r,
t. s
i
i COLUMBIA
DEMOCRAT
AND BLOOMSBURG GENERAL ADVERTISER.
llfififi L. TATE, Editor.
"TO HOLT) AND TltlM THE TOUCH OF TRUTH AND WAVE IT O'ER TIIK DARKENED EARTH."
S2 00 PER ANNUM.
rf.-
VOL. 14--N0. 29. BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA-, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1860.
VOL. 2,
Cultttnliin JentorrntJ
IflrCBUIItRP Mint BiTCBDAY MORtlNU, OT I
LEVI li. TATK,
m ni.00Ms.Euno, Columbia county, pa. I
office I
Jn tki n't Britk HvthUitr, pppoittt the V.trhnnprt bv ilda
vtht Court Jfoutt. Democratic Head for(fr," j
TERMS OF SUnSCUlI'TIO.V, I
$1 OH In a-Untice, for one C"py( fr nix month.
"5 In adtanre, fur mie ropy, dim- )ear.
$ 0J If nut paid w itliin tho firt three nimiih,
S CI If not paid within thu Ilrt six months.
9 5U Ifnnt n' nilliln the r.
tt"7 No Liiibrrlplinri taki'ti fur !fn than ait uvmihit,
and no paper iliicontiimed until nil nrrcitrnyes nliull li.iu
bocu paid..
?y Ordinary ApvrRTtKMriT Inserted, nml Job ork
Tucuted, at the established prices.
(El)oicc JJoctru.
THE TIDES.
tt WILLIAM ttl.t PS HRViKT.
TM'rno'on'ip. at hot full, and, riding hlijh,
Flood i thealin fit till with light,
TWaira that hover in the ummer fky
Are all adeep touight.
i I
Thericomco no voice fnmi the great woodland rounJ,
That niumiuri'il all th j djy ;
Ht-nealh the bndov nf their boughs, the ground,
U uut mure ttlll than they.
Cut ver li;a tu and moan, the reitlem Deep;
Ilia railing tnh'H I hrar,
Afar I we tlic glimmering billow s leap;
I ieu theru break! ng near.
Each ware spring upward, climbing toward thefair,
1'uro light th.it pIu mt high
Pprlnga' eagerly, and faintly ninkito wln-ru
The mother water Iij.
Upward again it fvclH; the moonbunmi ehow,
Ajaln.it glitnmi'rjug creel;
AgalnUfeelatho fatal w eight below,
Anil links, but nut tu rst,
Aga Infantl yet npaln ; until iho perp
' flccalUhl bruml of wavea;
And with a fiiIIlii moan, nfcashud, they creip
link, ti Iili inner oivtii.j
. '
Brief rcrpitc 1 they f halt nub from thnt rereas
U'ith nuiac uml tiiinnlt noon,
And fling thcniirl wc, uiili unuailins flrea,
Up luward thu plat id tnoun.
''V-
Oh, rcatlCM Pea, thnt in Hi) prUim vtta
llonttruguti' an. I complain ;
Thrntfltlw fluw teiiturii-H )vartiiiig lu Ui neur
To that fair orb tin am.
Thtf glorioud Koiirrci'f litfht and licit m'nt warm
Tli) biTiom with In plow,
And tin tliosu niuiintni waca a imbkr form
And frjer hl- bertuv.
Then only miy they l.-ac Up wnMs nf brine
In which tln-y wUter hwrc.
Anil rUwabrnt'tlir lulln of earth, and rhiuu
Jiittrener splurt)
iHisccIlancons.
A'HUSIJAND AND FATHEIS.
A young man ami liU wifo wore prepa
red tu attcml u C'lni-tmii.s party at tho
liouso of a frieiul i-onio miles distant.
" Henry, my doar liu-liaml, don't drink
toj mucli at tho party to-day; you ill
proniiso uic, won't you?" said .--lio, putting
her hand upon his brow, and raising her
ryes to his iaee with a pleading glance.
