Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-04-23

serving to establish beyond the possibility Of
doubt that "any publication upon the topic
would dsmcmbcr the Society and put fan
entire end to the labors Of colportcurs at the
South, and to the circulation there of any
works bearing the Socicty's imprint. at was
a change" say they, Gin the whole field from
that assumed as probable in the anniversary
proceedings"
On that statement, substantially.
we take issue with the Committee as
to the fact. Threats that If the Tract Society
should dare to say any thing about slavery,
tho whole South would refuse to have any
more to do with the Society. would drive its
colportcurs from the field and forbid any of its
publications to appear there, had been as
plenty as blackbcrrics for years, and there
had been plenty of talk to the same purpose
in pro-slavcry journals at the North, long
and long before the Special Committee of Fic-
teen were appointed. Every body knew oft
1t was because ofths very clamor. and be-
cause the previous course of the Officers and
| VI lll' '1'CltlN IluU DctIl SUt0 It's 10
encourage it, and was cndangering the innu-
cncc of the Society all over the land that that
Special Committee was appointed. Nobody
supposed the bare passage of the resolutions
would put I'm instant stop to the clamor, or
that there would not be more of the same
sort for awhile, whatever might be published.
The Society had right to hope, and there
fore to say 50, that a discreet carrying out of
the principles of the resolutions would tend
to promote the evident and best usefulness of
the society throughout our whole country, be-
cause such action would gradually dsabusc the
wronghcadcd, calm the rabd. cnlightcn the
| ignorant, and convince all but those who, be-
| ing sold unto SIM were determined that their
sin should go unrcbukcd. No doubt such
would have been the result. in Il short time
too, if the committee had acted as the Special
Committee recommended, and as the Society
ordered No doubt more letters came from
the South after the meeting than before
There were some hundreds Of colporteurs
scattered over the South and Southwcst-all
| appointed by the Executive Officers of the So
ciety and paid by them. To these men the
policy Of the Officers was well known Natu.
rally they would see and hear with eyes
and ears like those of the persons who placed
them in Office, and would report accordingly.
| The action of the Secretaries in distributing
their special circulars throughout the Slave
States, and in gathering opinions from those
prcdisposcd to uphold the old course of rroce-
dure was well adaptad--aot to make "a change
in the whole state of the field from what it
was before" but-to keep it as it was before.
In fact the state of the field is Just as it was,
only more so, and that is natural conse-
qucncc of the disordcrly course taken by the
Executive Officers of the Society, who now
| plead the result of their own wrong doing to
justify the wrong doing itself.
3. The absurd assumption being made by
the Committee, that the threats reported to
them (lnadc from, perhaps Il few hundreds
would be really carried into execution, by the
entire population Of the Slave States, they say
they could not, being subordinate ag,nis, take
the responsibility of acting as the Society had
directed, when such wide ruin. so wholly
unexpected by the Committee of Fifteen, and
by the Society at its annual meeting a(Ore-
said, was so sure to rollow--iust as s'or, in
the minds of the Executive Committee. it
seems, as the next eclipse. If the Society
was to be thus brokon--if the entire South
was to be- thus ''cut on''-if the widest
usefulness of the Society" was to be destroy
ed-if it was to be " dc-nationalizcd IF
the central arch was to be cut out Of it by
our act, ''-''could we claim, saw they, ito
have respected orders, guarded the trust in
tcrcst, or conserved the Socicty's us,fulncss?"
Misunderstanding onall those wild assump-
tons and fiourishcs, it is enough to say that,
if the Committee really believed in all those
coming horrors, and that the Committee of
Fifteen and the Society were quite ignorant
and unsuspicious Of their being SO vehcmently
threatencd,-if their sense of responsibility
was SO overpowcrinS in view Of their increased
knowledge on the subject that they could not,
conSc'ent'ously, proceed as directed, the obv-
GUS course of duty for them was to convene
the Society W1med'ately, (or at least the Di-
rcctors,) to lay before it the evidence in their
hands of the impending destruction, and to
ask for new orders. That would have been
,lustiiiable; but to 90 directly against the
Society's directions for whole year, giving
1t no chance to reach their disobedience-to
use the Socety's means in sending successive
clouds of circulars over all the land in order
to produce an acquiescence in their former
course already condemned by the Society
not to say to secure continuance in their |
places-is different affair altogether, and |
Justifiable on no ground whatever
4. There is some talk in the circular about |
its being san infringement Of The constitution -
"to issue such publications on the subject of |
slavery in the then existing state ofthe public |
sentiment The Committee do not say that
they believe 50 themselves we presume thew |
do not, else they would have said so. They say,
however, that it came up latter the declara
ton of the entire dissatisfaction of Christians
in the South and Southwest with publica tons
OF the Tract Society on this topic" I'VE
should like to see the proof of that 'enhre dis
satisfaction" that this obstacle arising
before them as subordinate agents was one of
the grayest character" Is it not a wonder
that the eminent jurSts who were ON the
Committee of Fifteen wore 50 easy in their
minds on that p'Snt?I They say some of the
surviving founders of the Society said they
thought it would be unconstitutional to rub