The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-08-21
TO CHRISTIANS IN TIE UNITED STATES.

speak II in the spirit Of charity and orotherly
kindness. Ii is on the hackneyed, but not trite
subject of Slavery in the United States We
wish to lay aside all acerbity Of feeling, and In
qure with candor, what is the present position OF
the churches in regard to this evil, what are the
! designs Of the Shareholders, what is the position
of other countries in regard to it, and what are
we doing as Christians to abate the evil2 We
assume. what some deny, that Slavery is an evil,
and we believe that no Christian regards it in
any other light in the face of the notorious facts
that it keeps in ignorance an entire race OF our
brethren that it compels concubnage that it dis
regards the marriage tie, that it breaks up and
separates families, and degrades men for whom
! the Saviour died into chattels personal. Presi-
dent Blanchard, Of Knox College, Illinois, has
made calculation of the number Of slaves owned
by Christians in the United States, which we
subjoin
"By calculations based upon the United States
census and statistics Of religious bodies, it is es-
tinated that Methodists in the United States
own 2l9 ,563 slaves Presbyterians, tOld and New
School) II 900 Baptists, 10000 Complexities,
I0l coo; Epscopalians, SO 900; other Protestants
80. OOO-makng a sum total Of 650,663 slaves
churches in the United States At S40O IA low
estjDste) for ~-pI. slave this makes property
fluid vested in human pontes anu souls of
S570224 200, owned by the American Protestant
churches The influence of this fund must be
met resisted, and overcome, by the influence
which shall remove slavery from the churches"
In this calculation, we look in vain for the
number Of slaves owned by Catholics-nay, we
see it denied in another quarter that the Catho-
lies own slaves at all We know not how this
may be- but, if true is it not suggestive fact
Shall it be said that the Papal religion discour-
ages an evil which Professionalism permits and
embraces
In regard to the designs Of the shareholders, re-
cent events indicate that their aim is to extend
and propagate the evil wherever they can gain
foothold. Utah. New Mexico, California, Cuba,
are regarded as open fields for its extension.
New plots are Matching, increasing efforts are
made, and insidious, but we hope Intellectual con-
spiracies are on foot to accomplish this purpose
Upon this subject. we commend to your attention
the following article from the ZtoTS Herofd,
Methodist paper published at Boston and Port
land
CHOW thoroughly has the old moral sentiment
against slavery which prevailed in the South
and found utterance from the lips Of Washington,
! Jefferson Patrick Henry, &c, been extiDguished
| While those old statesman and their Southern
contemporaries declined any violent interference
with slavery as disadvantageous, they neVerthe-
less lamented the institution as most calamitous
curse Their descendants now consider 1t an
essential blessing they seek sanctions for 1t in
| Christianity. They declare themselves ready to
| tha than
ress Of the evil restricted and they plan conspir-
acies and send forth agents to Introduce it into
remote and recent portions of the republic, where
~ ya lsssa M n al
the nation the deporable crime.
zone thing is quite manifest in the recent
demonstrations Of the slave States, viz: that the
attempts to conciliate them by the National Legs-
lature has only infamed the arrogant spirit Of
slavery That spirit is now more rampant than
ever. IL is not dangerous TO the country; we
never believed it capable Of any open revolt not
withstanding all the alarm and admonitions Of
Northern statesmen, but its old policy, or rather
trickery, of usurpation and menace, and bravoism
and defiance, has not abated an ota. 1t is evident
ly strengthening itself to put forth continual
demands, and if the conciliating policy of our
| statesmen is to continue, we are manifestly
doomed not only to continue but to become more
and more slave-ridden nation. New and peril
ous occasions are pending. Territorial questions,
new southwestern States, and possibly Cuba itself
may soon intervene to revive the old differences
and demonstrate the impolicy of concessions to
wrong.
"The moral indications which Southern slavery
now presents in connection with the Southern
church must arrest the attention Of thoughtful
men. Has Christianity no sentiment to utter
respecting this enormous conspiracy against the
rights of humanity The Southern church,
especially our branch of it, replies in the negative
1t proposes to hold on it's "peaelF course of neu
trality, assuming that the indi Oct influence of
the Gospel will some time orr other abolish the
evil Meanwhile however, the proportions Of
the great wrong are growing on every hand, and
it already overshsdows the whole prospect of the
nation. There is profound fallacy in this
reasoning about the indirect influence Of the Cos
| pei Invaluable is that influence in all Christian
States, but the history Of Christianity well as
it's philosophy shows that the specific action of REX
gion upon great public evils is necessary to their
removal, and that its indirect influence is but
preparatory to this specific action. Slavery, in.
temperance, war, have prevailed in all Christian
States, notwithstanding this general influence of
religion Not until Christianity takes course Of
FACTION against any such great public evil, does it
overthrow it. The time for such specific action is
quite question Of expediency, doubtless, but if
ever such time exists, it certainly does when a
community acknowledges the Christian religion.
A Christian people are certainly the appropriate
subjects Of the full claims Of Christianity and
where those claims are not asserted by the au-
thorized expounders Of the Gospel, the latter
stand before the world and before God RESPONSE
BILE for the failure and all its consequences.
Nothing can be more sophistical than the usual
reply to this reasoning, viz: that to attack slavery
only exasperatos the evil Who does not know
, that this is almost invariably the case with all
, evill Does truth ever assail error Without Of.
fenoe2 Has there been any great reform in the
history Of the world without attendant evils 2
Does not history prove that few things are more
fatal than to lul great iniquites2 Does any
thinking man expect that slavery will be done
! away with in this land without great agitAdons7
This, then, is the only course for good - pho
have any responsibility for this great ~
must direct the light of truth upon Il nv
but resolutely they must expect mud -
ensue but ultimate and greater good. And the
longer they postpone their duty in this respect
the more calamitous will be the evils which will
at last attend their efforts to do IT, If the Chris.
tisn churches Of the South had uttered from the
beginning the real verdict Of Christianity against
slavery, they would have had many more trials
and much less numerical growth, but they would
probably by this time have extinguished the in
stitution and thus saved untold calamities TO the
country, and prepared the way for their own
eventual prosperity
What is the position of other countries in re-
gard to this evil ? England has abolished chattel
slavery in all her dOminions France has initiated
her exemple in this respect; Turkey, Mahomme-
dan Turkey, has also abolished slavery, as have
also half-civilired Mexico and New Grenada but
why enumerate2 Is not the entire public senti-
msnt Of the world, lnfdel and well as Christian
against slsveryl Shall it, then, be said that
America, civilized, Christian America, embraces
| an evil which the entire world ra;Ac,s 2 Shall