Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-04-23
RELIGIOUS.
For the Green Mountain Freeman.
Consistency Of Christian AbOIitiOnists
ITO the Meihodists. !


MEssRs. EDITORS But though, in our efforts we
thus avoid identifying the evil with the good, we are
nevertheless liable to fall into the other extreme G.
qualy dangerous-that of doing evil that good may
come; of SHINING that grace may abound. And this
we shall assuredy do if in our zeal for the institutions
of the church, we make any sort of provision for the
institution of slavery And tdoes not appear that the
church has ever sustained slavery only on this ground
She has always believed slavery to be great evil
and its extrpaton has ever been one of the great be-
nevoent enterprises in which she has protested to be
engaged 1t is not therefore, to be supposed that she
has ever tolerated this great evil for the sake of the
evil, but that thereby good EIGHT come. Neither does
she continue in this sin for the sake of shining, but in
order that grace may abound, It was on this ground
that the first deylaons favorable to slavery were made
Our fathers believed, with Wesley, that American
slavery the sum of all vlanies and accordingly
labored hard to overthrow it And they probably
would have continued so to Notwithstanding all their
prosecutions, had they not apprehended that con
sequence they should be excluded from all intercourse
with that class of people who of all others, had the
greatest claim upon their sympathes. 1t was on this
account that they were led to abae their efforts; and
thereby consented for the sake of peace and for the
sake of the good that was to be accomplished, thai
slavery might have, at least place in the world
But this overture far from having the desired eff
feet Slavery, instead of being purified thereby, was
only prompted to increase its demands. Consequent
ly it set up its claim for place in the church, which,
though it was for a while contested was at last &C
ceeded to- from the consideration of the good that
might be accomplished. For, although the church
still maintains that slavery great SIM and profess
ed to be as much as ever opposed to it. still it be-
lieved that, in certain cases. the holding of slaves in
stead of being SIM might be a duty. Therefore
though slavery might be excluded from the ministry
yet, in the membership, it might be tolerated, when il
could be done in accordance with the golden rule
Gas We would have all men do unto you, do We ever
so unto them" But as it was to be suffered on nc
other principle, there might have been hope in the
case had the ministry adhered to their venerable Bsh
op, who wisely taught them, both by precept and ex-
AMPLE that, under the existing circumstances it was
not good to marry Many of them, it is true, did so
whilst others, judging that it not good for man tic
And passing by the daughters of the shareholders
who usually could neither read nor write, they chose
the least of two evils the daughters of the slave
holders And as these could neither wait on them
selves their husbands there was no other alterna
tive but to supply this lack of service by adding to thu
least of two evils the great evil Slavery Thus slave
ry not only became established in the ministry but
necessary appendage to it and though still reck
oned as an evil yet its abolition was considered al
evil Of much greater magnitude. Slavery having thu.
gained the ascendancy, and those to whom was en-
trusted the administration of discipline in relation t,
its having become subservent to the slave power, in
stead of extirpatng the great evil, were chiefly con
cerned for its perpetuation Consequently, every
statute which had for its object its extipaton if no
recnded, became dead letter. And this sum of al
villanes at last urged upon the church as Bible
institution, and as such claimed admission to thu
highest Office in the gift of the church. But being de
feated in its repeated efforts to obtain this in the on
legitimate way, it at last resored to the strata
gem by which it lad previously found access to tn
ministry;-and thus without the action of the prope
authorities and against the wishes of the church,
forced its way up to the Episcopal chair. But meeting
with Just rebuke for its arrogancy from the Genera
Conference, who mildly said at apperaineth not un
to thee o Slavery, to execute the office of Bishop
it Immediately commenced open hostilites upon tn
church, Ito use fgure filling it with perpetual storm
and connections; and like the great dragon drew in it
train third part of the stars of heaven and cast thcr
to the earth. The General Conference, apprehendin
that an awful crisis was at hand, endeavored to NEE
the exigency by plan of division But this, instea
of abating the storm, has only served to greatly il
crease it. GEO. PUTNAM.
albany, March 81, 1916.
ITO be coninued)