Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-05-21

WHlcn SucH Il course must lneVltdUIy IiO-
duce. we are accountable 10 God and to the
world.
We cannot say Of slavery, as we do Of
drunkenness and adultery, that it is practised
in secret, in defiance If the laws of the church..
We cannot say that it is tolerated" by the
wicked connivance of some sessions, Pres
byteries and Synods in tie land. But the
perpetrators Of this high crime against God
and man have been canonized by the solemn
and almost unanimous vote of the whole
Presbyterian Church in General Assembly,
declaring that slaveholding is "no bar to
Christian communion" but actually consti-
tntes the "bond Of union'' in the church,
The announcement of this vote was bailed
with reclamation, and brought forth a motion,
which was carried, that public thanks be rem
dered TO Almighty God for the unanimity
with which they did the deed
But if the effects Of our pro-slavery action
are such out of the church, they are no less
desoIating among ourselves. The tone and
character Of our preaching are changed. A
GOODNESS and ~le'hargy has settled down upon
the bosom of the church in general, and the
lamentable departure of vital, warin-hearied
goodness from both ministers and people, is
a commonplace remark in all our religious
periodicals. misunderstanding, even among
ministers and people, is common, for if slave
holding be right, travelling and trading on the
Sabbath cannot be wrong. IL slaveholding
be right. 10 manufacture iron for the slaves
sIackles on the Sabbath cannot be wrong
If We swallow the camel. surely it is %affecta-
ton TO strain at a gnat. All brethren, God
has a controversy with us. We have turned
aside the needy from his right. We have
oppressed the poor. We have shut our ears
and steeled our hearts ag1ins, the cries of our
enslaved brethren, and the God of the OPP
pressed has cursed us. The leading men in
the church dare not unfold the real cause and
remedy of our spiritual backsliding, else they
would be hurled from their high places by
that mysterious power which rules the church
and the State, and revenges itself upon all
who deny its authority. Hence this duty
must be performed by others.
VIH. While zoe remain an connection ,oiih
The Presbyterian Church as at present c%Onstiiu-
ted, zoe O~urSeiveS are cnSiaued.
The doctrine Of representative unity, the
leading feature of PresbyteGianism, subjects
us 10 tie corrupt will and policy of the ma
jor;,y. The brethren, without our consent,
and in contempt of our principles, have alter
ed the articles Of our faith, on the great sub
ject of Divine and Human Rights. They
have brought about a schism in the church
by thrusting dogmas into our mouths, which
we repudiale and abhor. When we dare to
complain, We are chided, and told in the DOM
ineering tone of a reckless majority, that we
are " merely tolerated, i" and d~espised for our
insigniicance in numbers and influence. Our
prescription is SO entire, that nota single anti
slavery man is known TO have a voice in any of
the Boards that control the policy o. the church.
Such a man, if he desired to serve his Mas
Ter in a mission to the heather, would meet
with a rejection by the foreign Board nor
could he receive a commission from the Do
nestle Board, 10 preach a free Gospel among
the destitutions Of our own country. The
Gospel in the hands of modern Presbyterians
must 60 forth through the world as Paul went
TO Rome, in chains. But suppose this were
not so! Suppose that a man of our princl-
pies could be commissioned by the Foreign
or Domestic Board. be supported on his field
Of labor, in part, at least, in the way the The
illogical Seminary at Columbia is supported,
by the price Of blood. Funds, which have
poisoned the peace and endangered the unity
Of the Free Church of Scotland, and which
her conscientious people are struggling 10
throw back into our guilty lap, because they
were plundered from the poor slave, make
up, in part, the salaries of all our missiona-
tieS, ,U,eas" ~ uom =, sT WE u ee
mus decline the service altogether. We are
taking the bread out of the mouths of three
millions Of heather slaves at home, and send
ing il at vast expense 10 the heather on the
other side of the globe. What missionary
of our Board in foreign lands, stung by the
tePioaI!es . i"teil'sen' ne1tnen'SM' ua'r
ouhe ms ino"''s.etoy anI nypoeIlSy " ~
,nu,o", n''"u". iollel"s ~ s'a.I'ns
y oIe' IL nm' e"s uu e.. ",,ar
'nous" u a n"aS 20 nu','ps
ance u nle JmPH.'J VIZ ~ nosu W. az
ioooeG ~ eseay inSn'' S"u ne ne o'.Iu."s III "'
way,s.ug, ne SpesNS, !. d. ai,' a' MS pv ;,s
noA,u " uuno a P'H y"
suo" u.s. 70 une atnel,ca% H ~ %ar ;os
w5o 0 onen "n ,hpm " for iHbe dumb, No man