" No, Millie, I will not; you may trust
we.'' - -
And 'he wrapped his infant hoy in a soft
blanket as they proceeded.
The horses were soon prancing over tho
turf, and pleasant conversation beguiled
tho way.
" Now don't forget your promise," whis
pered the young wife, as she passed uji tha
fctcps.' ,V
Poor thing 1 the was the wife of a man
who loved lo look upon the wino when it
was Ted.
Uut his love for his wife and babe, whom
they both idolized, kept him back, and it
was net often that he joined in the baccha
nalian revelries.
Tho party passed oft pleasantly, the time
for departing drew near, and tho wife de
fended from the uppor chamber to join
her husband. A pang shot through the
trusting heart as sho met him, for ho was
intoxicated ho had broken his promijo.
Silently they rodo homcward,savewhcn
the drunken man would break into Biiateh
ca of eong, or unmeaning laughter. Hut
the wife rodo on, with a grieved heart.
" Oivo mo tho babo, Millio, I can't trust
you with him," said ho, as they approached
a dark and somewhat swollen btroani which
thoy hadto ford.
After some hcsistatlon sho resigned her
first-born, her darling, closely wrapped in
the great blanket, to his arms. Over the
dark waters tho noble steeds safely boro
thein, and when they reached the bauk tho
nothcr,askcd for the child.
With, much care and tcudsrncss ho laid
the buudlo in her arms, but when eho
clasped if to her bosom no child was thero !
It bod slipped from the blanket, and tho
drunken father knew it not I
A wild shriek from the mother aroused
him, and he turned just in t'uno to sco tho
little rosy fnco rise one moment above tho
dark waves, then iuk, forever.
What a spectacle 1 the idol of his heart
gone gone forever ! and that, too, by his
own intemperance. Tho anguUh of the
wothor and the remorse of tho father, nro
better imagined than described.
DEAD YET LIV1NO.
The cedar is motuseful when dead. It
is the most productive when its place knows
it no more. Thero is no timber like it.
I'irm in tho grain, and capable of the
finest polish, tho tooth of no imcct will
touch it. Diffusing a perpetual fragrance
through the chambers which it ceils tho
worm will not corrode tho book which it
protects, nor tho moth corrupt the garment
which it guards all but immortal itself, it
transfuses its amaranthine qualities to the
objects around it. Every Christian is use
ful in his life, hut tho godly cedars are tho
most useful afterward. Luther is dead,
but the Itcformatiou lives. Cuhiu is dead
but his vindication of God's free and sov
ereign grace will never die. Know, Mel
ville and Henderson are dead, hut Scot
land still retains n Sabbath and a Chris
tian peasantry, a Dible in every house,and
a school in every pari-li. llunyan is dead
but his bright spirit still wakes tho earth
in its "l'ilgrim's Progress." Uaxtcr is
dead, but souls nro still quickened by the
''Saint's Host." Oowper is dead, but tho
"go'den apples'' are still as fresh as when
newly gathered in tho "silver baket" of
the Oliuy Hymns. Elliot is dead, but the
missionary enterprise is joung. Henry
Martyn is dead, but who can count the ap
ostolic spirit who phocnixlil;c,havo started
from his funeral pile ? Howard is dead,
but modern philanthropy is only commen
cing its career. Iluikcs is dead, but the
Sabbath Schools go on. Wilbcrforco is
dead, but thu negrowill find for agos a
protector in his memory. Jiev. James
Hamilton.
- -
TESTS OF CHA11AOTE11.
A groat many admirable actions aro
overlooked by us,because they arc so littlo
and so common. Take, for instance, the
mother who has broken slumber ; if any
at all, with tho nursing babe, whoso wauts
must not bo disregarded ; sho would fain
sleep awhilo when tho breakfast hour
conies, but patiently and uncomplainingly
sho takes her timely scat at the table.
