The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, June 14, 1850, Image 2
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Wasuinoton, Jnnc 7, 1850.
Srnatr.?After some unimportant business
the Senate resumed the adjustment bill.
Mr. Clemens offered his amendment, heretofore
indicated, declaring that the title of Texas
to the territory claimed by her, by act of
Congress in 1836, is good, and is hereby confirmed.
The word "recognized" was after
wards adopted by Mr. Clemens, instead of
"confirmed."
A debate followed, in which Messrs. Rusk,
Hale, Davis of Miss. Douglass, Clay, Clemens,
Cass, Berrien and Butler took part
Mr. Foote indicated an amendment to the
amendment declaring that the State of Texas,
without regard to tha proposed reduction of
boundcries, shall be a slaveholding State?or
not to be deprived of the right to hold slaves.
Messrs. Mason and Webster spoke at some
length on the subject, and in reference to the
? ? J? ? ? ..AntKAiTApee Kotti'nnn Tnvflfl
UIUUOU1 SeillllJ^ UIC UUHU V*vioj Wbuvvu a vaww |
and New Mexico.
Mr. Webster did not finish his remarks, but j
gave way to the request of Senators around ;
him to lake the question on Mr. Clemens j
amendment.
The question' being taken, the amendment j
was rejected, yeas 1G, nays 37, as follows:
Yeas.?Messrs. Atchison, Borlaud, Butler, i
Clemens, Drvis, of Miss. Downs, Foote, iious- !
ton, Hunter, King, Mason,Morton, Pratt, Rusk,
Sebastian, Soule, Turney?17.
Nats.?Messrs. Badger, Baldwin, Bell,Benton,
Berrien, Bright, Cass, Chase, Clark, Clay,
Cooper, Convin, Divis of Massachusetts, Dawson,
Dayton, Dickinson, Dodge of Wisconsin,
Dodge of Iowa, Douglass, Green, Hale, Hamfin,
Jones, Mangum, Miller, Norris, pierce, Seward,
Shields, Smith, Spruance, Sturgeon,
Underwood, Uphara, Walker, Webster, Whitcomb?37.
Washington, Jane 8.
Senate.?After some petitions, the committee
on printing made a report on the allowance
of 12,500 for printing of certain opinions ot
the Supreme Court
Mr. Dayton stated inat the contractors for
the public printing were willing to give up their
contracts.
The adjustment bill was taken up, and Mr.
Foote offered an amendment fixing the parallel
of 34 degres as the Northern boundary of Texas;
and providing that nothing in the bill shall
impair the rights of the State of Texas, in case
sbedoes not accept the terms proposed; and also
reserving all the provisions of the annexation
articles, respecting the line of 35 degrees 30
minutes. A. long debate occurred, after which
Mr. Foote withdrew the amendment
Mr. Douglass offered au amendment, fixing
the Northern boundary line of Texas by a line
south of that proposed in the bill
Mr Plutr nhiorlpil tn it.
.... J " ?
Mr. Davis, of Miss., denied the right of the
United States to buy territory of a State. He
^denied the right of a State to sell territory.
The whole object was wrong, for it was to deprive
the South of territory now slave territory
and make it free territory.
Mr. Berrien and Mr. Downs replied to Mr.
Davit, aod contended that Congress had the
right in question; and that the bill left the slavery
question where it was, making no provision
regarding it. If slavery was there now, it
should there remain.
After some farther discussion, in which Mr.
Hale took part,
Mr. Dawson made some remarks, in which
he introduced several extracts from speeches
f? 1 j_ **_ ii .i
formerly maue uy i'ir. nme agiuuei mo mwntionists.
Mr. Hale spoke in reply, and without concluding,
give way to a motion to adjourn.
Hie Senate then adjourned.
House of Reprrskntativf.s.?The House
resumed its session last night at eight o'clock,
and resolved itself into committee of the whole
on the State of the Union. Mr. Jackson, of
Georgia, made an ultra pro-slavery speech; and
-Mr. Durkee an anti-slavery argument. The
House adjourned at 10 o'clock.
Washington, June 8.
The House met at 12 o'clock. The journal
of yesterday was read and approved.
