The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-10-01


Sromote the usefulness of the Society through
tut our whole county )" and upon this n.y.
sothesis proceed to Justify themselves for utter
IL multiplying the specie instructions which &C.
sompsnied that expression of confidence, to
disregard resolutioes emanating from friend
y committee, adopte,, BY the Society and &C.
Iepted by the committee as a rule of action,
ind their perseverance in which was the ground
ff the confidence viii h the Society expressed
p anticipation.
. The committee as june entirely too much
Then they claim thae an expression of conf
6ence by the Society, shat they would act Judi
siously and with catAelicity of spirit, left it OPP
Vonsl with them not to act at all if they met
With opposition. Tho Society resolved, and 30
Instructed their comntttee-ia reality, they but
echoed the committees own suggestion-that
fney did not desire to interfere with Slavery as
political institution. that in fact, and for the
carer accomplishment of the Society's object,
tley were willing to abstain from all alusion
= Slavery as political institntion but that in
preaching the Gospel by theft tracts, in incul.
eating upon their feRsJw men the obligations of
Ghristianity-virtue, humanity, and religion
they must point out be duties of masters to
g1eir servants as well as the duties of husbands
other wives, parent to their children, or cit
sens to their county and its Government;
+aey must reprove inlpmanity and IMMUNITY as
they must other pra ,tical immoralities " and
having thus instructed their committee, and
tle committee having virtually pledged them
selves to act upon these instructions-in what
vas required of them as well as in what they
lsere released from--the Society, in scknowl-
edgment Of their past services, quite as much
80 with respect to the future, expressed its con-
fdence that the con- mittee would exercise
such wisdom as woule promote the usefulness
Of the Society throo "a our whole country"
Iut in their "recent action. the committee
kave not kept faith With the Society, for the
publication before Us practically ignores the
resolution of instructi .ns, and by an unwarrant-
able license of interpt sation, that is almost in
comprehensive, CLAIM. that general express
son of confidence in their wisdom authorized
item to do 80.
What is their own Statement as deliberately
prepared and published? Attic time of the
last anniversary, whsp this very resolution
rhich the Society at their sug gestion adopted,
nd themselves accept. d as tn ir rule of action,
ne publishing commiAee hal under consider
lion treatise so psculiarl. adapted to the
ew line of action, that the resolution of in
GSsructions seems to have bee prepared with
reference to it. It was treatise on the "Du-
ties of Masters composed OF a series Of arti-
cles written by pious men at the South exclu-
sively, and by the con, mittee was regarded as
meeting the terms of that resolution. This
objection of treaties tie comfuittee decline to
lublish, Notwithstanding the resolution adopted
~ the Society, and its accord with that resolu-
ION. 1t is true, that the committee allege,
srst, that the writer OF some of them is now
.ead, but they do not say that that of necessity
prevents the publication of that portion of the
treatises and, second, that the writers of the
others deem their publications inexpedient, but
they do not inform the public how or why those
gentlemen thus altered their minds. These
allegations, however, have no bearing whatever
upon the merits of the case. 1t is not by any
means improbable that the committee, had
they desired it, could have overruled the obiec-
tons of the authors; and it is certain that, if
the fact was otherwise, other authors would
have cheerfully provided them with an equally
meritorious work of like tone. But these
facts are merely incidentally mentioned by the
committees and they themselves assume the
whole responsibility of qualifying the Society's
resolution passed at the last anniversary, and
OF abandoning, because of local opposition, a
cardinal principle of the American Tract Soci-
ety-of withdrawing the very keystone from
the arch on which rests the magnificent super
structure of philanthropic and religious opera
tons which the long and successful years of
that Society's labors had raisetl.
We speak advisedly, and taill demonstrate
the justice of the allegation, though it is an un-
welcome task. We assume and no one will
dispute, that the first and only legitimate object
of the American Tract Society is to teach re-
lgion-the denials it imposes Bnd the blessings
1T confers-throughout oar whole country; to
teach, IN fact, the 1chOle of religion throughout
the aohOLe Of oar country If this is not its OBJ
Ject, and if it does not so aim, through evil re-
port and through good report, its own consti.
tuition, and the repeated declarations of its off,
GERS and its friends, belle it. Equally true is
it that in the South certain class of vices pre-.
vail, and certain class Of virtues specially de-
mand cultivation, incidental to the fact that
Slavery is established there. Every human in
stitution, every locality or section of the coun-
try, has its parallel associations. Where Ger,
mans largely congregate, the Sabbath is dis
honored. In our large cities, intemperance,
lewdness, and extravagance, are the prevailing
vices. In our border States and remoter Ter
ritorles, lawlessness and violence stalk hand in
hand. In Utah, polygsmY is the parent of
evils innumerable. Into Utah, into our border
States, into our large cities, into the centres of
our German populations, into our slaveholding
States, the American Tract Society is bound,
by the obligations of its constitution and of its
official declarations, to send colporteurs or tract
messengers, bearing witness on bshalf of the
truth that works righteousness, and against
the moral evils and practical immoralites
deplored by all evangelical Christians" whether
of local or general character.
Do we assume an iots too much in saving
this No true friend Of the Tract Society or
of morality and religion Will say that we do.
And yet, harsh though the allegation may
sound, We affirm that the document emanating
from these committees, and now under review,
teaches practically and even verbally the re-
verse of this. Its doctrine is this: there are
certain moral duties growing out of the exist.
ence of Slavery, and ce.tain moral evils and
practical immoralities which occasionally or
frequently accompany Slavery, which duties the
American Tract SocietS's publications should
inculcate, and which imraoraltties it should re-
prove, ust it should, ind fearlessly does, ex-
hort to duties and repro1e for vices incident to
other local institutions or sections of the coun-
try. The committee sdlait that this is the So.
ciety's duty, and that it is in accordance with
its resolution adopted at the last anniversary.
Then the committee declare that this duty thew
decline TO perform; that none of their publica.
tons shall inculcate such duties or reprove
such vices, because citizens Of the Southern
States will not bear such teachings cr submit
to be thus reproved; ADD with the CITIZENS of
the South the Society hes always has friendly
relations, and from thetl draws large share
OF ITS pecuniary support. In other words, that
the Society should not, must not, annoy its
Southern friends with religious counsels. or
offend its Southern supporters by faithful re-
proofs.
We say nothing of this Difference to Southern
sentiments. for
tributions, for the latter consideration at least
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