'I hough exhausted and weary, she serves
nil with a refreshing cup of eoflcc or tea
before sho sips it herself, and often the cup
is handed back lo he r to bo rcfdled before
she has time to tato her own. Do you
hear her complain this weary mother
that her breakfast is cold before sho has
time to eat it ? And this is not for one,
but every morning, perhaps, through tho
year ! Do you call this a small thing?
Try it ami sec. Oh ! how does women
shame us by her forbearance and fortitude
in what are wrongfully called little things!
Ah ! it is those little things which arc tlio
tests of character, it is by these "little,''
self dcniuls, borne with such sclf-forgotten
gentleness, that the humblest home is made
beautiful to tho eyes of angel1-, though we
fail to sco it, alas ! till the chair is vacant
and the hand which kept in orderly motion
all this domestic machinery is powerless
and cold.
What is Conscience? "The very
last page Thcotloro Parker's buisy fiingers
ever wrote, tells tho child's story, 'that
which,' lie says, 'no eont in my life has
made so deep an impression on me. A
little boy in petticoats, in my fourth year
my father sent mu from tho field home. A
spotted tortoiso, in shallow water, at the
foot of a lhodora, caught his sight, and ho
lifted his btiek to ttiiko it, when a Voice,
said 'it is wrong.' I stood with uplifted
j,tick, in wonder at tho now emotion, til
rhodora and tortoise vanished from my
sight. I hastened home, and asked my
mother what it was that told mo it was
wrong. Wiping a toar with her apron,
and taking mo in her arms, she said :
'Some men call it conscience ; but I pre
fer to call it the voice of God in tho soul
of man. If you listen to it and obey it,
then it will speak clearer and clearer, and
always guido you rights. Dut if you turn
n doaf ear or disobey, then it will fade out
littlo by little., aud leave you in tho dark
without a guide.'1 ll'eniltlt IViilijjs.
Ba3" A man who has treated you with
attention, but now with indifference, la
bors under a conviction of havinu previ
ously mistaken your character, or is now
agrceablo with misconstruing your con
duct tho first bhows a mortifying want
of disocrnmcnt ; tho latter a pitiable want
of generosity.
JDST What is lovo, Kalo ?'' said a young
man to his bright particular, tho other
night.
" Lovo, .TopI, well I declare I dout
unless it is getting married and kissing
little babies."
.loci ('.tinted
HUMANITY IN NEW ENGLAND.
No portion of the people of our country
nro more ready to criticise and to censuro
the faults, negligcucies and improprieties
of those of other parts of the Union, than
aro the citizens of tho Eastern States.
They claim a greater progress in civiliza
tion, a more refined humanity, aud a higher
appreciation of right and justice, than they
aro willing to accord to the residents of
j other sections of tho country. Their as
sumptions of superiority render them prop
er subjects for criticism, aud as they have
shown a disposition to judge the people of
other States by their institutions, customs
and notions ef humanity and Christianity,
they should bo tho last to complain if
their own shortcomings bo exhibited to
their own eyes.
Krom a cotcmporary wo cut tho follow
ing item :
"Justick with a Vkncieanck. There
is a person in the Massachusetts State
Prison under a sentence of fourteen j ears'
imprisonment for petty larceny, and anoth
er for ten years lor the same offence.
These fearful sentences were inflicted by
courts to appease local excitement 1 In
the same prison is a man sentenced for
eighteen months for bigamy, in successively
marrying and deserting tour respectable
young women, uudcr no extenuating cir
cumstances. They seem experimcu'ing in
Massachusetts in u strange way."
And from tho accounts of tho recent
awful calamity at Lawrence, we take this
incident. Describing the condition of some
of the persons taken from the ruins of the
fallen mill, the report says :
" Margaret Hamilton, nged fourteen
years. This was her first day's work in
Pembcrton Mills. She commenced work
in the spooling room. A devoted mother
attended her, and when asked what inju
ries her daughter had received, 'her arm
is broken and her head is broken, aud oh,
my God 1 (aud here the poor woman burst
into a flood of tears,) my poor darling is
all broken. The unl'or uuatc girl died to
day. The name of her mother is Mrs.