1KTTER OF HON. J. A. WOODWARD, OF S. C. J
To the people of the 3 d Congressional District:
Fellow-Citizkxs :?Sixty-three Southern
members of Congress, Senators and Representatives,
thought it a solemn duty to appeal to
the people of the South on the importance of establishing
at Washington a press devoted to the
defence of Southern rights and institutions.?
Other members approve the movement, who,
for ceriain reasons, did not think proper to unite
in it
It is not my purpose to attempt an explanation
of the state of things which made this
course necessary. It would take many pages
to do so. If you cannot rely upon the solemn
declaration of so many Senators and Representatives,
as free of motives to deceive as men
1.1 :* .......i.i i r.... ..... _? i
?UUiu w, it nuuiu nc wiin mi me ui ivawi i iu
proofs and exposition. Hut I cannot forbear to
submit to your good sense, a few reflections.
If you will patiently reflect upon the situation
oi'a party editor at Washington, you will
see how impossible it is that he should defend
the local interests of the South, to any greater
extent than would be consistent with the views
ani? interests of the party at the North. Ky becomii.XJ
the organ of the whole party, he contracts
eNunl obligations to the Northern and to
the Southern division. Party faith binds him
to neutrality in all matters of difference between
the two* divisions. An orgun could not
otherwise fulfil Nl>e ends of its establishment?
A different course would endanger the harmony
of party, which it i'v the business and proper
function of an organ to preserve. And except
the editor meant t> do so, he would be bound
by every principle of ,^ood faith, to resign his
post. As long, therefore, as he continues in
that position, it would be absurd to expect him
to maintain any position that all allies might
not occupy. If he fail to persuade the North
to adopt views consistent with the rights of the
Sottth, he must needs endeavor to prevail on
the South to fall in with the North, on the ln?st j
terms they may be able to make. And however
degrading these terms mij/ht be, a regard
for appearances, as well as sound party policy,
would make it indispensable to pereuade the in
??^?aw?h?
jured portion that all was light, and fair, and
honorable.
It seems, then, that a principle of good faith
and honor--party faith and honor?hinds the
conductor of an organ either to give up his position,
or serve his party on whatever conditions
the party may require. And if good faith were
an insufficient guaranty, the high pecuniary advantages
involved, would render a breach of
party faith uext to impossible.
Reflect upon this, fellow-citizens, and see
how ridiculous it would be for you to turn from
your own responsible Representatives and commit
your rights and liberties to a "Party Organ"
at Washington ! To an editor more dependent
on your enemies than on you?who
dares not offend your enemy lest he should be
fnrnpH 1 fn rlrinlr llio Ann nf nnvprt v In its drtilFS.*
*" "? ~ ~"r ? f- J ? o-But
do not understand me to intimate that
you have anything like a certian assurance in
the fidelity of your Representatives. They are
but men, and some of them not the best specimens
of men. More of them, however, are
weak and vain, and inlirm, than positively dishonest
and false. There is a delusive imagination
that, as a member of the House represents
70,000 people, he is, therefore, magnified 70,000
times in his intellectual and moral proportions.
That, embodying in himself all that he
represents in others, he is by a plain rule of
arithmetic, 70,000 times wiser, more virtuous
and patriotic, more interested in and devoted
to the rights of his constituents, than any one
private individual. This is a great delusion.?
Being a member of Congress in no degree enlarges
one's moral proportions, or invigorates
his patriotic impulses. He differs from one of
you only iu this, that he is under great temptation,
and lias it iu his power, as you have not,
to make a living aud a reputation, by becoming
false to you. Nor is his interest in the property
of his constituents equal to that of all of them
put together. His interest is iu that which be
longs to bim individually. A good office that
belongs to him, is worth more to him than all
the property in the world that does vol belong
to him. You have scarcely ever had a President
who would not have made a good bargain
to have exchanged all his properly for the Presidency.
Since the days of Jefferson, there has
been perhaps but one exception. General Taylor's
fortune is probably worth more than the
office he holds. And if lie were forced to make
a present sacrifice of the one or the other, it
might be better to sacrifice the office. But it
must be remembered that the questions that
-? ? *? A/vnnfmr y? r*/\f fb uno f Art fltn in.
