The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1860-06-30
Religions 1utclliecnre.
To the members and Friends of the
Methodist Episcopal Church within
the Bounds Of Border Conferences

the Bounds of Border Conferences.
Alta meeting Of Ministers and Laymcn
held on the Ilh of June. inst, in the ole
Conference room, the undersigned. Delegates
to the late General Conference from the Bal
timore and East Baltimore Conferences, were
requested by vote, to draw up and publish
for your information statement Of the action
of the General Conference on the subject Of
Slavery.
For the better understanding of the sub
ject, we present in the following parable
columns, the Discipline as it WAS and tho
Discipline as it NOW Isl
| General Rule-PLge 81. General Rule
| The buying and selling
| OF men, women anu Same as before.
| children with an inten-
| Ii on to cnslave them.
| Section lSPagc rs.
| On oRDIAATIoN OF LOCAL.
| PREACHERS.
| Provided. Nevertheless
| no STAKEHOLDER shall be-
eligible to the off &c of nm
| Elder or Deacon, where Stricken out.
| the laws will admit of
| enamel patton. and per-
| nit the liberated slave to
enjoy freedom.
| CHATTER VII. cAAPTER VII.
pr ~, Stricken out and the
D,sc'Pi.he--raS' |os. following inserted:
question:, NAT snail Question What shall
DC ootIe ior me eAurpa, be done for the extirpa
ton of the evil ofslavery! ton of The evil or slavery,
Ahs"er'-"e declare Answer.-We declare
that We are as much as that we are Ms ,pucb 8,
ever convinced OF the eyer convircej nf ,Lo
great efil ot slavery great evil of slavery We
therefore no shareholder believe that the buyng
shall be eligible 80 any selling and bnlIinv of
oihtiii station IN our human beings to be sei
church hereafter where "a chnttlc, Is contr,rp tn
me laws OF me H.a'e IN the laws of God and ma
which he lives will admit turc. inconsistent with
of enamel patton. and per- Ibs Golden Rul, and
NIT the liberated slave to with that Hr,o in ON
enjoy freedom Di.cipline W h ich rc.
2. When any travelling uuire all who do, ;r, IN
preacher becomes the remain among US to do
| owner Of Slave or slaves. no harm, md to uyoid
by any means he shall evil of every kind w.
forfeit his ministerial therefore afTec,ionot,Iv
character in our church. admorish NIL uur nr.ach
unless he execute it it be ers and pcoplo +, k.cn
pructicae!c legal cman themselves pure from this
cipalion of such slaves great evil nd to s..k its
eohi"rmao'y 10 inc laws extirpatiop by all lawful
Of the State in which he and Christian means
lives.
3. All our preachers
shall prulently enforce
upon our members the
necessity Of teaching
their slaves to read the
word oftiod, and to allow,
them time to attend upon
the public worship OF God
on our regular days Of
divine service.
While this new chapter was under consid.
Grafton we purposed to present protest in
the event Of its adoption. considering that it
was designed to have the force Of lar, and
might he construed as creating a new test of
membership. and that it would seriously
embarrass both our preachers and people on
the border.
| At this stage Of the proceedings the chair
MAJ of the Committee OH Slavery, who was
recognized as the exponent Of the views of
the majority, IN closing the debate used the
following language:
d" lou may show this to any unpreiudiccd
man the world, and he will not say 1t is
statutory in the least. and not one man IN the
majority understands it so, and beg of tie
brethren not to insist upon such construc.
ton oft If brethren are 50 anxioua to avoid
excitement, beg Of them not to go against
our proest IN this matter, and insist that this
is something different from what It's author
intended it should be- and then be compelled
to take lack their own words afierward
DIR. Nurbin here arose and asked il he
understood DR.. Kingsley to say that this pro-
posed neu chapter does not lay The foundation
Of any disciplinary action against ann parties
rho are kmrn TO be stockholders
DIR. Kingsley replied that he understood
this chaptc' TO be just what it claims to be
"A drcaIa ion of sentiment and aff.ctionate
advice, butnot TO be statutory. 1t is meant
to be the embodiment of our opinion thrown
upon the cosciences of our people"
On the m'rning after the adoption of the
chapter, another leading member of the ma.
jority Offered the following, which was
adopted by avote Of Ill against 6-most of
the conservatives declining to vote, because
they thought | proper for the majority to
explain their os action:
Vkercas, During the tendency of the
chapter OH slavry, the following amendment
was offered as explanatory Of the chapter,
Provided that tie section is understood to
be only advisory
| Resolccd. Tat said amendment was
rejected by this Gdy. because we regard the
chapter in itself % clearly declaratve and
advisory as not tercquire any such explana-
ton"
Subsequently the General Conference. by
n very large vote, struck out of the Disci-
pllne, from section Is, the discriminating
clause in relation to the ordination of local
preachers, as seen atDvc.
These last two act of the ajorty of the
General Conference satisfied US that protest,
under The circumstances, was unnecessary
and inexpedent, and We, therefore, withheld
the paper which had tren prepared.
Our convictions wee still further con.
firmed by the sentiments expressed upon this
subject in the Pastoral Address, which was
adopted by the General Conference with great
unanimity, to which vi beg leave 10 refer
you.
Such was the action O the late General
Conference on the subjectof slavery.
In concluding our address permit US to add
that whatever Interpretation may be put
upon the new chapter b, others, either at
home or abroad, we believed then, aud we
are Of opinion now, that it las not the force
Of law, but is advisory, and in the admins.
tra,on Of the discipline we shall so consider
it.
This view, in connection With the net of
the General Conference in regard to local
preachers -recited above-stll fully justties
us, to our own judgments. and we trust it
will to yours, that We acted wisely in decl.
ming to take a step which night have been
interpreted as tending to consequences of the
most serious character.
ALFRED GRIFFITH,
&. B. TIpITr,
HENRY S.ICER,
THOMAS SEwALL,
GEORGE HILDr,
j.. Il. VnTcH,
THOMPSON MITCHELL,