Communications: For The Signal Of Liberty: The General Assem...

The long looked for - hoped for, efficiënt action of the General Assembly of tlie Presbyterian Chnrch on the great qiiestion of Slavery has resulted, as heretofore, jn just nothing at all - nay, worse than nothing. The mountain labor has again brought forth a mouse. The Rev. Dr. Cox may again, as on the last anniversary, "thank God the voJcano is capped for another three years." Cappcd indeed it is; a more expressive term could not well be selected to characterise the nature and nevitable effect of this miserable time serving policy - capped bnt not extinguished - estoppled, but the fires within Jeft to rage and heave, and bye and bye explode vit!i tenfold fury. As far as this body is concerned, this heartleps expedient may indeed serve a turn another three years, but we predict that these learned doctors and venerable fathers, will not have reached their homes before this ecclesiastical stopple will be Uown out, and the pent fires again "flame up to heaven'1 in expressions of strong and indignant rebuke from every press in the land devoted to the true politicnl interests of the country, or set for the defence of the gospel. What did the churches ask of tliis august Assembly, conFtituting as might be supposed, "the soul and embodiment of" christian "principies," and representing as it did, or ought to do, this vvide spread christian communion, nnd by aelegation, other lnrge and influential ecclesiastical bodies. What did thoy ask? Why not an act of legislation, - not an act of discipline, - not anything incompatible with their acknowledged powers and ulmost invariable practice in similar cases, but a firm, manly, frank, onswer to this simple but momentous question - Slavery, tchence is it? from Heaven, or from Heil? They put their learned heads togelher, and reasoned among themselves, saying, if we shall say of Heil, they will say why then do you not rebuke it? But if we shall say of Heaven, we fear the Abolitionists; for all hold slavery to be sin. And they ! answered and said, WE CANNOT TELL- in plain Eng!ish,"WE DARE NOT TELL." These striciures are of course only applicable to the majority of that body. A noble minority tpokeand acted witli consisteney and firmncps throughout, Our Mr. Di.iffieid made acapital anti-slavery speech, and followed itup with a proslavery vote. To show the inconsistency of this gentleman's course, compare the redolutions of Mr. Kellogg to which he epoke and which he ably 6iipported (in argument) with the preamble and resolution of Dr. Dickenson for whicli he actually voted, as reportedin the N. Y. Evangelist. A more flat contradiction in terms and 6pirit can scarcely be conceived. What astonishes me more, is, that Mr. Keliogg himself should have abandoned his own excellent resolutions and voted for the miserable substitute which finally paesed. Into such absurdities do the best of men fall who attempt to steer a middle course on this great moral question.But the northern man who, we regrctto say, most sigualized himself by an out nnd out advocacy of non-i nterference with slaveiy in the churches in any form, was our Mr. West of Monroe. He went the length of opposmg all ecclesiastical action whatsoever either in General Assembly or in the churches at home. "I do not believe," he said, "we must act through ecclesiastical organizations to get at slavery." "The best way for the church is nol to interfere" (with slavery!) We doubt not this gentleman supported the resolütion oflered by Mr. Duffield in relation to the practice of dancing in the churches, justly representing it "so wholly inconsistent with thepropriety of deportmenl and purity of heart, tvhich belong to the followers of the Redeemer.as lo render indulgence in it not only highly improper, butjustly subject lo the discipline of thechurck." So then this silly ïdle, fantastic but comparatively venial, offense calis not only for high ccclesiastical censu re, but in the last report for discipline, while slave-holding justly charocterised by John Wesley as "the svm of all villaiiiies," cannot be touched; a little tripping on "the light fantastic toe" after a cracked fiddle becomes not only a disciplinary orTense, but rises even to the dignity of censure from the General Assembly of the Presbytenan church, while "the withholding God's word," (I quote Mr. Duffield's definition of slavery "drawn" ns he informs us, "from the statute books of the South'?) when he commands us to search it,tlie violent sundering of ties which he has forbid any man to inter-fere with, the invo Iving of men in calamities which we would not suffer ourseives though our lives were the forfeit - violations of the fundamental principies of God's law,'' are offen ses that iuay "rioi unscared" in all the church - es!!Bui for what is this ruinous sacrifice of principie, of