Mary Ann llamiltion. The daughter was
tho main support of the mother and four
younger children. Mrs. Hamilton has
lived in Lawrence since August last."
From this it appears that a girl fourteen
years of age, just at the time of life when
she should have been receiving an educa
tion which would havo fitted her to be use
ful and agreeable in society this young
creature was, by the neglect of the people
of Massachusetts, compelled to furnish the
main suppoit of a family of five persons,
besides herself. Of course, a mother, who
would take proper care of four younger
children, could cam but li'tlc for their
subsb-tance ; and the scant earnings of this
poor f.ictory girl had to be taxed for tho
lood, clothing, and comforts of her littlo
sisters.
Could anything more forcibly illustrate
the hollowuess of that canting philanthropy
which shuits its eyes to thu condition of
poor families and helpless children strug
gling for BiibM-tance, and yet looks abroad
to find cruelty and inhumanity to rebnke,
and which raises its voice in pious horror
at Iho iniquity of tho people of other States,
and refu-es affiliation with them hecauso
thoy do not hesitate to uu the stimulus of
tho lash to compel the labor of indolent
negro slaves ?
Should those who aro such uncompro
mising advocates of true principles, who
are ready to enter into a desperate strife
for rights and universal freedom, forget j
the teachings of humanity and Christianity ? j
Can anything moro strongly show tho cold
hearted callousness of a community than
such neglect of persons willing to be useful I
as is exhibited in the case of Margaret'
Hamilton ? Tho sudden catastrophe which
has crushed out the life of this poor but
devoted gill, has but revealed one of many
sad cases which do not get into tho news-'
papers, aud consequently aro unnoticed. I
The laws of all our States acknowledge
that it is the duty of a Commonwealth to
provido for paupers and criminals ; but
thoo very States which have accumulated
most wealth from the industry of the peo
ple, and whose leading citizens are most
loud in praise of their refinement, intelli
gence and philanthropy, utterly refuse to
acknowledge that they aro in duty bound
to do anything for tho industrious and use
ful. While vice, crime, and degradation
aro regarded as proper recipients of public
charity or generosity, unobtrusive virtuo
is left to strugg'e with heartless avarice,
and the cold indiffercuco of tho prosperous
and wealthy, for tho most meagre subsis
tancc. How applicable to such inhuman disrc
gai d of the condition of the destitute and
unforiunate, on tho part of those who mako
an ostentatious di-play of their own liber
ality and justice, while they censuro tho
faults of others, is that rebuko of the Sa
Aiour of mankind, which tells hypocrits to
pluck the beam from their own ryes, before
they strive to see a nioto in their brother's
eye.
To indici a punishment of ten or of four
tcon years imprisonment upon persons
found guilty of petty larceny, is an evi
dence of the high valuo which Massachu
setts sets upon the sccutity of property;
and to impose but tho comparatively mild
sentence of eighteen months incarceration
upon a wretch who had brought misery
upon four virtuous women, shows that in
that State there is but little regard for good
morals or the peace of families.
At tho present time our country is con
vulsed from ccntro to circumference, be
cause of tho difference of opinion which
men profess lo hold with regard to tho
propriety and justice of negro slavery ; and
no, part of tho Union is more bitter in its
denunciations of that institution than New
Euglaud ; and yet no Southern slavehold
er imposes upon a girl of fourteen years
the burthen of supporting a family, nor
docs ho leave a family of slaves to suffer
from neglect, because such a girl is unable
lo cam their support.
