The General Assembly And Slavery

Xewr School Assembly, at thcir i .noeting at Philadelphia, discused ;.. cct of Slavery for eight or ninc . in Ono hunthcd und our speeches were made by the tes, bringingout the views of the l membere, from the advocacy of v aaascripture institution, and aliavvful and righi, to the straightest ivéry. The nuinber whodeclared ! e infulness of slaveholding under : cumstances, which is the only truc safe positiou, was quite small. For our oart, we huvo but little interest in the eedings, except so far as they indícate iha progre.s of public opinión : for the embïy, ie most similar bodics is a upon and governed by the general .iagof community far more than by iuiy other iniluence. The slave would long indeed for hls liberation, if no other ttgency íhoull be put in motion than fciich as should origínate in this and similar bodics. Abolitionists, in the begin';ig of tlicir enterprize, depended too much on the action of such bodies. The Gospel would scarcferfy have reached "every nation under heavcn" during the life time of Paul, if he had waitedfor the sanction :A assislance of the Jewish Sanhedrian ' :e he cornmeneed promulgating the s blime doctrines of Jcsus of Naziueth. In another column willbe foundlheacil ju of the Assembly on the subject of slavery in the adoption of a report drawn up by Dr. ÖaffieTd, of Detroit. We consider it to be very ingenious, pleading about equallv strong against the "syslem" of Slavery," (not against slaveholdi7ig) as a bad thing, and against the efforts of Aboliíionisís to procure its removal. - Three sections read one way, and three L'ie other. It will be observed that italso proposes to continue Slavehlders in '-Christian and ecclesiastical followship." Thirty e:rssince, inenstealers were regarded by 'Jiis church as "sinners of the first runk : now these sinners must be recei .ed and chcrished in the bosom of the Church till they get their eyes open, znl be ini:íru'.'ted in their duty. Another thing is worthy of notice. - On this subject, the Assembly is able to discover, all at once, that it has no juris diction in the premises, and no right t establish tests of Church membership no already luid down in the Scriptures. - How did it happen that this did not oc cur to them, when at a previous session they passed the following condemnatio ofDancing: Resolved, Tíir.t the fashionable amuse ment of promiscuous dancing isso entirc ly unscripiura], and einincntly and exelu sively that of "the world ihat lieth i weakness;" and so wholiy inconsititen wilh the spirit oi' Chriüt, and with tha propriety of Christian department, anc ihat puriiy cf lieart which his followcr are boundto maintain, as to render it no onl v impropër and injurious for professin Cliristianseither to partake in it, or t qualifv thoir cliildren for it, by teachin ihom the art; butalso tocall for the fnitl ful and judicious exercise of discipline on the part of church sessions, when any o their members liavo been guilty. Where can tht Asaembly find any di reet warrant in Scripture for excluding a meniber from fellowship for Dancing? - Yet they assumcd the right without th least hesitalion: but in tho case oí Slave Loldingjhow remarkably careful and scru pulous, lest they should transcend the au ihority of Scripture! A member from New York, whose ame we forgot, read this resolution on Dancing to the Assembly, and called for jjst such an one on Slavery, declaring that it ivould be entirely eatisfactory in his community. He said this action of t] i Assembly on Dancing, and its refusal to say any tuing against Slaveholding,had been thrown at him a hundred times, and Jpe wished for such action as would put the sin of holding men in Slavery on an ial footing, at least, with the sin of DanBut an uncquiübcal condemr.ation of it ctuiiJ nol ba had, because the Souther Mteynitera would then secede. As it was the-rvoted againsl the adoption of DrDuffiëïcTs reporr, & tlien protested againsl it, aúhough clcöignatcd in it as i-bclovcd brdhrc.n." I IWevcr, tlús action of the Assembl y indicatcs progress, and as a sign of the times, rather than f rom any consequent good that wül grow out of it, wc think it encouragingnlul gratifying. Bul posterity will wonder at the tenacity with which ihisChurch, in 1646, persisted in hugging a community of acknuwledgcd menstoalers to ita bosom. But sonie of hs membersare quite liberal in tlieir views. WitnessDr. Ely, who declnred llmt 'lhe would admit lo the eomiminiou and felowohip of the Church, ':Free Maons, Odd Fellows, Sons of Teinperancc, )aughters of Temperance.Tobacco cliewrs, Slaveholders and Aholilionisis - -proid 'rd thcy iccrc nol of the C arrisan lamp.11 The report was adopted by a vote of 7 lo 27 - üvery southern ineniber against t. Absent, 20. The case of Rev. Mr. Grajiam carne jefore tiie Asscinbly. iïe has been susïended by the Synod of Cincinnati for ïeresy, in teaching thal man could right"ully hXitd property in man, and that the jible snnrtions ihe relation of master and lave. The Assemblv, about 60 to 29, order cd the &yiiod to restore Mr. G raham to. hts ecclisiaslical standing ! !