Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-02-26

For the Bugle.
The proposition of our friend Miller in the ex-
tracts from his letter contained in the Bug3e of
February 10Th, to erect q new Anti-Slavery plat.
form, is occasion of surprise as well as regret to
those who have witnessed the true'hearted manner
in which he has labOred upon the old one. If
the slave must wear his letters until his friends
succeed in overthrowing "old orthodoxy, a linger'
ing fate indeed will be his! 1. is a grand mistake.to
Imagine that the orthodox religionist is necessar.
lily proslavery in character. 1t is true that the influ.
ence of the slave power has been sufficiently great
to corrupt all the chief ecclesiastical organizations
of the country, and the larger proportion of the
individuals comprising them, through their priests
and leaders, in part, and partly through the pOlit'
ical institutions of the nation. But the same pow
er has been equally successful in corrupting a still
larger number of individuals who neither had con,
nection with orthodox churches nor make any re-
ligious profession whatever. In our own country
we have had various examples of individuals the
most rigidly orthodox in religious belief who have
been laborious, devoted and efficient la5orers in
the cause of emancipation. And in Great Britain
to a similar class of persons chiefly were the Wost
India slaves indebted for their liberation. 1t will
~ W I oay NbSh shbt ONS - NS ~ lNhS
which renders men proslavery in senti-
ment. We very safely assume that this character
of religious belief neither prevents the individual
from becoming a slave owner nor a STAKEHOLDER,
but not that it renders him either the one or the
other of these. 1t may not be denied that whilst
an individual is orthodox in sentiment and at the
same time proslavery, that his religious belief rem
ders more difficult his conversion to righteousness
in practice but it must be shown that orthodoxy
is the cause and not merely an. accompaniment
more or less frequent, of proslavery character, be,
fore we shall De justifable in selecting it as the
proper point Of attack.
l presume friend Miller holds sacred the right
to form his own religious belief and to enjoy it IN,
molested. While by his conduct he in%terferes
with no right OF another he feels it to be his priv
ilege to say to all the world that his faith is his own
concern and not theirs. just the same right per-.
tains to every other individual, however rigidly or.
thodox, or however widely opposite to this, his be.
lief may be. And as neither the one nor the other
of the modes OF faith necessarily render a person
anti slavery or pro.slavery in sentiment or act, it is
obviously the right and the duty of individuals of
both classes to stand together on the anti,slayery
platform and from it to level the artillery of truth
at both proslavery heretics and orthodox believers
alike.
1t is Intellectual culture and moral regeneration
together, which this people need to prepare them for
the overthrow of Slavery. The infdel and the re.
Iligionist, the skeptic and the bigot stand side by
side in the government and diverse as they may be
in opinion are united in practice and in b~rotherly
accord are to be seen ~laboring to uphold the as
sumei institution. The great mass of both classes
might rightfully be included in the forgiveness
sought by Jesus for his prosecutors, if ignorance
be really a justification, "for they know not what
they do" But limited portion of the people
whatever their religious sentiments, really perceive
where the power resides which holds the bondman
in thraldom, and what is the relation they sustain
themselves to that power. And if they could be
enlightened uron that point, judging by the course
of many, who are, they do not possess a sense of
justice, q love of the right sufficiently strong, it is
to be feared, to induce them soon to withdraw that
support given to slavery as frequently by the lib
eral as by the rigid in religious belief. Of the few
who do kn,w where the strength of the slave pow.
err is to be found, it is to be hoped none may be
willing to torn aside to the combat OF opinion,
whilst so much Of error in practice remains to be
overthrown. oue Ia 49,
MARLBORO, Feb, l6, A. BROOKE. ]
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