consistency, of common sense and even of common decency? Why, my dear sir, you haven't dreamed it - ihevnity of the church! the Unitt of tuk Chdrchü This reminds me of a most admirable print, which I dare say you have seen, representing the fraternal embrnce of Calhoun and Clay in the U. S. Senate immediately after the lalter had concluded his famous speech on slavery, the right foot of each of these patriarchs resting on the prostratc body of a slave. This is the unity of the church for which the Rev. Mr. West pleads, non-interference with siavery - a unión over the crushed and bleeding body of the slave. But lest I wrong this 1 tleman, hear his words."I support the resolution "because of the I happy separation at the clotio of the !nst Assembly." (at wliich they had passed a severe censure on the Presbyteries for doing exactly what they liad authorized them to do, the year before in reiation to slavery.) "We prayed and wppt together in christian love and went home to our work, and the Lord nas blessed us witli revivals beyond measure. And now, if I should have to go home and teil my people that I had lent niy hand to divide the church, I believe, Mr. Moderator, I should die with grief." - "If it comes to the question w het her we must divide the church in order to getat slavery, he would stiil oppose the división, becauso we must have the church, but the gospel vvill work the cure of slavery."T pnss over the monsirous (l had almost said blasphemoue) implication in the above, that because the churches had been blessed in his vicinity the last year by revivals, that thercfore the action of the Assembly on Sluery was approved of God) and will admit for the sake of argument, Mr. West's apprehensions of división and his views as to the best method of averting it to be sound; and to illustrate the cogency of his own reasonings, will suppose tlits a good man (for such I believe him to be, though I very much distrust the soundn?ss of his logic and hisethics, at lenst in Uiis case,) safely retnrned to hisbeloved church, and the first thing that salutes his ears is a report thatcertain members of his Jittle flock not having heard the thuivlers of the Genera Assembly, or hearing them not having heedec tho warning, have fallen intothe foolish pracof dancing. Of course the faithful pastor in accordance with his own sense of dut backed by the expressed opinions of the Assembly, proceeds immediately to institute a labor of love to recover the erring members He begins in the kindliest manner. Ho proceeds by entreaiy, by remons'.rance, by per suasion, by warning; and having exhaustec all the prescribed means of recovery without effect, and being persuaded by the contumacy of the members in qoestion, that neither prayers, nor tears, nor remonstrance, will availany thing, his session are driven to the last dreadful extremity, excisión. But just as the blow of the churcli is abuut to fall on the erting ones, a new difficulty springs up; the arraigned members have powerful frienüs in the church; through family connections, consanguinity, nnd the thousand influences which wealth and worlaly standing confcr, a powerful faction is organized in their favor, embracing peraventure the half of the church. They teil the officers of the church plainly, "strike at these brothers and sisters and you strike at us; dissolvc their connection with the church and we dissolve 'our connection with you." Why_ here is the very difficulty - the very climax of his fears, which this good pastor foresaw must result from attempting discipline in matlers regarding Slavery, - a división of iha Cliurch! According to his own showing I see not how he can refrain from saying to his session "Ilold! hold!" If it comes to the question whether we must divide the church in order lo get at this dancing, I must oppose the división, hecause we must have the church, and the gospel, (ave, the gospel, that quintessence of an abstraction that is neither heard, nor seen, nor feit) will work the cure of dancing. He must say, let these ofienders dance on, let them dance when and where they will, - tíancp on the Sabbath, dance under my pulpit, dance around thecommunion fable, dance on the very brink of the eternal pit, but leare ras not to the bitter reflection that "I have lent my hand to divide the church.' It is melancholy, it is painful, to be under the necessity of unravelling such shallow sophistry as this, and that in men capable of the highest and best efforts oí' the human mind. And wherefore the necessity, but that this mammoth, this overshadowing iniquity of our land has perverted all our reasonings, poisoned all our fountains of knowledgc and morality, and, m the language of Wilberforce, applied to its twin sister, the Slave Trade, "scorning all comparison and all competition, il stands unrivaled and alone in its detestable pre-eminence and influcnce."'