Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1848-04-20

10 Religious and Neral People,
Permit me to present to your notice some conside.
ratons, borrowed from an unwrten sermon, deliver
ed on Fastdly, April 7th by Presbyterian or Con-
gregatonal Mnster who does not belong to the LIB
ery Party aid probably does not vote at all on polit-
ca qostions who yet has deep sense of the sinful
ness of slavery and INDUCES thoughts why the
spirit of slavery obtain Judgement in the human
breast 1t is summed up in this that men do not prac-
tcay and habualy realize their dependence on God,
and their responsibility to him. He instanced the
case of our pilgrim fathers who realized that depen-
donce, when they launched upon the mighty deep in
their flight from mental bondage, and realized that
accountability, when, upon ockbound coast they
established the institutions of religion of libelty and
education and laid the foundation for all the political
freedom now enjoyed by the people of these United
States These civil institutions assumed a tangible
form IN our Declaration Of Independence, followed by
successful war against oppression, These lciples
O. civil liberty, or the right Of any people to choose
and establish their own form of government have ir-
rldatcd from our country upon Europe, and had their
different grades of influence on the governments there
Large concessions to the rights of the people have
been yielded in Great Britain. Hence also the revo-
utons in France the last of which inspires the Phi
nthropsts of our country with hope and JOY for the
future liberty, peace and prosperity of that Nation.
He alluded to the Bible doctrine, in perfect conf
dence of its correctness that "0f one blood God made
all mankind, to dwell on the face of the EARTH" and
that all hive an equal right to the common blessings
and use them in peace and harmony not to nte-
lere with the similar rights of others of their fellow
men, That slavery departure from our first
principles; and violation Of those rights common to
the whole human family. Slow as has been the
spreading of light and knowledge upon the great
principle of human rights, encouraged by
the amazing progress made among men of elevated
intellectual powers, and high moral culture, imbued
with spirit of religion and philanthropy. And the
course is onward and onward and the truth must and
will prevail.
As soon, said he, well Informed men possess true
religion the breathing their souls is after knowledge.
Give me knowledge" they say, 'that l may know
my duty, and engage in the performance Of it."
A few evenings since, at religious meeting, in
which slavery mentioned as one of the prevalent
evils of the age, the same minister, dscoursng upon
a sense of individual responsibility to God exclaimed,
"would Shareholder, under proper sense of his re-
sponsibility to God, sleep, while he remains a slave.
J holder? No, no."
Feeling in my inmost soul, tie correctness, pro-
prety and utility of the ideas thus publicly exhibited
by able minister peged to no party but the Church
and people Of God, wish now to ask you, good NOR
al men, and especially you who profess the religion of
the Bible you who profess to be the followers of him
who came to proclaim liberty to the captive and the
opening of the prison to those who are bound, are
you thus anxious to obtain thorough knowledge of all
facts connected with the subject of American Slavery
or do you rest conened to read for this purpose only
those wing and democratic papers which do not pre-
tend to unmask the sinunes and evils of slavery but
give that horrd system their support by supporting
its porseverng advocates Is this crying "Gve me
knowledge upon this subject" No, not at all. 1t is
rather cayng, "keep me ignorant of all important facts
concerning American Sllvery." Ifyou would acquire
knowledg upon any subject you must seek for it 1t
will not usually come to you unlimited And YOU
must seek for it at the proper season, and in the prop
er place. If you would acquire knowledge concern
ing the principles of religion you must not search in
fde writings for that knowledge, but you must 90 to
the Bible for it. If you would acquire knowledge
concerning the principles of civil government, you
must not 90 for it to Barbarous Nation but to Ma.
ton IN the exercise and enjoyment of civil government
1t you would learn any thing truly about the evils of
American Slavery, you must 60 to those who have be
come acquitted with those evils and are willing to ex-
pose them to the gaze of religious and phanthropic
community and not to those whose whole interest and
profession had been to hide, to Justify to apologize
for ali the sinfuness and evils of that hord system
and to those who for some reason no matter what,
publish in their papers about slavery Just that which
the shareholders willing for, and no MORE con-
cude by requesting you to contemplate seriously, how
you would have conducted, differently from what Won
have, if you had kown that your support of slavery by
following the leaders of the proslaverv parties and vo-
ting for slaveholdmg Presidents, would have brought
into the the Union slaveholdng Texas followed by
National debt of eighty to one hundred millions of
dollars, and the destruction of the lives of twenty-five
or thirty thousand of our citizens and the murder of
as many men, women and children of the Mexcans,
upon their own SOIL and seizing that soil to make
slave territory of it LYCURGUS