**vw O^IUIVC UIC UUUIIVIJ) UU IfW* MIICQV?II U1V III
sfcuitand entire destruction of Southern property,
but only place it in jeopardy; and great as
the jeopardy is, all must aimit that the emoluments
of the Presidency are a four-fold compensation
for the risk run. I say nothing of
the honor and distinction couferred by office;
objets as eagerly sought after by most men, and
more so by some men, than property itself.
These observations are made not with a view
to reflect on any President, or an}' set of public
men, but simply to make you sensible ot the
extreme folly of supposing that your rights and
liberties are safe in the bauds of any set of office-holders
or office-seekers, dependent for the
highest offices upon a Northern majority, who
are hostile to you, and who believe it their interest
to destroy you.
r, . . 1 1.- l.?
HiXCOpt tne prujiuseu paper ue busuiiiiuu uy
yon, I do not know how it will be possible for
you to be correctly informed of the state of affairs
at Washington, or, as to what it will be
necessary for you to do in order to defend yourselves
against encroachments by your enemies,
i or betrayal by those to whom is committed the
defence of your rights. The debates in Congress
can be relied only to a limited extent.
They are restricted by rules of propriety to the
discussion of questions before the body, and are
also limited in duration by the necessity of
coming to a decision upon numberless bills and
resolutions in the course of a single session.
| There is,]too, a great variety of mutters to which
it would bo indelicate for a member 10 allude
[ in debate, and which, yet, it is all important
should be known to the public.
So far as tVe House of Representatives is
I concerned, it is hardly correct to say that the
I privilege of debate exists at all. The "previous
i miAcSnn" io nnmlr.vei! to cut off debate when.
ever it suits the majority to do so, and the ma
jority never fails to do what it suits them to do.
I now venture to predict that the friends of the
So-called "Compromise Bill," fatal as that is
destined to be to the South, should it become a
law, will attempt to "whip it through" the
House under the gag. But where the " previous
question" is not employed to stifle debate,
the rules o*" the House limit each member to a
single speech upon a question, and limit each
speech to a single hour, and whether a member
shall be allowed the floor at all rests with the
presiding officer. The consequence is that the
most unwarrantable assertion and the grossest
misrepresentations go uncontradicted for weeks
or months. And when opportunity is afforded,
as it frequently never is, a member will find that
he lias not time to discuss the question under
debate in a manner creditable to himself, or satisfactory
to his constituents; much less to refute
a mass of misstatements that has been accumulating
for months. While, therefore, the
? ' a?,ii._ ?! _ j r. . a I
Senate can ne oui pariiauy reneu oil ior uie
prompt or full development of affairs at Washington,
the House of Representatives can scarcely
he relied on at all. There is, however, a
voice which goes forth every morning or evening,
and which is daily heralded by the public
post to every part of the country?and that is
the voice of the press, and newspaper correspondents;
and when the franking privilege, by
which you receive free of postage communications
from your Representatives, shall bo abolished,
both you and your Representatives will
bo left at the mercy of these classes of men.
Seeing, then, that public opinion is uut me
product of the press, and government itself being
bu: the product of public opinion, how plain
is it, that you can enjoy the right of self-government
to no greater extent than you possess
the control of the press? But it will be said
that one portion of the press is enlisted on one
side, another on the other side, and the consequence
is, full discussion and justice to both
sides. There is a delusion in this. The country
is divided two ways. It is divided into
Whigs and Democrats, and also into Northern
and Southern people. Now the questions
which at present agitate the country, are not
between Whig# and Democrats, but between
the Northern people and Southern people; and
the party press cannot, from its very nature,
take sides in these questions. On the contrary,
their proper business is, if the North will not
concede your rights, to reconcile you to the aggression
of. the North. Aud to do this they
must either treat the controversy as of no "practical"
importance, or else make it appear that,
some insulting "compromise" does you ample
justice. Anil lest you should prove too sharp
sighted for the imposture, they emit a variety
ol patriotic declamution to exalt your imaginations,
and obfuscate your intellects! Such as,
"harmony and brotherly love"?"comprehensive
patriotism"?"expanded views"?"enlarged
nationality"?"nobly rising above local preiudices"?"knowim?
no East, or West, or North.
or South, but my country, my whole country,
and nothing but my country," and the like.?
