Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-09-22
Prom The Northern Independent.
THE LATE GENERAL CONFERENCE AND
SLAVERY.

~. at the late General Conference, it Will be nee.
essary to consider first, what was struck out Of
the Discipline, and in the next place what was put
in it's place.
l. The humbrg Of attempting to change the
General Rule, failed 10 tho Annual and General
Conferences. las we always said il would,l and
with most disastrous consequences TO the anti.
slavery cause in every point Of view. Blu; the in
Jury is done, and upon those who advocated The
ruinous experiment, viz Dts. utyEN, ItBBARD
KISosLEY and EDDY, must res, the responsibility
The reader will remember their sncers at the pro-.
pheoiSs' Of the Rochester Convention ard IA,
Independent, and mark how literally these 'rrorh-
eciesi so called in derision. have been fulfilled
But to the late Conference acti N.
3. In the old Discipline, page &c, we have the
fOllowiug prohibition, in regar1 to the ordination
of iscal preachers;
'Pforided, Nevertheless. no slavehoher shall be
eligible to the Office Of on elder or denc'H, where
the laws will admit of emancipation, and permit
the liberated slave to enjoy freedom
This was stricken out; so that now a local prea-
cher who holds slaves, is in no way disqualified
thereby from becoming an elder in the M H.
Church. By no perversion Of logic can the reno
val of this restriction tend to she extirpation OF
slavery. As we'll nigh. one Insist that the repeal
Of the Decalogue would tend to tho promotion OF
christian morality. 1t was turning the screw the
wrong way altogether. For years this speclhc
prohibition prevented the election of slaveholding
local preachers. Hence, in the celebrated memo
rial from the Westmoreland circuit, in 1912, the
memorialists complained,
That local preachers within the jurisdiction OF
the Baltimore Conference, but residing in the COM
monwealth of Virginia, have, in considerable
numbers, and for a succession of years, been re-
;jected ne applicants for deacons' and elders orders
in the ministry, solely on the ground Of their be-
ing shareholders, or the owners Of slaves
But now this obstacle is entirely removed, and
our Bishops will ordain slavehOlding local preach
ere for the next four years, without the least hest
fancy. II this is progress against slavery, We
know not what would be retreat.
3. The old chapter on slavery, Discipline, pngC
200, reads as follows:
CHAPTER VII.
OF SLAVERY.
Question.-What shall be done for the extirpn
ton of the evil of slavery
Answer. We declare that we are as much a
ever convinced Of the great evil of slavery there
fore no STAKEHOLDER shalI be eligible to any off cia
station in our Church hereafter, where the law
of the state in which he lives will admit Of eman
cipstion and permit the liberated slave to EMO,
freedom.
2, When any travelling preacher becomes an ow
ner OF a slave or slaves, by any means, he shal
Forfeit his ministerial character. in our Church
-aisee Lo o-oosto. if 1t be practicable, a lega
emancipation Of such slaves. corformably to I'll
Lave Of the state in which he lives.
g.. An our preachers shall pradently enforce W
ca oar members the necessity of teaching thei
siaVes to read the word Of God, and to allow ther
time to attend upon the public worship of God o
our regular days of divine service.
That Ihis is e miserable wisha-washy affair an
unworthy a place in the Discipline, we are free
admit. And why ? Not because it ~prohibite
slaveho!diDg in preachers and official member
under certain circumstances, but because it di
not make the prohibition unconditional. applicab
TO all private members, as well. 1t was good
far as IL pent, but was defective in that it was to
Grant of slaveholding. Marx this. 1t was boi
statutory and penal. even to the forfeiture of offci
standing, and the ministerial office. In fact th
very chapter, had ii been enforced on the Borde
would have purged the Church Of scores of mini
tiers, travelling and local, and of thousands
official members. But would the new chapter {
this, il ever so strictly enforced Let US see.
4. The portion of the new chapter most boasit
over as progress reads as follows
'QuestiOn.-What shall be done for the extirp
ton of the evil of slavery2
Answer.-We declare that we are as much
ever convinced of the great evil Of slavery. W
believe that the buying, selling or holding of ht
man beings, to be used as chattels, is contrary
The laws of God and nature, inconsistent with til
Golden Rule, and with that rule in our DiscipliD
which requires ali who desire to remain among u
to do no harm, and to avoid evil of every kind
That is a iolerably fair expression of belief
upon its face, We admit aud YET. taken in connec
tion with what follows, and with all the circum
stances of its enactment, we regard it as a shan
from first to last.
Mark that qualification, TO be used as cha
tels.' DR.. Kingsley, its author, has always scou
ted the idea of putting Shareholders out of til
Church. He advocated the famous 'Cincinna
Rule which prohibited the buying, selling, c
holding &C., 'wah an intention 10 USE THEN 4
sLAvEs.' or this we said at the time
This is another enormous loophole. A slav
holder would say, 4 do not use my servants =
bIaFes' OUT more IKE chidfeH. wine Is DeneN
lent slaveholding.' / hold them, as DR.. Kiugal
has we'll expressed it, as the least Of two evil
My slaveholding is of that class which be sa
may be tolerated for a time / intend to lib
ate or give away my saves, as soon as it will
best to do so. and the Rule has no applicability
my case. 1t is obviously aimed at tho lH usage
slaves, with deliberate intention to do so. n
prove that ! have any such intention, If you can
Now when DR.. Kingsley first wrote bis repO
it condemned the buying, or selling, or hoidir
Of human beings as ehatels.' This struck at
excuse Of siayery-chattelizing human beings. 1
before the Report was adopted, be clipped in
words to be used so that it now tolerates fla
buying, selling and holding, if they are no, 10
used as chaitels.'