Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-05-02
METHODISM AND SLAVERY.
THE QUESTION sETrLEr.

Dr.. Stevens, the able and indefatigabe editor Of
of the ChrSttuH AdcOcate and JOuJHai, ihe great
oiiciap organ Of Methodism, places the question
Of s!avehylding in the Methodist Episcopal Church
NORTH in the cearest possible light. lie shows
beyond all dispute that 'the Methodist Episcopal
Church to use his own language, rs HISTORICALLY,
ADMlNIsTRArlvELY siavehulding Church"
In the Adcocate and Journal Of March Goth, DR..
Stevens proves that tie Methodist DiScjpiine does
not ProhiGH SlIreholdiHg at but that while it pro-
hibIts THE SLAVE TRADE, it PERMITS and REGULATES
slayehulIing. Here are his words
What does the General Rule forbid and what
does the Special Rule permit The General Rule
forbids 0diay ,cjM any Intention 10 eRs1are or in
other words. simply the Slare T0de, he Special
Rule permits siarehoidi"g which is clearly neither
'itcoHsjsfeRcy' nor ateGtoR."
The italics are his own.
We sunjon the Doctors crushing arguments in
proof OF his position, that savehoding is constitu
tionaly in the NJ. f.. Church, and in utter refuta-
ton of she idea attempted to be circulated among
the people in the West, that the Methodist disci-
pline contains bar To slaveholding- Speaking of
the debate in the General Conference, at Indian.
arolis the Doctor says:
1T replied that it was not unconstitutional;
that the above quoted General Rule against buy
ing and selling with intent to ensidre' meant also
the holding Of slaves! To this astonishing as.
sumption against the planest language we re-
plied that II this is the meaning Of the law, not
outstanding is plain meaning, then the following
facts are to be reconciled.
| First, that it prohibited slavery when nearly
our whole territory was saveholdlng when, out
OF over fifteen thousand members, only one thous-
and lived beyond slave territory.
/ Second that the law was created in slavehold-
ing community. where the members of the Com
terence were probably daily at the tables Of slave.
holders.
Third, that afer the Conference adjourned, no
Such application tcaS eger made Of the taw and no
'sterence was ever made to such intention,
thodgh it WAS haJuuaHy applied 10 the traffic, the
buying and selling of slaves
Fourth, that this very law, or General Rule
before it was transferred to the General Rule or
IcOnsttutiOn, one of long series of statutary
rules, in the chapter on slavery all the rest Of
which regulated 'slaveholding' among u.s. thereby
implying that this one item did not totally in.
te:dc: H. but had reference to the ,raic to buy
ing and selling as it expressly says--a rr4fic
which slavehulders themselves then generally con-
sidered atrocious
Fifth, that its transfer to the constitution was
unaccompanied by word, any other indication,
which showed thar new sense was given to it.
Sixth, that laws were made, through scores of
years, regulating and ameliordtiag slavery, and
thereby applying its tolerated existence in tho
church, but without one reference to the above
General Rule as having absolutely interdcted it.
Seventh, that # that rule did absolutely inter
diet 1t, that Asbury, Coke Whatcoat, M'kendrec.
all the fathers did administer our governments
uneonStuutionaHy, through more than half cen.
tury without GHy one eucr suggesting o. apparent
iy dreaming Of the fact. Let him who can swallow
these absurdties without choking, do So"
1t is but just to DR.. S , to state that willie urg-
ing that it would lie unconstitutional to prohibit
slavery in the NJ E. Church, he maintains that
said church is anti Slarery. lie no inconsis-
tency in these positions. Nor DO we. 1t is all
plain, and very conyenient-an anti.slavery theory
for the nortb, and proslayery practice for Tho
South.
We became fully satisfied, at the last Methodist
General Conference, that slareholdiag could not bo
treated as sin in the NJ. L. Church and we
were satisfied moreover, that the Philadelphia,
New York, Baltimore, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and
the whole belt of ccaral and border conferencee,.
would never consent to change the General Rule
as to make it lawful to prohibit "dH mercenary
slarebo'diHg." The watch-word of the border men
was-"the discipline as is, secession"
Now it has been matter of no little surprise to
us that these statements when made in the Rcligi-
ouS Telescope, have been publicly denied by min
listers Of the NJ. L. Church, and that in several
instances our paper has been charged, in the pull
pit, with talseh9od and malicious intentions to-
ward MetEOdism. We turn these gentlemen over
to DR.. Stevens, and the great oiicial."R Religious
Telescope