These men talk of harmony and brotherly love;
but they do not mean brotherly love between
Whigs and Democrats. The idea would horrify
them. They are the fouientcrs of turmoil and
strife, and billingsgate calumny between fellow
citizens of the same community. All they intend
by harmonv and love is that the South
should quietly submit to the North. Beware,
fellow-citizens of the men who, at this time, instead
of uttering words of warning to the North,
and sounding the alarm to the South, seek to
fascinate you by such oratory as 1 have described.
There is deep treachery at the bottom!
Rnl it hue tippn nhionturl tn tho nrnnnupd nn.
per that it will generate sectional views and
feelings. Now there is in this more of provoking
and heartless insult than in any thing 1 have
ever heard. The Northern States unite confessedly
as a section, and they tell the South,
the other section, that their institutions must be
restricted within their present limits; that they
can have no part of a vast region, conquered by
tke anus and at the expense of all?nor any part
of any future couquest; and it is asked of the
South to submit to the sectional aggressions of
the North, in order to avoid engendering sectional
feelings among themselves. Sectional ag
gression is quite a harmless thing; sectional defence
is the thing to be reprobated! If the
U/mi^U krt af?pollnrl a 0 a onnlii\n liAiif / ?? cliu nAo
uuui>u uc aoouucu oo a ocvuuu iiuit van one pvosibl^y
defend herself except as a section ? The
North will not aid in your defence, who, then
is to defend yon I Who f No, fellow-citizens,
alI self defence by a people assailed from abroad,
is unavoidably sectional defence; and those
who deprecate sectional action, only menu that
you are never to act at all. Take that for
granted.
But it is no small part of yonr provocation to
hear fourteen sovereign States designated as n
" section," a " locality"?their State pride and
self respect called sectional prejudices; their institutions
and internal interests; called "local"
interests; as though some town or village or
boat landing upon a river bank, were spoken
of. How different the ideas and language
CnnmaiKi a!' flm I ifiifinn Sa crrau t
UI UIC llttllicio Ul KUV wucuvuiivii* k>v/ g.wui.
was their regard for the sovereignty and equality
of the separate republics, and so careful
were they to preserve the federative principle
of the Union, that the little County State of
Rhode Island was, iu the Senate put on fopting
of equal grade und dignity with thegreat Empire
State of .New York. And yet, now-a-days, those
who affect to be the uncompromising enemies
of consolidation, know no more honorable
designation for fourteen sovereign States, than
"a section of country," and no better name for
the fealty and allegiance of their people than
" contracted views and feelings." Tiicse men
should be reminded that he who provides not
for his household is worse than an infidel?that
next to hh househo.d conies his neighbor; next
to his neighbor, his people; aud next to his peo- |
pie ; all neighboring people, who have a common
interest and honor with him to defend,
and a common enemy to repel; and who
must with him experience a common destiny,
whether for weal or for woo. Patriotism
and liberality of view are not to be meas
ured as you would measure tho surface of
the curth, by the square mile; but by the
principles of right, justice, and liberty that
enter into them. The enslaved inhabitants of
the great Persian Empire were far less expanded
in their views, than the republican citizens
of little Attica. But those who have made up
thc-ir minds to sell the South for the best price
they cau get, do well in persuading you to adopt
a measurement of patriotism that would
necessarily take in the market in which they I
expect to dispose of you, and that would give I
to their ambition the widest range of hope.
The paper we propose to publish will reflect
the views of more than sixty-three Southern
Senators and Representatives, Whigs, Democrats,
and Republicans. Whether any impression
is to be made upon the iNorth by this means,
it is impossible for ine to say. Some think that
it can be done; and feel that it is our duty to
exhaust all moral and constitutional means in
the Union ? How has the North been brought
to its present state of unanimity ? In a great
degree by southern presses at Washington.?
For three years past they have been engaged iu
efforts to destroy every man who ventured to
admonish you of the danger ahead, stigmati
zing them as "agitators, "ultras, "lacuouists,"
"disunionists," "Calhounistsclassing
them witli Abolitionists as the "two extremes,"
"fanatics, North and South," "Nullifiers and
Abolitionists." I have seen in Abolition papurs
extracts from Southern organs, Whig and
Democratic, going to show that the South was
not in earnest in its opposition to the Proviso,
and cared nothing about it Northern men
have reasoned among themselves as follows:?
