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and most sacred to his feelings . No wise mart who is a Christian will become the apologist of a conqueror , because it is the very nature of conquest to permit , nay , to justify , deeds both contrary to the spiriL of the gospel and opposed to its injunctions . He will only injure the cause of the man whose talents he
admires by attempting to support him through those parts of his conduct which will not bear investigation ; for , however severe and painful the sentence of a just condemnation may be , it cannot be es - caped from . No subterfuges will avail , for what is not morally right is wrong ; and crime is not the less crime because
it is committed on a grand scale and on a regular system . There is no equivocating between the laws of religion aud those of the world . A man may choose between them , but he cannot reconcile them ; and by malting the attempt , he will only involve his own character , either for sense or virtue . Our author
appears to me to be in this predicament : he wishes to abide by the decisions of Christianity , and he wishes to defend the conquests and publicconductof Napoleon . He cannot do both . It is of no avail to say that other systems were worse , that the feudal system was bad ; possibly they were , but this is not the question . In the same manner his
accusations against the Americans do not affect the subject . They may be all true , and yet the Americans may still be a moral and enlightened nation . