The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-04-21
Abandoning" their Churches

The Southern Presbyterian makes capital
comments on some statements in the last
letter of Rev. S. c. Logan to Rev. DR.. ].
L. Wilson,
"Some years ago, as our readers will re-
member, the Northern General Assembly
passed resolutions encouraging and requir-
ing its agents to do all in their power to d.
vide and if possible break up our churches.
(See Minutes, Vol. xvii, PIP. $50, 561.) In
willing obedience to these orders, the Freed
mems Committee sent its emissaries to the
regions within our bounds which were most
fully supplied with Gospel ordinances, as we
showed in an article published May 18th,
1868. There are regions where the colored
people are but imperfectly supplied with the
preaching of the Gospel; but such regions
had no attractions for these missionaries.
And yet in the face of these incontroverti-
bic facts, Mr.. Logan speaks of his Commit
tees 'unwillingness to seem to interfere with
the work of your our Church. And he
seeks to Justify his sending his emissaries to
Charleston and the islands and the seaboard
of South Carolina and Georgia, by asserting
that the colored people had been abandon
ed by their Southern white brethren.
Let us tell our readers something of the
nature of this abandoning, which justi-
fed the Northern Churchs intrusion.
The Rev. R. Q. Mallard was one of the
shepherds who abandoned his flock. He
was pastor of one of the churches in Liber-
ty county, near kinsman of the Rev. DR..
c. G. Jones, and worthy successor of those
who had gone before him; and, like them,
greatly interested in promoting the spiritual
welfare of the negroes. He abandoned
his fock-ruthlessly torn from them by
Sherman and his troops, cast into prison in
Savannah, and when released from actual
confinement, required to report every day
to some military underling in that city. The
Rev. J. S. Cozby was another who 'aban-
doned his flock, having been captured by
the same heroic army, and subjected to like
treatment. The Rev. John Douglas, the
Rev. VIM. States Lee, and the Rev. ]. R.
Dow, pastors of the James Island, Edisto,
and Johns Island and Wadmalaw churches,
had also abandoned their focks-refugees
from the tender mercies of the cruel hordes
who were laying waste our borders. The
Rev. DR.. Girardeau, pastor of Zion church,
Charleston, had also abandoned his peo-
ple-guarded by the sentinels on johnson s
Island in Lake Erie, that fearful prison
which so many of our brothers remember
with horror. These are the fields which the
Northern Church found abandoned by
wicked Southern Presbyterians; and this
was the nature of the Abandonment These
are the sheep without a shepherd whose
condition is so piously bewailed
His unwillingness to seem to interfere ,
with our work, Mr.. Logan further illustrates
by reference to Salem church. This I'M
willingness was overcome, however, when its
pastor was transferred to the Zion churnh in
Charleston. Then it was all right to step in
and break up the church, by representing
that the pastor had left his people, and
therefore the poor abandoned flock must
be carsa-for That another pastor was soon
called to supply his place, did not affect the
matter; although he was one who had de-
voted much the largest part OF his mlnlste.
rial life to the pastoral care of a congrega-
ton chiefly composed of colored people.
The opportunity to entice away the colored
members while the church was vacant, was
too good to be lost; and so it was eager
ly embraced by those who are so unwilling
even to seem to interfere with our work.
Not unlike this loving regard for these
abandoned fields, is Mr. Logan's pretence
of rescuing our church buildings from usurp-
ing hands, to restore them to the owners
when claimed, without word We will
not dwell on this point; but will merely say
that we are surprised that Mr.. Logan ven
lures to refer to Zion church in connexion
with this subject, when, as is so well known,
he did his utmost to retain possession of that
church, and shut out its rightful owners from
it, until he and those acting with him were
forced to give it up