"John C. Calhoun holds the balance of power
in several of the Southern States, and both parties
there are obliged to talk pretty strongly
on the negro question, to prevent him from
*? '? l:_ ?:-i.i ??:?- ?l...?. u?i i.i i.:?
inrOWing Ills weigui oyuiusi mt-in, nut ict iin
head belaid, and there will be no further disturbance.
Such luuguage has been used in my
hearing.
Now, whether public opinion at tho North
can be changed to any considerable extent, is
questionable; but what means can be so properly
resorted to as a newspaper, which, not
being fed out of the Treasury through Northern
hands, shall express truly and fully your
views. Wo can think of no other means. If
you can, we submit to your choice. We have
declared to you that something must be done,
" I --1? '
and beg you either to give efficiency to our
means, or else to resort to some other.
The tri-weekly will cost $5 a year, the weekly
$2.50. I shall be happy to attend to communications
from my constituents; or from any
citizen of the State.
1 cannot conclude without adding a word as
to the state of the great question before Congress.
There is no hope that any concession
will be made to the South, or, to speak more
properly, that any portion of their rights will be
left in their hands. The North has fully made
up its mind to take all. We have grown too
despondent to make an effort to produce a con
trary result. The only competition among
members seems to be, who shall devise a mea
sure that shall best conceal Irom you the fact
that you have lost every thing. The lucky individual
who shall succeed in this is destined to
become a distinguished character, and it is not
impossible that two years hence, the Northern
majority in some Baltimore or Philadelphia
Convention, will commend you to hhn as a benefactor;
in being the person to WI10113 yon are
to stand iudebted for the comforts dependant on
the truth of the saying that "ignorance is bliss."
I cannot however, undertake to stigmatize those
who may acquiesce in the bill before the Senate;
I mean the compromise hilL There are
imaginable reasons why (hey might think it advisable
to vote for this bilL Honest men may
bo biiud enough to suppose that some future
conjuncture will offer a more promising occasion
for rallying the South to a determined
stand. There may also be among them, those
Irlvn I < osvaatk ?a U a n< 11 a.ir.l ?
uuu, tuuniii^ upuu tut; ouuiu as iiupuicsoij
doomed, think it 110 good reason for neglecting
their private fortunes, that your hopes are dashed;
deeming it a bad wind that blows nobody
any good?who consider themselves under no
moral obligations to continue useless efforts for
themselves. I do not venture to say tliat an
honest man might not reason in this way.?
There is a great variety in the human intellect
and character. There are also varieties of glory,
and one glory different from another glory.
There is one glory of the country, another of
the individual man. And if the glory of the
country should be lost, or, per chance, of the
country and party both, a man might take it
into his head, that he was not bound, for that
reason, to forleit his own glory. Be this as it
may, the human intellect is a very subtle thing
and uiuier straightened circumstances some
times puts very puzzling questions to the human
conscience; which being a thing of mere instinct,
cannot reasonably be expected always
to get the better of the argument.
But I will proceed to give you a brief anlysis
of the "Clay Compromise."
The people occupying the gold mines not
far from the Bay of San Francisco, with some
scattering settlements, are to admitted into the
Union as a State. They claim to have domin
ion over a country six times as large as South
Carolina. The country does not belong to them
but to the people of the U nited States. Their constitution
prohibits negro property from being
brought to their place of habitation, or being
carried to any party of the vast domain. This
State is to be called California.' New States
will hereafter be erected in the territory, but the
inhabitants mentioned, have already declared
ftmf ?\a aiotro clinll rrrt fn fltncn viau'
IIIUI) ? V/ CIUI v |/l v/|/vi WJ OIIUU qV w ii1vuv uv It
States.
Territorial Governments are to be provided
for Utah and New Mexico, without the Wilmot
Proviso. But why ? A large majority contend
that the Mexican laws are of force there,
and will serve to exclude slavery. And it is
pretty well ascertained that the majority of the
Federal Court will so decide. If, however, a
slaveholder should be foolhardy enough to go
there under such circumstances and staud a
law suit, and the court should happen to decide
in his favor, 110 one doubts that the Proviso
would at once be put upon the whole coun-.
try. He who tells you the contrary of this, deceives
you wickedly and wilfully.
Such is the disposition to be made of all the
country acquired from Mexico. But the most
remarkable feature of the bill remains to be*
described.
