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Mr. West's Letters: For The Signal Of Liberty: The Position ...

Mr. West's Letters: For The Signal Of Liberty: The Position ... image Mr. West's Letters: For The Signal Of Liberty: The Position ... image
Parent Issue
Day
28
Month
August
Year
1843
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Mr. West comes fonvard to defend hitnself against certain charges affecting his Anti- Slavery charaeter, nnd os Ihe advocate of tho late Assembly of tlie Presbyleiiañ Ciurch, of which he wus a member. It fe iúnforlunate thnt he should tlwell so mnch on subordínate points.and waslo timo on modes of expression or i'liistration, and on mere personal consitíerationp, to t)ie neglect of the main subject of enquiry and interest, líe finds fault wítli tho illustraüon of your Detroit correspondent of the guarded süencc of the Assernbl}', and denies that it vvas produced by concert, that i?, by previous ogreement. Now it is of no consequence to us to know whether the resuit was produced by consent out of dooia or i:i by previons agreemeur, or by spontaneous action on the floor of the AssernLIy. The fact'thatit was obtained, - that a niajority of thaí body acling in the name ond o bchalf of a large branch of the Presbytenan Church, ugreed to the policy of non-commitial - ngreed to maintam a death-like í-ilence on the subject of slavery, is íhat in wl;ich ve are mainly concerned, and of which I wished to sec snme explanation in Ihe letters of Mr. West. It is the more desirable, becáusé ihis süence wns agr'eed to in the face of the cclaration of many who did also agree to their conviction of the horrid iniqiiity of the prac- tice. I did wish to see the ground on whicíi the fathers of the church suoke one va)r and voíed anoiher - to know vvhy what thcy condemn, as individual?, they will r:ot condrmn, as? rr.embers of tha Asssmbly, why a delégale uho iu Michigan holda slavery to be a cr'une, in the Assembly holda it to be no crime, or a crime which that b-jdy is pot to touch. If lesa than three egrees of latitude so alter one'a views of the nature of slavery, what altera- tion mighl not six affecl? Ifsticb thiugs are done in the green I ree, whntsh&ll be done in the dry? No wonder that the reverend fathers, Hill and Ely, find defenders nt ihe Noríh. Would it be a very great wonder, sf liiey shouid find imitators? The faets are plr.in enourh. Why does not Mr. West expía in them? Why does he conlfnt bimself with; finding fault witb the iïïcstratïoiï of your cor respondent dnuvn from the answer of the Jews wheii asked about the buptism of John? The illustralion suposes the AssemWy to be actuated by fear from oposite tjuartera. if Mr. West objeets to this explanation he ought at least to give us another. If our superiors refuse to pronounce a wicked thirjg wicked, we ougbt to know hovv. We would ask Mr. West, where the place of the church is on ihis questioiu Is she to be an abstraclion - a cypher in the grealest moral contest of tlieday? Mr. West is understood to object to political action on the part of the dergy as individual?, it lessens their influence, he objects to acticn on the part of the General As?emblyit endangers the urtity of the church; Presbvteries ond Churches rnuet have no standing rules against it - it i contrary to discipline, and as ia his creed, slaveholders tnoy bc giiMt'es?, every individual is eniilled to a trial on the inerits of his paitieular case - in on other vorü-, slaveholding is not per se a crime, nnd every slavcholding member of tlie church must he provcd guiity of wrong intent in holJi.ig flavcp, or bad treatment of tbem, or he muit be held a good christian - by tiiis churcii! Tuk discipline ok tuk Prfsbyterian Ciiürciu Much stress is laid in the Communications of Mr. West on wliat are called 'ciean' letters. One would suppose títere was sotnc-thing cabalistic in the words, 'We commend our christian brothcr,' &;c. Nol the.'Onen, Sesame' of the robber in the story lias more of a talismanic charm. These words are to supersede not onjy all inq-iiry into tlie character of the bearer, but also ail knowledge of it, however perfect nnd satisfantory thisknnwledgo may be. With due subrr.issicn, this is neither common practice nor cotcmon sense. Why is not the ccrcificate of the Temperance' Society as pood evicience of sobriety as ihat of a church is of membrship? Yet if jiman comes to us reeling from intoxication. wk hardly rcce've and cm)loy iiim on the strength of his ' certifícate. A man with one hand knecks me down.and witb the other hands mo n certifícate of liis pëacufdl and othenvise nimablecliaracíer. Do I gel up, hr.ke hands with him, invive hun to taf house, nnd ivliile I am rubbing off the smart of the blow he has inven mo, show how deeply his certifícato has mpresíod mí wilh a sense of his merit? Does it olier the caso if this pnrporís to be a rcrüficate of church memberthip? Most of up, whether church members or not, would lake the evidence of our senses, or the; conictions of ourminds flrst. and the certiricato ifterwards. The best evidence the cose al - loWs i? a gcod ruïe every where. But Iheory will sometimes carry it over common sens3, however plain the dictatos of the Jatter. Are these cases that I have stipposed at all ■ strongerihan that" of slaveholding? Is not tho a-jt of holding slaves primafacie evideuce of wronf nnd oppiecsion- of robbery and

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News