The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-07-01
NO. 2S7.

and il would be Just as uncharitabe and I'M
Just 10 attribute the conduct Of those who have
eschewed secession to a want Of attachment to
Freedom ~ to accuse those who have adopted
it, Of n love for sch,sm Each have their own
views OF duty, and. without attempting to de-
eide which are right | state them TO show
that this is an open question. not by any means
10 be decided either way by any authority
whatever. as 10 make the course any one
may take in regard TO it u test Of his Antl-Sla-
very orthodoxy IL is for attempting 10 do tins,
that the late Convention and others like it de-
serve the ccnsure they have received.
There is fallacy lying at the root of the
system of measures have taken exception to-
which seems plausible only at first view. Ii ia,
that the individuals constituting a religious so
ciety are partakers in and personally response
bic for the evils existing and tolerated within
it, Nothing can be more clear To my mind, or
more consonant with every correct view OF
Christian morality than that they cannot be
thus responsible while they are bearing a de-
cided and open testimony before the world
against these evils, and seeking in such man
ner rs their best Judgment approves to Danish
them eventually from that society and from the
world Without discussing the point, remark,
that the whole stream Of Scriptural authority
U -
rupton and apostacy in the Jewish nation the
Prophets from the age of Elijah to that of
Isaiah and Ezra while rcbuking the sins Of the
people and laboring for the publication of the
Jewish church, never seeded from it. Elijah
tried secession on a small scale, but was re
buked by God" What dOest thou here, El-
iah 9"-and was sent back to labor for the
reformation OF the people. Christ himself,
model Reformer, never left the communion Of
the Jewish church. though the whole nation
was far gone in error and corruption. On the
very eve of his betrayal, he joined with his
disciples in celebrating the Passover, Jewish
ordinance. And though the Apostles after his
ascension. organized new one, it was not on
account of the intolerable depravity of the
Jewish church, but because the time had fully
come for a new diSpcnsation to supersede with
its clearer light and purer ritual that of Moses
and the Prophets Had not one 1.-THE q the
prevalent corruption at the time OF Christ ad-
vent cxisted-nay. more, had the Jewish
church been Il pure one. the Christian church
would have taken its place, according to the
predictions of long succession of prophets.
! need hardly refer TO the great Reiormcrs,
Luther and Wesley the one never left tho
Roman Church until he was communicated,
and the other remained in the Church OF Eng
Iand 10 ms last DAY, laboring Tor lts reIOlIna-
ton, and to n great extent not in vain. Were
the Evangelical churches of this country any
thing like as corrupt as the Romish or English
churches at the above periods, it might be II
question whether secession and n new organi-
cation were not best; but we believe no such
assertions The fact that they have not done
what we think their duty to the slave, is not of
itself sufficient proof There are dozen other
branches of duty as deserving of consideration,
in making up an estimate of Christian charac-
ter NJ that of mithfulncss to freedom and Il
sweeping condemnation Of whole bodies of
good men, without charitable and fair csti-
mate of their influence as a whole upon the
world, is unfair and un ust.
regret any harshness of expression in my
last letter not intending to ccnsure any indi-
viduals but must repeat my conviction that
the extreme opinions and measures reproba-
ted, merit censure no matter by whom adyo-
Gated Yours, T.