The bill ju-ovides that about one-third of
Texas shall be annexed to New Mexico and
have the same constitution and laws. In this
territory, also the majority, with Mr. Clay contend,
the laws of Mexico will be of force, and
the court will so decide; and a slaveholder
would go there, under #the same hazards that
he would go to Utah. Hut as the bill is called
a "Compromise" you will naturally suppose
that some show of concession has been made
to the South, and will ask what that concession
is ? It isthis: II the U. States will pay toTexas
ten or filteeu millions, to execute a quit
claim to the North for the territory Cut off, the
freo soil agitation shall cease! Do not misunderstand
me. 1 do not say that the bill provides
that the agitation shall cease. I only
mean to say that the friends of the bill entertain
hopes that it may cease; and will at'all
events have the satisfaction of having made the
experiment, whether it will or not Of coarse,
the large body ol Northern members who will
vote against the bill, because its language is a
.little too merciful towards Southern sensibilities,
are not to be considered as having come under
pledges; and as to that portion who are expec
ted to vote tor it, 1 have yet to hear ot the Qrst
instance of a pledge being made. But supposing
all to have made pledges, who imagines
that they would be kept? The bill itself is a
violation of the Missouri Compromise aa provi. J
dcd in the Texas resolutions, and of a solemn
compact with Texas.
But fellow citizens, it just occurs to me that
I may have done injustice to the bill, in saying
it makes no concession to the South, I recollect
last week to havo heard a Senator asked in
debate, to nnmc the concession to the Sooth,?
After some hesitation he replied, "sir we have
obtained an authentic exposition of the Texas
resolutions." And what is this exposition? It
is a shameless perversion, and at the same time
a gross violation of resolutions that needed no
exposition, and which, for two years, neve received
but one interpretation, whether from the
North or the South. I appeal to the debates
Onn.Hwoo Knnr ma nut in thrt noflArtinn
Ul VUU^i^OO fcvr I/VWI IMV W?. |M **?wv.??w..y
that until recently, Northern men and Southern
men, Abolitionists, Whigs and Demoorats, gave
to those resolutions the same exposition. When
Mr. Wilinot first introduced the Proviso, he referred
to the fact of his having votetj fjr the an*
s
I I ? ??
nexation of Texas, and admitted that slavery
existed throughout the territory claimed by her,
and pledged himself to let slavery stand where
it was; saying that he only desired that it should
go no further. I have not taken time to exani"
ine the voluminous debates, but cannot be mis-*taken
thatat the first session^fter the war, fir.
Winthrop made the same admission andthe
pledge. I do not recollect a single Northern
speech of an opposite character.
Thus, iu fine, does it appear that a bill which
you are told is a "Compromise" and for the
support of which, Southern men intend to claim
the highest honors you cap.,bestow upon them,
goes more than one step further towards the
4 hnlifinn rilntfnrm tlmn TV?ni/t Wilnmt liHnulf
; had gone at die time be introduced bis Proviso.
; It is needless, fellow-citizens, to say more
| upon the subject.
Very respectfully and dutifully,
J. A. WOODWARD.
? 3 8 G ^ 10*3 ?/?p?
CAMDEN. S. C. '
FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE H,' 1850. *v
? ~~~T **
Religious Notice*
Rev Dr. J. J. O'Oonnfll, of the Romaw
X Catholic Church, will preach in the Odd
Fellows' Mall, on Sunday next at lOJ o'dock
A. M. and at early candle light The p-Hic aire
respectiuily invite - It
The M. E. Church, South.
The question came up for discussion at'the lateGeneral
Conference of the M. E. Church, South,- i
at St. Louis, relative to expunging from the "Bookof
Discipline that very obiioxiaus, objectionable'
and Un-Christian-like clause, known as the ninth
section in said book, relating to slavery?regard- (
ing the subject, as the clause pretends, as a great
moral evil. " This section," it appears, " was inserted
when the M. E. Church embraced the whole i
country; and as the 31. E. Church, South, still '
embraces a wide extent of country, with various
views and conflicting interests, it is not removed,
though it has long since became inojxralicc, and
cease.a, utj common consent, 10 set jonn a praqitau
rule or principle.'" The delegate* irv.lt/ Sou/Acra'in
scnlimenl and principle, endeavored to remove, as
we have already intimated, this section; the resolution
offered to this end, was lost by a vote of
43 to 38.