If slavery bo so groat a wrong as the
Abolitionists of tho Eastern States repre
sent it lo bo, tho wrong is manifestly in its
inhumanity, and the cases we have present
ed hero prove beyond question that there
is inhumanity enough in New England to
engage the attention of their ardent phi
lanthropists for some timo to come') and
if avarice is the root of the inhumanity,
which in tho South exhibits itself in dri
ving indolent slaves to their work, or sell
ing them for money ; and in the North in
the heartless neglect which places poor
females and children in such circumstances
that they arc forced to" vice, crinio and
degradation, it is certain that avarice is
the groat foo of humanity and Christianity,
and as this fiend pervades the whole Uni
on, aud destroys tho happiuess of vast por
tions of the people, tha proper course for
true philanthropy to pursue, is to restrain
tho demou in its own locality. Let New
England exhibit a genuine humanity to
wards her own people, and other parts of
the Union will be ashamed to refuse to
follow her example. Actions do better
than professions. The story of Margaret
Hamilton may furnish a theme for some of
tho eloquent tongues or pens of New Eng
land, and they may find scope for the most
withering rebukes of tho inhumanity which
leaves such girls to toil in obscurity and
despair, for tho support of littlo brothers
and sisters. rtilarlelpftia Dully Anvs.
QUAKER'S LETTER TO A WATCH
MAKER. I herewith send thoo my pocket clock,
which greatly standcth in need of thy
lricnilly correction. J he last time lie was
at thy friendly school, ho w.n in no way
reformed, nor in the least benefitted there
by ; for I porccivo by tho tindcx of his
mind that ho is a liar 1 that his motions
aro wavering and irregular ; that his pulse
is somewhat slow, which betokeneth not an
even temper ; and at other times he wax
eth sluggish, notwithstanding I do fre
quently urgo him, when he should bo on
his duty as thou knowest his usual uamo
denoteth, I find him blnmbcring, or as the
vanity of human reason praiscth, I "catch
him napping.'' Examine him therefore,
I beseech thco thoroughly, that thou may
ct, being acquainted with his inward
frame and disposition, draw him from' the
error of his way, and show him wherein
lie should go. It grieves me to think,nnd
when I poudcr thereon, I am verily of
opinion that his body is foul, and that the
whole mass is corrupt. Cleanse him,
therefore I beseech thco, with thy charm
ing physic, from all pollution, that ho may
vibrato andjcirculato according lo tho truth.
I will place him a few days undor thy caro
and pay for his hoard what thou requirest.
I entreat thcejfriend John, demean thyelf
on this occasion with judgement, according
to tho gift which is in thee, and prove thy
self a workman. Aud when thou layest
thy correcting hand upon him, lot it be
without passion, lest thou should drivo him
to destruction. Do thou regulate his mo
tion for a time to come, by tho motion of
light that rulcth tho day ; and when thou
findest him converted from flw error of his
ways, and more conformablo to tho above
mentioned rules, then do thou send him
home, with the just bill of charges drawn
out in the true spirit of moderation, and it
shall bo sent to thee the root of all evil.
865" " Porter" asked an old lady of a
rail-way porter, " when docs tho nine
o'clock train leavo ? " Sixty minutes past
eight o'clock, mum,"' was Miko's prompt
and prcciso reply.
Cr " Short calls aro best," as the fly
paid when he lit on a hot etovc.
Thirteenth Delegated Conference.
METHODTST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
TWENTY rinST DAY.
The conference met at the usual hour,
Bishop linker in the chair.
T. 0. Murphy, of Philadelphia, obtain
ed the floor, and said :
Mr. President : Compared with many
of these venerable men boforc mo, I am
, . ...i. T 1 !..
mu a young man , ,x,.-,uu
cd worthy bv mv conference a place among
, ' ' 3 , , . , . "
ber delegates, and thero is n degree of re- ,
..... ... .i-
sponsibil.ty devolved upon mo upon this
and upon all other question, that are to
come before this conference, nuil to meet
tbi, responsibly ,n part I havo risen to (
auuressjou.
