Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-10-02
Ube Anti slapsrp BusIe.
From the Northern Independent
SLAVERY IN TIL MEL 1H0D1sT EP1SCO'
PAL CHURCH.
SoLoN, CORTLAND Co., n. Y, |
Auyust n 1853.

}
RI UosuER;-Ycu would confer a favor upon
many of your readers and, think, promote tue
cause in which you engaged, by stating IN your
naner the number of slave'hoding Conferences
there are in the Northern Nj. Il. Church. W. AL
so as nearly may be. how many siaVe' 'ho'uipR
minister's, and how many slave-hoiaing memoers
in those conferences. (3l Also the names OF those
Conterences. Believing that such information is
needed and that it would greatly promote our com
mon cause, / have been induced to make this re-
quest. . -s ="
The number of direct slaveholding Confer
ences or Conferences in which both slaves ni'u
slave holders live, is seven But the hunoer Ut
Conferences in which slave holders i've is much
rfSrcera couprisiug probably. all the border Coo,
farsncas in the free States. aud several remoi Z
from the border such rs New York, New lorA
East, &c. - ~ ,
9 |, ia difficult in the absence Of all Official
statistics TO determine accurately the huhoef ot
slaye-holders in the NJ. e Church.
R., I NJ McCArter II member Sf the PhiI:
radenbia Conference of the Nj. L Church, has late
ly published pamphlet III when ne .eSt'n,aoes i'S.
.be number of slave holders In the Phiihdeiphla
Conference at 500 and @ the nunner ., 'a@ rae
owned by them at 1000. These are has exact
words:
Many Of our pricate members are s1ace no'ae'S
y 4 We have come to the conciusioh tla
,hare ara about | 500 members OF our Church III
tbe Ph,ladelphia Conference VINO are sla'e.,ur
- n These we think, are owners
-. A OOO sI,yes Manu- Of our stewards are
- h,,5.rs y One half of the whole
nnmher of stewards in these districts aston anu
SNOW uilI.) are probably slave holders "h'ie on
the INNER portions OF Mary land. and IN Delaware
thev are Comparatively as one to hVe on Tue
.nntbern norti,ns of both districts the pr'cise re
go nor H.. taken az the ratio, Ii. e. five to tne
Ore baIf of the trustees of Churches are pr"bahiy
co,ne.ted with slavery ExhorteIs le"uers, anu
elocal preuchers, are slave holders
When it is remembered that the fhildueiphia
Conference has less slave territory thau any o.noi
slave holding Conference we may iuru m soi'e 'te"
of what the aggregate must me IL rnniaueipn,"
Confarence has 500 slave holders, Baltimore
Fast Baltimore and Western Virginia must eacu
nave at least two OF three times as many "''ihs
them however, only twice the Eumper peious'ls
to Philajelphia, we have in our four Conferences
nomea 10 500 shareholders. In ADDITION 10 the
Cnnfereoces named, we have four Others all IN the
slave states and all involved IN the SIN VI si"Vo-
holding, but to what extent unknown our mem
bership, however, in these Conference &c 49, ~
of ve.bolders is not large. 1t rs greatly 10 De
fsarsd that nearly all the members OF our Ouurch
in the slave states slave holders lne e"'iou'e
repugnance of the preachers ana peopio 'neio w. w.
all anti slavery movements, proves t1I;,'
that orr Church is overrun with slave hoiuinR'
i Slave .boiding is not the exception but 'ne ruio
" If this is not fair deduction from the sehs''Ne
,nass of the Church in that region, we are at lose
to account for SO strange and perniciousa develop
meat.
At not probable that we have great many
troveIinp ministers who are sla veholders, ana ye
as n minister has the same moral nght that any
other man has to hold slaves, it is to be expected
,tbat the rate Of Discipline against 1t VIII be eVaae'
in the slave states. From what ransplred AT INT
late Pbadeiphia Conference, it is pretty certain
that the rule is becoming dead letter AlthouSi
several members of that body were louhu 10 "
slaye-bolders, but little notice was taken OF 'h
fact and thcy were suffered to pass without lnVes
s5tigation censure. This manner OF treatihg "a
ses of alleged slave holding in the ministry sho"
Il how the thing is viewed by the Conference. 1t wa
regarded as a mere technichal intractlon. And Il
this we must say the Conference was oonsisten
ogitb ITSELF if not with Methodsm for body o
1-preachers should not arraign one OF It's own mem
@ hers for doing what is considered 10 be right ny
laymap If it is not wrong tor the ialty 10 hol
slaves it is not wrong for the ministry to hold them
Ii is a fair Inference that our ministers 10 IN
slave states and dong the border will soon be open
Nv slave, holders Our local preachers III that re
zion are now slave holders and there is no goo
reason why the travelling preachers should be dc
nied the privilege. The Discipline ought to b
Is ed in this particular. Why shall our se
.aer6e,ng itinerants he forthd len to follow IN tn
s,ens of the Patriarchs? We eoannot give any def
mite number in reply to the question OF our corre
,nondent. but it would not be extravagant to sc
dawn the number of saveholding preachers in tn
various conferences at one hundred, with the Ia
prospect that if slavery is not Utterly driven iroi
the Church, we shall very shortly have one thG'
= sand. We must have already several hundred Il
- raI nreachers adornng the Church, with the Patr
archial excellence Of chattelism, and from what