Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-07-09
BISHOP JAMES AND THE TEXAS MOB.

Bishop James has given the Church on anthem
tic account of the difficulties at the late session of
the Arkansas Conference, at Timber Creek, Texas.
as a perfect Godsend by our border edit
ors, and echoes at the North. In their view it
proves, beyond all cavil, that our Church in Mis-
souri, is par excellence an anti-slavery Church.
And such, no doubt, is one object of Bishop James,
as the whole drift Of his article shows.
Now, we interpret th@matter very differently ;
for,
l. They are taking all the shareholders they can
into our Church, both in Missouri and Arkansas.
This fact is beyond all dispute.
2. The Central Christian -Aduocate, their official
organ, is perfectly indignant at the very slight
implied disapproval of slave-holding, uttered by
DR.. Durbin at our late Conference.
8. Bishop James himself shows that the Arkan,
sas Conference most cordially fe!lowships the min.
listers of the Church South. though stepped in sla-
very to their very eyes. Fur instance, the Bish-
OPP says -
The preacher in charge of the Bonham circuit
of the Church South, met me at Sherman, treated
me with fraternal courtesy invited me to bis house,
attended the most of the sessions of the Confer
ence. prayed in the Conference, partook Of the
sacrament wah us on Sunday morning, and cas
seated beside me when the mob interrupted our
worship
Such was the intimacy between Bishop James
and one of the southern preachers, and perhaps q
ave,holder-praying in the Conference ; partak-
ing the sacrament with the Bishop and occupy
ing the pulpit with him, OF course, by invitation.
while the Bishop was preaching before the Con-
ference. Thus was this southern preacher treated
with special honor, by one of our chief ministers,
and a cordiality of fellowship was manifested, ev-
en- beyond what he showed to the Church South, a
few years since, in dedicating the Broad St.
Church, Newark, with Bishop Pier o.
Now, if the NJ. E. Church in Arkansas is so
'anti-slavery,' why this billing and cooing to
preachers OF the most pro1slavery Church on earth?
Would the preacher in charge of the Bonham
Circuit be welcomed to our pulpits in Oneida and
Black River? And why not? And if not here,
why in Texas? Is moral principle a matter Of
latitude and longitude?
If others thank Bishop James for thus officially
fellowshipping the Church South, they may we
do not. In our view, it was more of an insult TO
III morhl neuoc U 1 III vs. II. CuuFCuI thau q oN-
tate of either courtesy or charity.
4. One more point The Bishop is very careful
to show that nothing was said to provoke an at
tack his object being to prove that it was purely
on account of the anti-slaveryism of our Church,
that he and the Conference were threatened. But
the only evidence of anti-slavery adduced was, q
resolution or two passed by some northern Confer
ence. perhaps tho Maine, and a remark that a 10
cal preacher in Texas was said to have dropped
against slavery. All this proves most conclusive
y that there is but one way at present to extend
the NJ. E. Church into slave territory and tha
is by taking in all the slavehol iers that offer them
selves, and maintaining a studied silence upon th'
subject of Slavery. We should therefore regar(
it as but q slight calamity, if we were driver
from every rood of territory whore cur minister
cannot preach a whole GOSPEL. We firmly believ
that all such semi-evangelization Is, in the end
much worse than nothing. We say, let the stand
ard be kept erect, even if it 60 no further sout
than Pennsylvania or Ohio. And to this all earn
est and consistent anti-slavery men will cay, ame,
Cor. Northern Independent.