The report commences sir,by presenting
a question, and it is one of the greatest
that has ever been presented to the consid-
cration of the Methodist public. That
question i, What shall be done for tho cx
tiipation of the evil of slavery ? It is no'
a new question. Rut what is its import?
Whatever else it may mean, we conceive
that it looks toward the diminution of the
aUnul iimouiit of 'slavery anl a mitigation
ofilsivils. Though our legislation and
administration can bear legally only upon
ourselves and our members, yet it bca rs
upon them only in view of accomplishing
this object. Rut it is desirous to act
through them, upon the community, by
creating a corresponding public sentiment
and preparing the slave for his liberty 1 W'U "ot "How of interference on the part
whenever in tho providence of God it sh all of t'''r !'stor 't33) "3 you have been
be provided. lately in Virginia. Will tho people of
This is tho view of our fathcrsiml the very ' fSew K"Sla nd permit the people of Virgin
view sustained by tho report under consid-, i:1 to iai' wIiat they must do? Or will the
cration. If wo return to the report we l'coplc of Virginia permit tho people of
shall find evidences of this fact. The re- j 'cw England to say what they must do ?
port says : If, then, there be a jealousy respecting
"For seventy-six years the question at stilto T'Sli Il0W mucu "oro will there be
the head of our present chapter on slavery i " jealousy in regard to those Churches
has remained substantially what it now is : ' wll violate their civil obligations , and cs
'What shall he done for the extirpation of
the evil of slavery?' During all this pa-
riod, and more, there has no day interven
cd in which our Church has not testified
against slavery as a great evil, and one
whoso extirpation is to bo sought by all
lawful and Christian means. Nor has our
acknowledged antislavory po-ition been
unprouuctive ol cooil lruits. There is no i
power in the truth,whcn faithfully uttered
to influenco tbo conscience of mankind.
Tho testimony which our Church has borne
has done much toward the fornrition of a
correct public opiuion. Under its influence
many thousands of slaves havo been set free
and many thousands, who otherwise would
have been slave holders,, have refrained ;
and many thousands more, who aro still
holding slaves aro doing so with conscience
ill at case. Rut for this testimony a num
ber of tho Western States, now free, would
' nrnbnblv In-ilnv lin hlnvn stntr-u "
L j .v .- ,
Rut it is claimed that advanced action
is necessary, and the majorityjpropo.se such
action. Tho argument, sir, in favcr of tho
report may be syllogistically stated thus :
I Tho action of our Church in reference
! to slavery has resulted in good, but tho
measure now proposed will result in great
i er good ; therefore tho mcasuro ought to
be adopted.
Now, sir, wc very cheerfully conceive
the major premise ; but wc object to the
minor premise for these reasons :
First. It would bring us in direct an
tagonism to the State. This view of Iho
subject caused some misgivings in the minds
of the majority. Thoy refer to it in theso
words :
"To tho charge that wc arc violating the
laws of the land a brief answer mustsufiicc.
If we choose to keep as free as wo can
from the evils of slavery, how do we thus
violate the laws of the land ? Do the laws
of the land require the members of tho M.
E. Church to hold slaves I How do we
then violate the laws by declining to hold
them ? Mut we practice every ovil which
tho laws permit lest we be charged with
violating them ?"
Now, sir, here is a false issue raised
and presented to our notice. It is not a
fair and clear statomcnt of the facts invol
ved in tho case. During the past number
of years there has been no little agitation
on this question in the North, and its re
flex influence has been felt iu tho South,
And thoy have bcon compelled to enact
laws more and moro stringent, whilo in
some of tho states manumission has bceomo
a legal impossibility ; and that is the case
in somo of the border conferences. If
thero is any onc hero who doubts tho fact,
I have in my pocket a printed extract of
the laws there that will establish tho fart.
Now if our Church requires manumission
of the slaves, and if these laws forbid
emancipation, then wo submit the question
if this General Conference is not aBked to
array the Church against the State, whero
can wo look for protection in what sho
may regard her dearest rights in other re
spects ? Is tho general Conference pre
pared to take this attitude before tho world!
