, 1860-02-22
TIE RICE CONTROVERSY,
Afr. ltr. Rfes,s -aeensaft0ns esnfn.t hfx
-*f"f<fsrf1t Hrsfhr<~ In snts EIru.

I N*
Editors Of the rrcss Li,u r. uun:
| a TREND has handed NE for perusal, " Lei
| tnres On Slavery, delivered in the North Pres
e5terian Church, Chicago. BY n. l.. Rice. .. D..
a:i my eye bias fallen on The following nara
graph. May | osk your readers to note it, m,
compare It With the succeeding e1tractse:
And now it is proclaimed BIZ ministers O
~: Gospel IN sicily. aud elsewhere, that b,
tJonn Nrown} is Christian MARTYR. whose cr
Tor was in the attempt to excite slave insur
rcction, necessarily resulting in tic most horrit
sccns.s sci.Aout reasonable prospect Of success NJ
a'opc, in the dark nges, ever taught moralitr
c.orc corrupt and atrocous. There is no,hiuf
worse in Mahomet's Koran. According to tl,i,,
doctrine, Christian men usny properly wait aud
slave States, and with lrc and sword effect The
emancipation Of the slaves. ! hare hoped. tha,
such doctrines are really held by ycrr fewt bu,
Nhen l see them taught without rebuke in q
penon,iuational paper-the Congregational Lkt+.
dtd, Of this city, and in the C0rtnanter, of Phil
ade'phia, do not know how far they NAV have
extended their lntuence."-Dr. Rice's [sctsr>s
p. 50.
"We have no appreciation to express of sucl,
enterprises as that Of Brown. They do unmcas.
ured csal-ttlcy accomplish no good, They are
not to be confonnded with the rigl t Of reyo!u.
lion, aud they throw formidable objects u the
way Of peaceful Christian reform 4 bloody
end awaits those who embark in them, AIT
.ney rt TT take tue sword shall perish With the
"1t shall be our prayer that timely rspcn' 'ancc
may avert divlne judgments from our beloved
la1Id, an.l We will lhbor increasingly to opply the
MoFd Of God and the moral power Of tue
church and ministry to the subject Of slavery,
~ II snail be abolished by general consent" -
fI1EHFPTHfdEr1f n~kI
:" ii the sIave cAnnot elect quiet and peace
anle escape, as Paul, With the t-sistance Of the
disciples, did from Damascus, be mnst submit
patiently to the wrong, must be industrious,
apneSt md meek, tnust ehdcaror to conc;liate
the favor and promote the good Of the master.
aud must sllus recommend The religion Of Jesus
qua .iShts9 as far as possible the burdens Of
yisc md command Of the APOSTLES, opposed
though they were to sfavery. Sec Ep i: 5 8.
Coles. 81 ea22-25. l. Tin. 6: 1-t. l. Pet 2; 1920
And those from without vino sympathise With
the slave, must be governed By the same prin-
e'rle, ebstnin'ng from violence, and resorting
to moral aud religious means, prayer, preach
ing, printing and tie ballot box. The spisjt Of
benerolence TO all concerned requires this
course.
:, Judged BY these obvious rules, the cxpedi-
tlou OF John Brown into The state Of Virginia
cannot be justified, whether it we're for insur.
rectlon. or for the forcih'c abduction Of slayes"
"Were it not infinitely better 10 secure
national repentance, md the cousent Of all Sec
LIONS and classes to einuncipatiUnr cannot
s.mpathizc, then, nth ANY project which, looks
to serr1le insurrcction. Il would not benefit
tile stave, and it would be hell on c1rth to the
wAites. II is not the way Of Christianity, but
oi blind passion and diahocal revenge.
John browns expedition, therefore, if il was
ta1nicd with such design (Which be denies,
and think truthfu!1y) or I, it csitimateIy tend
Cd ~ that direction. If only TO be cu;,de1unca.'
"0us hope ID in God mud in His Church. Let
Christians arise and with one vo:cc demand that
this Elm Of oppression s1la!l lie put away, LIT
them use al! peaceful and appropriate means to
kprcad light and to bring all classes to concur
~ emancipation, as equally the right Of the
siaEe. The duty Of tie muster, tie Necessity Of
tile na:ion, and tile command Of God''-toa-
grgatarnai Herald, U<c. 29, 1854.
The extracts under the first dutc arc editorial;
those under the last date arc from discourse
By one Of the editors, first published III the
Herald, aud cxpressiue 4 on this point tic senti-
ments Of NIL. Your rcsIcrs will see how point
ed!y tLey refute the allegations of Dr. Rice!
could not bclicre that clergyman IN his posi-
tioa would reckless1y make such a charge, end
have, therefore, carefully examined the files
Of the Heratd, to sec if aoy article exceptional
to the known views Of its editors, ind contrary
to the general drift Of its teachings, had inad-
rcrtently crcpf into its columns. If it be 60,
Dr. nice llus no right to ignore tho aborc expo
si'ion, in proclsi,ning the doctrines of the pu-
per- But can find nothing Of the kind.
meet with other statements confirming the
above, uud also find illusions TO John brown
n MIC 3d.If f,ff -. =.
tian man, who perisbcd as martyr to his prln-
ciples iaud yet has not persisted, for such men
nerer die), but not a sentence do discover
which countenanc!s the supposition, TINT tbs
Congregational clergyneu who edit the Herald
would for mou,rnt couusenancc hostile inva-
sion Of tue slave States and bloody deliver.
ancc Of the slayes. DIR. Kice remarks (p. 44):
"Allow me to say, That never make state.
ments upon such subjects without knowing
thcl1 10 be correct
Let linn produce his data, then, and, MS one
Of the assaulted, will wait for them, before
resting in tile absolute conviction that he has
borne false witness aseiust his neighbor.
Whether the ",,,insters Of the Gospel" re-
ferred 10, arc identical wttl, the editors, does
not appear; the connection might imply that
they are, as tic same views are ascritcd to both.
Docs it not require some assurance in one of
our city pastors to stand up in the sacred desk
On tho sabbath day, aud apply suc1, an cpithet
as "atrocious" to the teachings Of bis fellow
pastors, every one Of whom, probably, at tl,at
very hour, was discoursing to lis congregation
on higher and more spiritual themes than this !.
An ~
Of n vehement .liatribe against the Aboilionis..,
he coofty prepares il for the press. and prints
aud adyertiscs it for general circulation. Who
are the Protestant pastors in Chicago t! us
charged by one Of their number with corrupting
their f}ocks, by doctrines as dcnapralzing as
those Of the I'apacy in lis darkest day, or the
sensual tenchings Of Mohammcd? The minis
ter who makes this public cLarga must be be!d
to its proof, and if he has made it rashfy be
must bear so,nc Of the blame, which in the
Word Of God is associatcd with that fearful
PHRASE the accuser Of our BRETHREN
dwell here on no other point in the Lectures
than the one which hare specified, but can
suggestive sentence in the last paragraph. As
VIC turn over tho leaf. the eye glanccs ut the fol-
lowing specimen {p. s1) Of the disnilied aud re
fined discourse which drops from pure yuly il
on q Sabbath evening:
A'Aboli:ionisns and steam doctoring belong to
the same Geutral class Of remedies. Buth kill
luudrcd. where they cure one,"-
nnd then rests {r. S:) on this dcvout sentence:
''let ns give up bitter dcnunciatinn, aud meet
n tic children Of our Heavenly Father at til,