherited libsrty-freedom of
the press-liberty OF speech--trial by jury-the,
habeas corpus and that clause ofthe Constitu.-
tion which gives to the citizens Of the several
States the rights and privileges OF the citizens
of each State They have murdered our citi--
zens-imprisoned our seamen--and denied no,
all redress in the courts of national judicature,
by forcibly and illegally expelliDg our ambss--
sadors--thus failing in the comfy observed So.
cred BY all nations, civilized and savage. until
now All this we have borne, in magnabi-
nous forbearance, or tame subserviency. till re-
monsirance is regarded as criminal, and il has
become the common law of the land, in all tho
slave States, to murder in cold blood, and in a.
calm and dignified manner any American
freeman who has the spirit to exercise
the constitutional, and natural, and inalienable
rights Of free thought and manly uiterancea
Now in the name of that religion which
teaches US to love oui neighbor as ourself-to
do unto olhers as we would have others do unto
us--to break every yoke and let the oppressed
70 tree,-we pray every follower Of Christ to
bear TESTIMONY against this crime against mao
and God which fills our souls with cruelty
and crime-stains our hands with bloOd--n
overthrows every principle OF national and con-
stitutional 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. To-
We pray you to set your faces against all
those protested followers Of Christ who befpay
him in the house of their friends, and rSsse
God out the founder Of an institution which
causes the most refined. enlightened and re
speciable mem III the State Of Kentucky, where
slavery exists in its most modified and lenrsnt
supremacy, to raise the black and bloody dag
Of death tn liberty OF speech and tie press"
We pray you in the name OF liberty-uut
conntry-our common shuuIanity-and the God
Of all. who IS no reSpecter Of persons--to come
to our help!
We know that in 1916 the prayers Of fine
church went nj, from the closet, the altar and
the field Of battle, to the great Arbiicr Of the
deStnies of war we believe that 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 liberty
once more. ts
And as we believe that it is not only our dr..
ty TO pray. but TO act. we.aEespectfui1y ssbfaA
for your serious consideration the following
Suggestions: ..s
/, 1. fhat all ministers Of religion, all over the
Union, either in their sermons or IN their pray
ers, once on every Sabbath. sHlemnEs warn
their hearers against the special sin Of Staps-
~. 20
2. That in all religious journals. a column
be devoted to slavery-its econimical stats,
tics-ant to moral renonstance.
3. That in all addresses Of religious bodies,
oral or written. when moral conduct il touch
ed upon. that solemn and special denuncia-
ton Of slavery be made.
4. In the exercise Of the elective franchise
that each Christian will honestly endeayor 80
10 use that great and responsible privilege, as
by all honorable. Just aud fufi0noi means,
to destroy slavery in this nation.
We suggest with great dithidence for the con-
sideraiion of Christians. Board If Home
Missions, founded as follows "A common
treasury--sustained by all secfs Of Christians
no be located in the city OF New York. From
this shall be sustained. al fair wages, as many
missionaries, in the same States, as the funds Of
the Society, or the interest thereof, when ves-
ted in stocks, will sustain. ]. Let an equal
number OF each sect represented be elected
2. Let the ministers living in slave States be
preferred, il they can be procured. s. Let
them be instructed never to speak Of slavery in
the presence OF blacks or slaves. A. Let them
for the present be confined 70 the States of Ma
ryland, Virginia and Kentucky. Let them be
instructed to preach in the counties where
there are the fewest slaves. S. Let them be
men ofability. and, though not fanatical, self
sacrificing. and wei: versed in the political and
econimical bearings Of slavery as we'll as in its
moral influences, so that they may be able to
show the son.slaveholder how slavery impover-
ishes his family them from schools.
churches, the honors Of the State, and the gen.
eral advantages Of civilization.
We believe that scheme Of this kind would
do Infinite good. There could be no pretext
for violence on the part Of shareholders because
Tho he xunfrld nnvpr hear IL xasnVsli aros,an