Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1863-04-02

the st. Clarsville Presbytery, in which il
says 'it is clearly the conviction of this
Presbytery that it threatens immense evil
to the church Of God aud is dangerous
precedent for the Presbytery to allow any
people to require their ministers in the pul.
pit to give publicity to any political senti.
ment he may entertain, or to identify him.
self with any political question in the State;
but on the contrary. that in his public min
istrations he be guided by the word of G cd
in presenting the gospel of Christ, and in
no way favor an alliance of Church and
State, and that every minister, equally with
the laymen, is perfectly free to entertain
and exercise his private political opinions,
but should not in any way introduce them
into his public ministrations.
Before offering any opinions on the above
resolution, we will give one passed by the
Methodist Protestant Church lately OF their
Annual Conference in New York.
:. Resotccd' That inasmuch as we firmly be-.
lievc that the institution of slavery is the
sum Of all villanies, the great sin of our
nation which has brought down the chastise-
nent Of Heaven, and is the direct and
Legitimate cause of the war that is now des
olating our country, beside inhicting many
other evils, we therefore hail the emanci
patton proclamation as one of the most i'm
portant, far reachiug and mastery strok es
of State policy and justice that has as yet
been issued by the Chief Executive, mas.
much as it strikes at the very root of the
evil, and threatens the entire overthrow of
this iindescrlbable abominaton of human
bondage.
We think it is time that those who SYM
pathize with the cause of humanity, liberty,
morality and religion should no longer be
silent, but speak out. One might infer
from this last Resolution that the Methodist
Church think President Lincoln and his
Government are now on the right rail, its
terminus is the destruction oc slavery; and
that destroyed, whatever else may perish is
a matter Of comparatively small Importance.
We pray God that the Methodist Church
may be blessed with another John Wesley
for tho present crisis.
Let Us look at the features of the Old
School Presbytery Resolution Every body
knows that slavery exists in this govern
m;nt OF ours, and that II has It's existence
by the moral and political powers of the
people combined. There is a moral inau.
ence behind the ballot more powerful than
bullets to settle this great question, and il
has its foundation in nature implanted in
every rational intelligent soul, regardless of
feutures or complexion, and the gospel of
Christ looms up before the eyes of every
honest intelligent Christian that reads the
word Of God, as witness against slavery.
aud every species of injustice. Yet for the
ministers of the Old School Presbyterians
to speak against the evils of American slay
cry, aud enighten their members by an
honest explanation Of that gospel they pru
fess to love so much would be to dabblc in
politics, therefore prove an evil 10 the
Church of God Now there isa sacred
ness in the parental relation acknowledged
in that gospel, by which the children be
long to their parents and to them only.
This is thing acknowledged by the most
barbarous tribes all the world over Ameri.
can slavery disrcgards this relation For the
denial, the utter disregard, and ruthless
violation of the parental right and claim Is
one OF the essential clements Of slavery, so
that one OF the most valuable consdora
tions of this kind of property is its life
power.of rcduplcating itself by propaga
tlon through the very prostitution and
perversion of the family and parental re
!ation for the breeding Of slaves. And il
is wraught into slave laws in terms thatI
might make the air redden with wrath at
such lie against immortality, and such 4
theft OF body and soul in the very instant of
birth, that the child born follows the con
dition of the mother who bore it. The
mother being the property of her master by
law, the child born is, without any preten, -
OF purchase, or equivalent paid, or bargain
contracted, or permission, or consent asked
or given, the property Of the same rnaster.
This claim is in itself, and as wraurh by law
into the saystem of slavery, and set at its
foundation, criminal violation of tho
parental claim and authority as established
by the Creator. In every generation il il
stealing from the parents, even if there
were bargain with the parents, that could
not wipe out the guilt, or change the moral
essence Of the transaction, for no parent
has any authority or right to sell his child
A man cannot abrogate the responsibility ofI
the parental relation for his child own pood.
cannot sell him to another for price. a
man cannot sell what he does not own TO
sell. This 1t is that vitiates the claim To
the children as property, and beyond all |
possibility Of contradiction demonstrates
the system to be sin per Sc, that D,aintains
such q claim as its essence The scum of
the old world may emigrate to this country,
and every tenth man start distillery or
drinking saloon, aud portion of the citizens
may conceive it necessary to pass law
against these liquor sellers, to save the
rising generation from utter ruin. But there
is not majority in favor of this measure,
md according to the resolution it will not
do for those every godly ministers to take
any part in any evil that has political con.
nection for fear the people might know
which side Of a political party they sustain.
ID. Is there no moral in politics? We think
there is, and that it behoyes every Christian
to give their influence, morally
and politically, towards forming Just and
wholesome laws or all partizan' claims or
theological Authorizations, the idea that the
science Of government, the conduct ofrulers,
the political creeds aud practices of men,
The administration of parties aud nations,
tho whole domain, in fine, Of what il called
politics, is sacred from the application OF
God 8 word, and stands aloof on ground
which the Very nature of the preachers
vocation forbids him to invade, is the mad.
lest A greater absurditv cnuld not ha