St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-02-14
COUNTY ORDERS FOR SALE At THIS OFFICE
MIR. Ford's Lecture.

Thursday evening: subject, "Immediate
aud unconditional Emancipation, the Duty
Of the Master and the Right of the Slave"
10 say that it was able, is faint praise
Take it all in all, matter and manner, it
was the ablest public address, of any kind,
We have ever heard in St. Cloud, except
Grows speech but we have been unable to
attend at many Of our most important meet
ings. Mr.. Ford's facts and arguments ran
in bee line from beginning to end
There was not redundancy, an Irrelevant
sentence, or dis)ointed paragraph in the
wholc-which was a complete and concise
presentation of the subject. We were
greatly taken by surprise, both at the mat
ter and at the manner of delivery which
was clear, calm, earnest and even eloquent,
as MIR. Ford is not known as lecturer.
He assumed that Slaveholding must be
either right or wrong. If right, then there
is no ground for the Republican desire to
limit it, tor if right why not extend and
perpetuate it to the utmost of our ability :?
But if wrong, there can be no other doc
trine for moralists to preach but immediate
cessation of the wrong. God calls upon
all men, everywhere to repent; and says
thatnow is the accepted time. In no place
does the Bible give any countenance to
any plan of gradual repentance; and these
opponents of Slavery who condemn it, and
still talk to Shareholders as if it were not
their duty to repent Immediately, to break
off their sins by righteousness, but apollo
gize for their continuance in wrong, arc the
enemies both Of the STAKEHOLDER and of the
slave, and of the cause Of truth for they
confuse mems minds, by teaching that sin
is not always sinful, that men may serve
God and Malnmon.
Every man has right to his own body
and soul, to the reward of his own labor
and those who take either from him by vi
clencc do. in very deed, rob him. TO take
away mans right to himself is theft
Every hour the thief keeps and uses the
stolen property is renewed act of theft,
and it does not improve the title to have
this property pass, By descent, to the heirs
of the persons who originally acquired it.
If a man steal your horse, and leave it at
his death to his son, who knows how it was
acquired, you do not recognize the right
OF the son any more than that of the faith
or?
Shareholders live by appropriatiug to
their own use that which belongs to others
i. c. by theft. If there were a common
thief in this community, we would think
strange of a reformer who would urge him
to leave off his bad practices gradually; and
inasmuch as he had robbed bank last
week, ask him to content himself with rob-
bling a country store this week, with steal
ng horse next week, COW on the next,
and sheep on the next; and in the mean
thine to be preparing some plan for getting
an honest living.
He read series of extracts from reports
made to the British Parliament, beginning
twenty years before emancipation, to show
the gradually coming ruin of the West In
dias, under the rule of Slavery. At the
time the Slaves were emancipated, the
Islands were on the point of bankruptcy,
and their reported difficulties
since have all arisen from the debts
contracted before that time. On the ISL
ands where gradual emancipation, or ap-
premiership had been adopted, there bad
been continued and great trouble, while
immediate emancipation, which was tried
in two, Antique and Bermuda, was a COM
plete success. In these two islands, when
the clock began to strike twelve on the
night Of the 9TH of August, there were
100000 slaves. When it ceased striking
they were all flee! In Antique, on that
day there were but 1900 whites, and 49,
900 blacks, yet there was no massacre, no
murders, no outbreaks. of any kird.
One Methodist Missionary wrote an &C.
couat Of it. His congregation
consisted of several thousand slaves; and
on that night they held watch meeting
in their church in St. John They spent
the time in preaching, praying and singing
until the Cathedral clock WIS about to
u ).