Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-06-14
WHAT THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

bya iarge majority, adopted the recommended
tion OF the Committee on Slavery, so far as to
alter the chapter relating to that subject II
Is now our part to examine the new provision
OF Discipline,tO weigh its words, master its
meaning and conclude as to what conduct be-
comes US under the change Of law Though the
General Conference did not see proper to SUBJ
init to the people concerned the question of ac-
cePtanee, they will doubtless proceed to con-
slder 1t, with full determination to be governed
in their course of action by the decisions of
their own understanding. They will stand
last In the use Of that liberty wherewith Christ
has made them free. They know no head of
the church but Him who is head of all. They
are not Christians because of their connection
with branch of the visible church. but they
became members of a church, in the use of
their judgment as Christians. The only schism
they are taught in the Bible to dread is sepa-
ration from the Lord. He is the vine a visible
church Is at most only a trellis; liable to de-
cay, and requiring repair, and not unfreauent-
ly falling to the ground and dragging with it
The too closely entangled tendrils ii should
have kept upright and open to the SUM- The
questions before US are whether the present
rule permits shareholders to remain in the NJ
L Church, and be honest2 Whether our
preachers can administer the present discipline
and preach the gospel to those to whom they
are sent Whether the church here can fulfill
Its glorious mission while in connection with
sented by the majority of the General Confer
eDce, and who have opened a crevasse in the
old levee which we have been watching and
defending for many years-a creyasse which
IT is their svowed purpose to widen progress
sively until full desolation be poured upo6 Ms
These are the present questions When thew
shall have been decided, there mayeome others
What shall re do2 What form shall we tai %
How shall we move with the least shaking of
our tenement and inconvenience to our family
But these questions are not the first 70 be de-
termined. The when" must be settled With
out complication with the whittier" With
out absolute necessity we ought not to move
at all; if there be absolute necessity il is idle
now to consider the future Even if like
Abraham, We must go into into land of which
we know nothing-GOd help us we must es
cape from the place where we NAV not yorshin
Him in peace. Happily we shall have time
enough to deliberate upon our futuSe course.
Once resolved TO go, we shall have peace in
all our borders, and time to consult the neo-
pie. There is no necessity for hurry nor tu
mult; and We have no apprehension of any
such thing.
Let Us now examine the chapter as IL stand :
changed, and compare it with the old one
The new chapter rs as follows :-"Questiop.
What shall be done for the extirpation of the
evil Of slavery2'
- Answer.-We declare that we are as mucb
as ever convinced Of the great evil of slavery
We believe that the buying, selling, or hold
Ing OF humap beings to be used as ehattsLs is
inconsistent with the golden rule, and with
that rule of our Discipline which requires al
who desire to continue among US to do no harm
and to avoid evil Of every kind We there
lore sneclonately admonish all our preachers
and people to keep themselves pure from this
great evil, and TO seek its extirpatiou by ali
lawful aud Christian means''
At hrst sight many will think that the new
chapter is weaker than the old, and that the
General Conference has made concessions to
the Border, but a little careful consideration
will vlndicate tho majority Of the conference
from the charge Of extreme stupidity involved
IN such conclusion. That body knew what
they were about; and when they urged this
chapter as progressive action on the slavery
question, they were not so silly as not 10 COM
prehend its meaning. 1t is artfulIy construct
ed. The barb Is carefully covered by the bait,
but moments examination bsres the steel
The old chapter declared slavery TO be a
great evil, but carefully abstained from call
ing II sin IL forbade a STAKEHOLDER to have
oficial station in the church, but qualified the
prohibition so widely as to leave obedience to
the precept almost optional with a society. In
fact, 1t was sort of sliding scale of ofieialty,
to be worked by the sentiment Of locality. The
chapter also forbade travelling preachers TO
hold slaves, but it did not place the prohibition
upon moral grounds. 1t left room for the ex
PLANTATION that the evil" in the case of
preachers, was in the embarrassment of their
work
The old chapter also directed our preachers
TO enforce upon our members the necessity of
aching their slaves to read the Word of God
and allowing them to attend upon the public
worship OF God on our regular days of divine
service; but even this the preachers were in
stTucted TO do ''prudently." AS an answer to
the Titantic question, What shall be done for
the extirpatiOn of slavery? the old chapter was
as the mewlng of kitten TO the crash of fhun-
der. So far as our private members were con-
cerned, II only required them to listen to
prudent suggestion ON the part of the
preachers 70 teach their slaves to read the BibIe
and let them 20 TO church on Sundays sug-
gestiOn which probably was never offered
simply because IL was not needed Our
members, under the old chapter, were per-
mltted to hold slaves, with no other restric-
uons than those enforced by their own con-
science. The Church threw the respopsibiIitv
upon them. The relation was not declared 70
be sinful, but only "evil." The Church miObt
have said as much Of malaria. The Character
degree, determination, remedy of the ''eyir'-
o. all these the Church said nothin, In fact
the Church might as well have said nothing at
all, for there was no practical use in what it
said
The new chapter declares that the buyino
selling or holding of human beings as chatteis
Il inconsistent with the law Of Christ, and with
that rule in our Discipline which requires all
who remain among US to "do no harm"
This is plain declaration, that slaveholdipg
Is SIN against God and the Discipline-a sim
gular durality in which we would suppose the
latter element superfous: did We not perceive
the necessity OF looking to some other quarter
than revelation for support Of the declaration.
The word sin IS carefully excluded-the idea
is conveyed in the circumioc tion inconsistent
with the golden rule" The distinction s.ss
ehattekS" Is introduced with the evident mr.
pose Of creating ambiguity, and shsd;n, N.
meaning Of the precept. This law Tern 2 not
commonly understood The peopl. bs-s 49,
led TO oOnfound 'chattel'' with ssca,,is - 81.
something Of that kind They supnosa az,
by holding slaves as chattels, is meant hoIS
ing them with the same views and feeI;nas
they hold brutes; and dealing with their az
wants rs though they had neither Iaind nor
soul, thought nor sensibility. 1t is in this
sense the term is often used tauntingIv 10.
wards them. Now, in truth, schatteI' means
nothing but movable or personal property
something else than real estate, and unless n
man holds slaves as real estate, he must hold
them as chattels. The committee on slavery
intended, by the use Of this word. to exclude
from ceDsure such slaveholding as thew de-
scribed in their report as tolerable that l.