The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-09-09
For the National Era.
THE AMERICAN BOARD.

10 M0TE d0pftnS, ~. d., LII. H., fTeStdent
ofthe Board Of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions.
SIR: As the large and influential corporation
over which you preside is soon to hold its an
nual meeting at Detroit, permit me to call your
attention to great delinquency of the Board,
in the hope that efficient action will be taken to
remedy it.
The organs of the Board have voluntarily and
freely spoke, against prvateering, war, duelling,
and intemp. rance, and in appreciation of coloni.
cation, the rights of the Indians, and the claims
OF the Lord Day; and, after much urgency on
the part of he friends of the slave, the Board
did, some sars since, speak of the wicked
ness" the disastrous moral and social inAu.
ences which Slavery exerts upon the Indian
missions, az of "the wrongfulness and evil ten
denotes of iaveholding." But the Board has
for many y. ars refused, though repeatedly re.
monstrated 9th on the subject, to admit or af.
firm the pri iciple that slaveholding is a prac-
tice which not to be allowed in the Christian
church-thet the practice of hiring slaves of
their owneE. to do the work of the missions
should be fekbidden-and that in the reception
of members to the mission churches, slavehold-
ing should te considered prima .tacie evidence
against the 2iety of the candidates applying for
admission into the church.
Is it not time, sir, for the Board to utter it's
voice empkatically against the stupendous
s0rong of American Slavery, and to take prompt
and eficacie US measures to clear itself from all
completely With the accursed thing? Can the
Board, at its approaching meeting, do anything
more accep table to the great Head of the
Church or q lore advantageous 10 the cause OF
missions? I has already declared that it " can
sustain no Station to Slavery which implies ap.
probation of the SYSTEM" and yet sustans mis-.
sionaries in The Choctaw and Cherokee Nations
who admit Shareholders into the churches al
Christians il good and regular standing; thus,
before all ,srsel, and before the sum-" afford
ing counter nee to what one of your mission.
aries has ca led "our country's sin, and which,
it is allowed is one of the greatest Instructions
to the cow rsion of the world. Allow me to
refresh your mind, and the minds of the corpo.
rate and ho orsry members of the Board, with
facts on this important subject.
l. 1t has been known that, for upwards OF
IS years, 81, very has existed among the Choc.
taw and CHI rokee Indians, and that the mis-.
sions of the 4. B. c. f. M. have been in differ
ent ways CO.. nected with it.
III. In 1870, the Board was considered as de.
claring that 1slaveholding is not robbery, and
not Inconsistent with an approved Christian
character ar ! standing.
III. In 1912, the attention of the Board was
called to tbs question whether any, and, if any,
how many, 6 its missionaries were savehold.
ers. 1t thea appeared that the Prudential
Committee, n officers of the Board, had for six
years had q letter in their bands, written by
one OF its missionaries, stating the fact of his
holding slavSss.
Nv. In 1874, the Board refused, by formal
vote, to entLsat all the missionaries and agents
under its patronage to bear decided testimony
against the am of oppression--to declare that
American Slavery is q sin against God, and
grossly at variance with all the holy doctrines
and precepts of the Christian religion-to take
measures to ascertain to what extent Slavery
exists in the churches under its patronage, and
especially among the Choctaw and other Indian
tribes, and take such action as shall speedily
remove the evil, or exonerate them and their
missionaries from all responsibility aud guilt of
its continuance or federation.
V. In lS4E, there was something more than
$50 slaves, snd as many as 35 shareholders,
connected With the mission churches of the
Board.
vi. In lS48, it appeared that, in the Chero.
kee mission, the whole number of slaveholding
members of the churches was % in the Choc
taw mission, 38-together, 62; that in the
Cherokee re- churches there were % slaves, and in
the Choctaw churches I04-together, l27
VII. The Board has refused to adopt a rule
that the funds should not be expended in aid of
slsveholding missionaries or churches, and that
In the matte of instruction, admonition, and
discipline, it would expect its missionaries to
treat slaveholding in the same manner as thew
should and would treat drunkenness, gaming,
fslsehood, &c.
VIII. Ate Mr.. Secretary Treats report al
though the Beard characterized the system of
Slavery as sinful and wicked, it indicated its
position and that of its missionaries on princi
pies which it thought would justify the admis-
sion of shareholders to the mission churches.
1t did not declare the sinfulness of slarehold
ing in practice-it did not declare that the toll.
Grafton of it in the Indian churches was but tenn.
porary-but, in the language of the Boston Re-
corder at the time, 80 treated "slavehoding that.
for aaght we can see, it may be perpetuated in
the churches unrebuked." The Synod of Gin.
cinnati also thus held the doings of the Board.
TX. 1t is Understood that some of the most
influential members of the National Council.
in the Indian Nations, are members of the mis-.
sion churches. These Councils have passed
diabolical enactments against slaves, free peo
pie OF color, and their friends, one of them
being as follows: at shall not be lawful for
any person or persons whatever to teach any
free negro or negroes, not of Cherokee blood,
or any slave belonging to any citizen or citi.
zens, of the nation, to read or WRITE" under a
penalty of 500 to $500, at the discretion of
the court. -
K. Mr.. Tyeat, in his report of l849. said
1t" (referring to the policy of the misson)
"does not seem to have been the aim of the
brethren to exert any direct influence, either
BY their public or private teachings, upon the
system Of Slavery"
XI. Mr.. Treat said, that in admitting mem
ho~o 10 <Ho IL Gal
did not consider the mere fact of his austain
ing this relation (of slaveholder) barrier to
his admission to the Lords tables" and in Civ.
ing instructions to church members the rela.
ton OF the Christian master to his slaves, either
as to its lawfulness its continuance, they have
not disturbed ; and little has been said to him,
calling in question the fundamental principles
of the system." This, too, while acting under
the abominak.e acts made for its support
XII. The missionaries of the board among
the Indians have made known that they cannot
make it q test of piety, or condition of ad-
mission to tho privileges Of the ehnrch, that a
candidate should express q determination not
to live and die q stakeholder" They also re.
gard it as impossible "to make it a general rule
that the separation of parents and children, by
sale or purchase, shall be regarded as a disci.
plinable offence" Neither do then sav that IL
should be in any case.
XIII. The Rev. j. c. Strong, formerly mis-.
sionary of the Board in the Choctaw Nation, of
whom Mr.. Kingsbury, the oldest missionary
there, has said "there Is no missionary in the
Nation who has q greater influence with the In.
dians," has published to the world that be
abandoned his field of labor because he saw
the system of Slavery gaining strength and
consolidating itself in proportion to the ad.
vancement of the people in Christianized life,
and no influence whatever exerted by the mis-.
sion to retard the accelerated increase of it,