Is she prepared to take the position of di
rect resistance to tho civil power ? If she
docs, I submit tho question. Where will
she find an example for this ?
She will not find it nmong tho Protest
ant Churches of America. She will not
Cml i i tl,e Kew Testament. Tho groat
, , . ... ,
founder of our religion never arrayed lum
, , . .
f'c" gint the civil institutions of the coun-
d q(
. t(j
... , , n rt- i- ? re
is nuthorizcd to Sarray licr.
self against tho civil power, then all the
denominations are. If she is nuthorizcd
to arrny icr,0f against onc ,nw hat b,l0
,)ccm, 0bnoxious, then sho may against
CTCry law. I ask. sir.what will bo the re-
suit of this? It does not require much
foresight to sec that '-the sword of Cnwar
will be mightier that the crook of the shep
herd ?"
Rut if it be ever proper for an cclcsias-
tical organization to array itself against
tlio State, it is clear ills only to be done by
that portion of the Church which is in the
States respectively concerned. "No inter-
ferenco from abroad," is the doctrine of
America ; and what is true of tho general
government is trueof the state governments
They are jealous of their rights. They
penally when it is done by tuoso living be
)'01"1 tlie territory concerned, and iu spite
; of tho remonstrances of thosj residing with
in the territory ?
Where will the result of this bo found ?
What will be the effect of it upon the
states respectively ? This was not tho
action of our fathers. They regarded
the
laws of tho country; and what was i
unon tho M,bieet of slaverv w nnlvl
! t,onc ul'" tbo '"bj' f slavery was only
to allect tncni bo taf as was consistent
with tho laws of the btato. This has been
left for this General Conference, in the
year of grace 1801), to propose to do ?
And what is moro astonishing than all
this, thu Golden Rule is quote 1 as author
ity for this arraying of the Church against
the stato ! Now docs the Golden Rule
requiru us to place ourselves in contact
with tho civil power ? Either the apost
jj,'
les understood it, or they did not.
they did, they must have been governed
by it under all circumstauccs. If thtij
did not, who of us can understand it ?
If they did understand it as requiring them
to array themselves against thu civil laws
of the couutry, they must have proclaimed
tho doctrine. They were surrounded with
slavery in its most hideous aud revolting
forms. Paul could not go to Athens
without passing by where slaves were!
bought and sold, and one of tho first acts
of his ministry at Corinth was to heal a
slave ; yet they never denounced slavery
perse, i hey denounced tbo slave-trade,
or, as it is called in our version, " man
stealing," but never denounced it as a civil
or political relation. Thoy sought to
control it by the principles of tho Golden
Rule. They exhorted masters and slaves
to the performance of their reciprocal
duties, but they never interfered with it
as an institution of society. If this be
true, it follows that they did not under
stand the Golden Rule as the editor of
Zion's Herald and other brethren of the
majority understand it.
Christianity acts directly upon this rela
tion of master and slave by destroying the
inward relation. The master and slave
when they are convortjd becomo brethren
in Christ Jesus ; but it does not follow
that tho outward relation is changed.
That relation is determined by the laws
of tho land and public sentiment. The
slavo can bo freed only in process of, and
in conformity with, tho civil laws. It is
impossible for the master to elevate his
slave to a social equality with himself in
tho face of tho law and public sentiment
surrounding him. Tho influence of the
Gospel acts upon society by giving a tone
to society; and tho only reason why it
has not been dono more rapidly is the
courso of unprincipled demagogues and
other agitators who havo incensed the
peopta by tho course they have pursued.
Rut I object to tbo report and resolu-
I tion under consideration for another rca-
son ; not only because it places our peo
ple in tho position of rebels to the state,
but also because of tho uncharitable as
sumption that all slaveholders are sinners.
He was awaio brethren would deny that.
They will claim it only applies to those
who hold slaves for purposes of gain.