We have taken occasion, in extracting the
above explanation or gloss, given for the existence
of the section in question, to italicise the closing
lines, in order more fully to show the ridiculous
absurdity of the ninth section, and its glossy appendage.
We are at a loss to determine what is
meant by those delegates who at least have a
Southern name aud locality, whilst their actions
have proven iucontestibly that they are ecclesiastical
renegades, on the side of those who look one
way and wink another, or say aite'thing and mean
something else.- It is impossible to reconcile such
gross inconsistency with the true interests ofthope
whom they pretend to represent. In all things,
let there be sojne showing o( consistency; but in
this case there is none?for as the Editor of the
Southern Christian Advocate, (who was a del*?
gate from this State, and voted for the extiuctbn
of the section,) very forcibly and truly reuoarks:
" A section w kept standing in tbe.booknf Dis
cipliue, which in form, pledges the M. E. Church
South, to the extirjnlion of Sfavefy^iap if it were
any part of the duty or polfey of the Church to
undertake such a business, or to aiyat the' ecclesiastical
against the civil powers Of the slave holding
States. A section is retained which with beautiful
consistency conderans.slave holding, in one
paragraph, as a moral ?cih demanding the exercise
of ecclesiastic#censures;. ontf in the next^ justifies
and sanctions this same meral evil It u a
sin. when you begin thew^ioi^arfevil-** great
evil?of course a moral evil, or why .does the
church iuterraeddle with it??but before you finish
the section, this same sin and evil is-dandled
on the motherly knees oflhe chnrch, kept in her
bosom, and covered with her mantle. The' ehifrch
is awfully troubi&i with a holy zeal to extrrpato
Slavery, and a,horror at its existence; but pres/o,
the scene shifts.in a moment, aud the same church
quietly makes provision to keep as waoyelaveholders'
as she cap botjuji the membership and
the ministry; and a majority of her chief*ministers
are known to be slaveholders. Thus the section
commits afilri de ss; it is a" miserable sham,
and nothing else-; it has never set'free a solitary
slavrfin all past history, and It never will in all
time to comaj Its only uae is to put the church in
a false position, fend multiply embarrassments in
her legitimate work of preaching the gospel to the
slave..
.From the foregoing votrTtwill be seen that In
an influential section of this Southern Contiection
?haM to Kut nm> nnminn at! to'the nfonrietv of re.
tailing such a bundle of absurdities in the Methodist
Book of.Discipline. It was our misfortune to
be in the minority; and we am subjected-to the
mortification of being misrepresented hi
which our own Bishop* recommend for admission
into the house of every Methodist That other
portions of the Connection, particularly on the
border, may have views different from thbse etK
tertained aruot^ us, on this vexed question, may
be true. But why should their: views be: forced
on us? Where there Is a difference of opinion,,
and both parties are entitledto'the . right of pri-.
vato judgment why should a Book of Discipine,
oonvuon to bothv be the exponent of one set of
opinions,, to the detriment 4$ the ecclesiastical
statu* of thoee who do not embrace them! in all
such casest it is the paot?f tri>e wisdom to eay
nnthincr authoritative on^hedisouted suhiect.; As.
the General,Gonfer?nc?l&]d see fit to do this,
we muet find what protection we can, under cover *
of the glMa, whic^by authority waa ordered to
be appended to the text, and whj<ih readh^'lfc>l.
lows; "This
section was Inserted by a majority of
votes when the M. E. Church,embraced the wholes
country; and as the M. E. Church, South, stilt
embraces a wide extent of country, wEh tran'ous
views and conflicting interests, it is not removal
though St has long since become inoperative, and j
ceased by common consent to set forth a practical
rule or principle,"
I The. entire dekygatiqnt rt? a man, froui Sp,uth
Carolina, voted to erase this aectiou frorn the Dirciplitie,
and they did right We hope and beUeve
the Southern members of the church ipil) rfe&se
to receive such an edition, although it maycorae
with a gloss sufficient to dazzle rite eyes of some
into the belief that it's all right. For one, jve are
for repudiatjou, and tyM very soon mark this edi\
tion as " refused," and send it hack to the ghtnj
as ? not WANT^p,"