Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1851-03-27


ing through Main Street in Stoneham from the
merciless clutches of the hunters Of men.
Yes, my friends, our principles may get be put
to the test. God forbid that we should be found
wanting in the hour of trial or hesitate for a
moment TO obey the express directions of the
written Word as contained in our text, and nu-
merous other portions of the Bible.
Those infamous enactmenls which now dis
grace The statute books of this professedly Chris
tan nation, come directly between me and God;
therefore, to 90 to God and to heaven, | see no
other way but to pass right Over The tao, ~irrespec-
tive of the result, when a brother man needs my
services.
And if a thousand dollars fine and six months
imprisonment be the consequence to my unwor-
thy self, one consolation among others, would
be, that in all probability the Orthodox church
and society in Stoneham would be able to secure
another servant more faithful, a preacher more
bold, a pastor more efficient. God being my
helper, | am resolved to have my feet planted
on the firm foundation of truth, as upon a rock
amid the surging waves ofhuman opinions, and
no sooner obey a law which calls upon me TO
re.enslave one made in The image and likeness
of The invisible God, the purchase Of the Saw
kiors blood, then | would break the Ten Com
nardments Of the Decalogue! Established on
such principles, | am wiling to 60 tothe judge
nent. And if others cIoose to take a different
course, saying, 1" There is a lion in the way, we
shall be- slain in the streels," and plead that the
laws must be sustained whether :" right or wrong
let them settle II with their own conscIences
and their God. We cannot pause long to argue
with those who exalt the ioUer LdD above the
higher any more than we can waste our breath
in quoting s%criptural proot-teXts to an infdel
free thinker who exalts his perverted and dark
ened reason above the clear sunlight of Revela-
ton.
Now I would not say with Henry Ward
Beeeher, (who, by the way, is one Of the very
best preachers the world has known since the
days of ST. Paul that " the man VINO shall be-
tray a fellow creature to bondoge-who shall
obey this law to the peril of his soul and the
loss of his manhood, were he brother, son or
father-shall never pollute my hand with grasp
OF hideous friendship, or cast his swarthy shad.
Nv across my threshold :"
DouLd not say that nor would l say, as 9TH
crs have SAID, that no one ought to shake hands
with such wretched slave hunters as have Of
late been seen prowling about the streets of Bos-
ton;
Mel whose tgnoble blood
Has crept through scoundrels ever since the flood p
but I would extend this hand of nine to any
human being whom a m%erciful God sees fit to
spare, and, if necessary, throw my arms around
his neck, and entreat him to forsake the error Of
his wavs, to desist from his helIish work, to cease
to do evil and learn 10 do well. would {" heap
Goals Of fire upon his head" and, if possible,
burn him up wuh lore. After all,
The most NOBLE way to KILL : FOE
Is o to kill him: you with KINDNESS
May SO CHANCE him, that he shall cease to be SO;
And THEN HE'S sIAIr!'
But, if fugitive comes this way, | charge
you, one and all, as you wish to secure present
peace Of mind, the appreciation of conscience
anu VI OOu, HIPllHCoo III Il uFiiI ho'lli duu Y
qulttal at the day Of judgement, HIDE THE OUT
CAST, or help him along in his journey 10 q safer
piace, even though you may rsh personal secu-
Ilty, property, and life. Shed no blood; WELD
no weapons but hose of truth and love use no
arms but those which God hath given you -
Yet ever remember, that " whosoeyer will save
his life, shall lose 1t and whatsoever will lose
his life for Chrlst's sake shall find it." o would
it not be a glorious privilege to " lay down our
lives for the brethren % to die, if need be-, with
the crown Of ma.tyrdom on our heads? 1t would
be a matter Of everlasting rejoicing, that we
hau been sacrificed on the altar of humanity,
and while endeavoring to save Gods perishing
poor.
But alas! how dreadful to be summoned be-
fore the bar Of final accounts, and hear the
Judge say, Depart from me yo cursed for
ty, and ye gave me no drink q stranger and ye
took me not in: naked, and We clothed me not:
sick, and in prison, and We visited me not; for
verify | say unto you, laa8much as ye did ii not
to ont Of The least Of these, ye did it not to met
1t will be Of no avail then 10 say, Lord Lord
gladly would we have done SO, but the Ia,CS on
that little spot of earth where we resided, even
the ldws Of The United States Of North .qmcrica.
positively forbade ii! Such a plea would only
be offering an insult to the King Of kings, and
Lord Of lords, who has established in this uni
verse of his, certain fixed and unalterable Ia ws.
more obligatory than all the codes and 1egula
tons of men, and who expects us to obey hu.
man laws only when they are confornable to
the Divine.
Methinks this new law of mans devising,
seeking to conUet wrong into right, & o~bliterate
the best instincts Of our moral nature, will prove
To be the greatest, mightiest. most eloquent anti
Slavery preacher, that ever passed through these
States will makaa host oftrue hearted abolition.
lists - not ~ultraists or come cutters not mere
third party or free soil abolitionists-bu Chris
tan AbOIitiOnists, according to the truest signi-
cation of that term. Why if we are not now
wAKEp UP, and our eyes opened, to the enorni-
ties of slavery, then we are as insensible as the
dead ones sleeping under ground in yonder
graveyard, and as blind as was Sampson in the
hands of the Philistines
Dear hearers, please listen to me q very few
moments longer, while l enquire if there be no
occasion for alarm in view Of the constant en-
croachment of The slave-power, and the dire
workings Of the slave system. Have not the
dweIlers upon tie very soil where rolled the
storm o ffreedom's war" been gradually sinking
into a suicidal lethargy, tending to political and