Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1849-07-11
ADDRESS TO REFORMERs


To All Earnest and Devoted Labonrer~ in
RI the various Humantary Reforms con.
! spicnOus in the present dav. the Yearly
Meeting Of Congregational Friends send
eth greeting.
BELOVED FRIESps: Assembled in ODE
dienoe to the call Of duty. for the promo
ton of pure and indebted Religion
throughout the world. our souls have been
stirred by an earnest desire 10 strengthen
the hands and encourage the hearts Of
those who. in the midst Of obloquy and re-
proach. are struggling. through the vari-
Gus Reforrnatory Associations ofthe pres
ent day. TO abolish the giant evils which
have so long cursed and degraded the hui
man family. Having broken the ties of
party and sect, under a solemn conviction
that they are incompatible with the free
dom Of the soul and a mighty obstacle to
the progress Of the human race in knowl-
edge and goodness. we have been drawn
together fo- our spiritual strength and ele
walton, and by common sympathy in ev-
erv work of practical righteousness. and
a common desire to find basis of union
for all the friends of God and Humanity
"a common platform, on which they may
meet in perfect harmony with the laws Of
their being and the equal relations which
d
them. Such basis of universal fellow
ship we have sought, not in creeds and
forms, but in love to God. and in those
principles Of FUNDAMENTAL MORALITY
which are the elements of all true religion.
and which are SO clearly set forth in the
precepts and so beautifully illustrated in
the life Of Christ While your Assoca-
tons are devoted each specially to one or
Of Of Pc
form, ours is designed to embrace them
all in one common Brotherhood. and to
open a channel through which those en-
gagged in one department may help those
who are toiling in another, and receive
and impart the strength which is derived
from communion with God and with kind
red spirits. Standing upon this platform.
we rejoice 10 greet YOU as fellow -labo ur-
ers with us in the great work of Human Re-
demption and Salvation and to tender you
our hearty God-speed in the work to which
you have been called.
In the field of moral no less than in
that Of physical effort. there is an abso-
lutte necessity for a division Of labour-
necessity arising on the one hand from
the magnitude and variety of the work to
be accomplished. and on the other from
the great diversity of gifts in the different
classes of the human family. The atten-
ton of one class may be particularly call
ed to the evils Of lntemperance: another
may be inspired to do battle with the gil
gantic sin Of Slavery: a third to denounce
and express the atrocities and crimes of
War, and another for the Abolition Of the
Gallows and the adjustment Of the whole
penal code to the Christian law Of For
giveness; another may be called of God
to arrest the tide Of Sexual lmpurity; the
province of others may be to seek a rem
edv for the blighting evils of Poverty. to
protest against the tyranny Of Wealth,
the monopoly of Land. or to harmonze
the relations of men in Industrial Associa-
tons; another class may be impelled to la
bour for the restoration to Woman of the
lnalicnable Rights of which she has been
so long despoiled: others may seek the
overthrow of despotic and mercenary
Priesthood. to call mankind away from re-
lance upon empty forms and the observ
ance Of holy days, and to consecrate all
time to the service Of God; and still an
other class may devote their energies to
Physiological Reform, or to the sacred
work of Education. But. all moral evils
spring from the same root. so is the work
of abolishing them essentially ONE WORK.
Hence, we exhort the friends Of Reform.
in whatever portion Of the moral vineyard
they are called to labour, to remember
that they are one Brotherhood. and should
therefore be Of one heart and ofone mind.
We are deeply impressed with the con-
victon that not only is an earnest devo-
ton to one phlanthropic enterprise con-
sistent with hearty interest in every work
Of Reform. but that our usefulness and
efficiency in our several spheres will be
proportloned 10 our Just appreciation OF
the labours Of others and to our diligence
in cultivating the spirit Of Universal nifty
The narrow bigotry which leads us to
form an exaggerated estimate of our own
immediate labours and to undervalue the
tolls and sacrifices of others not less de-
voted than themselves to the welfare OF
mankind. is at war with the whole genius
of Reform and a mighty hindrance to our
moral and spiritual growth. The friends
of Humanity. Of every class. should sed-
ulously cultivate the spirit Of harmony
and mutual cooperation so beautifully
described by one OF the prophets Of lsra-
ell:
|, "They helped every one his neighbour;
and every one said to his brother. Be of
good courage. So the carpenter encour-
aged the goldsmith. and he that smooth
eth with the hammer him that smote the
anvil. saying, it is ready for the soldering:
AND HE FASTENED IT WITH NAILS THAT 1T
SHOULD NOT BE MOVED" (Isaah xii. s, l.
We admonish you, beloved teiiow-!a-
bourers, TO be steadfast and immovable in
your adherence to fundamental principles.
to Right and Truth in opposition to the
maxims of a whorldlv Eynediency. Be
true, under all circumstances TO your
highest convictions, to the voice of Duty
in your own souls. Let no temporary
good. no Impotence for immediate results,
tempt you to swerve from the line Of stric-
est Reclitude. Remember tina, duty is
yours. while consequences are Gods