Rut how can wo understand that? Will
it not bo necessary for all who aro expo
sed to this presumption to purge them
selves of it or bo expelled from tho Church I
Now will it be likely to havo that effect
upon them ? I know they have been de
nounced, and by thoso too who havo eaten
of their bread and been supported by
their means. I kuow there havo been
false representations ruado of them. For
moro than a century and a half my family
havo resided in what is now known as a
frco state, aud not onc of them has been
conncoted with slavery. Two years ago
Rishop Ames put me on a district within
tho bounds of slave territory. Since then
I havo had abundant opportunitiej to
know their condition, and I solemnly dc
clare that I never saw more distinct marks
of vital Christianity than among that peo
ple. They havo been doing what our
brethren from abroad had nover done.
Thoy have come between tho trader and
his uctim again and ngain. They havo
done moro for tho amelioration of the con
dition of the slaves, even though they
number but about fifty thousand, than the
one million of Methodists living in th
non-slavcholding states. But what effect
will this havo upon that portion of our
membership in that territory who aro n t
slaveholders? Will thoy consent that th.-
imputation bo cast upon their brethren '
In all this legislation, I submit the qucs
tion, Will it tend to the extirpation of tho
evil of slavery ?
Rut I object to it on account of the
slave himself. His condition cannot bo
improved if he be manumitted there.
And he cannot bo manumitted thero. If
hii master would give him his froe papers
to-day and tell him to go, ho would bo
iablo to bo apprehended to-morrow and
sold again into slavery. Ho objected to
it because it withholds from them what
thoso brethren regard as tho Gospel of
Christ. There aro thousands of slaves
'uv,f ' V , - WrU 01 me'
And lf tllC,e solutions pass it will bo
that go weekly to hear the word of life.
impossible to go among them and present
to them, according to the teachings of this
document, the word of life. I could not
consent to do it, or they to hold Church
fellowship with me. Now if this be the
argument, and tho minor proposition ho
not tenable, will our brethren consent to
placo us in a position antagonistic to tho
stato? It is an hour of deep and serious
interest, and I earnestly call upon you.
brethren, to be careful what you do upon
mis euujcci.
A SritANaf Stouy. In a villago near
Newark,England,in an old thitched house,
which has been occupied by the 6amo fauii
ly for nearly three hundred years, thero
lives an old man who has nearly completed
his 80th year. A person who had. occa
bion to visit hiin tho other day, was not a
little surprised on hearing the old gentle
man, in course of conversation, express his
belief that he wa3 not only going to Heav
en, but had been thero oneo sineo bis first
introduction into this world. From the
account he gives of the matter, it appears
that when he was about 1 1 years of age,
ho was in an apparently lifeless state
which ho called a trance-for the space of
nine days, and it was during that lime, ho
thinks, he was permitted lo behold the
glories of Heaven. His parents fully be
lioved him to bo dead ; tho passing bell
was wrung ; his coffin ordered and made ;
and on the third day his friends asicm'
bled for tho purposo of following him to
tho grave. The clergyman of tho parish
went in to look at the supposed corpso bo
fore the coffin lid was screwed on, and
finding it to be warm, ho at once expressed
the opinion that tho child was not dead,
and after ordering the postponement of tho
funeral, sent his servant on horseback for
a doctor, who, on arriving at tho house,
confirmed the assertion of tho minister, and
instructed tho boy's mother to moisten tho
boy's lips with wine and water twice a day.
Sho did so, and on tho seventh day ho
showed signs of lifo by moving ; on the
eighth day lie could hear tho conversation
of persons in the room ; and on tho ninth
day he was able to open his eyes and riso
from the supposed bed of death. Sinco
that time his health has been delicate, but
ho has continued to occupy the grazing
land adjoining his cottago, and has kept
cows after the manner of his forefathers.
fcai" It is by tho mistakes of wen that
we learn, and not by their weaknesses.
1
A