Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1860-10-13
heIlgIon in PoIItles.
ny HORACE onEKnnr.

A poor woman born Of an unfortunate
race aud of the least desirable color, calls
at your freside or your place Of business,
aud interrupts your labors or your medita-
tions with request that you will forthwith
read her sOiled and sweet-stained papers,
Their purport--which you have already
guessed--is this She lives in Maryland
or Eastern Virginia, and has daughter
fourteen to sixteen years old, who Is
about TO be sent TO New Orleans and
there sold uto the highest bidder, unless she
(the moiher) can ransom her from slavery
by the payment Of several bundled dollars,
toward which she sOlcts a contribution
from you. Your first impulse is to send
her away empty handed, for various rea-
sons, such as these You really have no
money to spare you feel that such appli-
cations have become diSagreeab1y frequent;
you know that this business of sIave-re-
demption opens a wide door for fraud and
imposture you cannot but realize that
slavery will never be overthrown by this
process of piecemeal buying, and you apl!
prehend that il is rather strengthened and
fortified thereby and you shrink from the
thought 4encouraging the slaVe.breeder
to continue in his unholy vocation by con-
tributiug of your hard earnings to swell
his unjust gains In this pcrplexity, your
wandering eye rests on some representa-.
tion of the Man of Sorrows who had not
where to lay his head, and your mind re-
calls the burthen of his benign utteFance
Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least
of these, my disciples ye did it unto me-
What is the natural effect Of that timely
recollection VS.
A hunted and weary fugitive crosses
your doorstep, imploring protection and
sustenance He has Travelled through
many long, tedious nights, avoiding cities
aud thronged highways, keeping, so far as
possible, to the woods and travelling by
night only; through dew-drenehed weeds
aud briars which have torn most of his
coarse and flimsy garments from his limbs,
guided only by the often shrouded light of
the North Star He is still many days
journey from the land of refuge, wherein
he may hope to be permitted to toll hard
and late under a forbidding sky, for the
rudest uecessaries of life, aware that, though
he were to prove himself miracle Of Ca
pacity, energy, and virtue, he could never
rise to power or honor. The stricken deer
wants food, rest, concealmeut, direction
for the bloodhounds,Rre on his track. Illus
trious statesman aud eminent divines have
united in the averment that your duty as a
patriot requires you to drive him from your
house. or receive and shelter only to delude
and betray him. Perplexed by what seems
"a divided dnty,' you naturally ask, What
would my Savior desire me to do In the
premises p and having decided act accord
iDgly Why not
You are in city railear at midnight, and
the cold autumn rain falls piteously A.
brokenSprited woman, with a young child
in her arms, slides timidly into seat. The
conductor looks at her. pereeiVes that her
face is dark as mahogany, aud exclaims,
Negroes are not allowed to ride in this car.
You must wait for the next So she steps
out to fold her babe as well as may be from
the pouring rain until car shall pass in
which she will not be contrabaud. OF
course you ask-you cannot help asking---
Are they Christians who made the rule
which thus drives out this modern Hagar7
Is this the net result of two centuries of
Christian incubation in city whose spires
now count by hundreds p ~
You step into an Ecclesiastical Cougen.
ton, and hear q youngish laymen attempt
ing to speak, amid perfect tempest of
hostile motions aud exclaimations. He is
trying to show-and aoOaA show if they
would hear him-that the African Slave
Trade which is piracy by our laws aud the
Law of Nations-is now very active and
thriving-that 1t has been largely extended
withit the last few yeafs--that this city is
the great out6tting eptrepot Of this detest-
able, murdeFous traiiic-that it has thus
suddenly sprung into Importance through
the guilty, purchased eOnniyance of our
functionaries who are paid and sworn to
suppress it-that a corrupt, ,debauehed pub
lie sentiment, which regards Profit as God,
has largely conduced to pass to this dis
graceful prostitution of the impunity de-
manded for and accorded to our Nation
al aag-and that the Christian Church has
been passively, eulpably standing by aud
consentiug like Saul at the stonng of Ste
phen, throughout the development and
growth of this great National crime aud
shame--and that IL is the urgent duty Of
that Church to protest against this gigah-
tic sin, aud emphatically purge herself from
all completely in its continuance He pau
ses at length and this veneFated Council
of the Church at once nails bis proposition
TO its table by vote of l08 70 ~. and
betakes itself to the appointed prayers and
genuaexious. Does not God say 70 this
eonVocation, by the month Of His holy
prophet, Your assemblies are an abomina-
tion to me =
The People Of the state Of New York
are legally summoned to vote, at their sp-
proachine election. Yea or Nay on atile
question: -.Shall poverty deprive black
man Of the Elective Franchise while
poor white man Is subjected to 20 such o.
Tidions disqualification 2 They ars cot to
say that negroes shall or shall not vote.
for part OF thcm win vote Ia any evcnt--
but whether Poverty shall dssranchise
Though color does not. 4 negro q nala.-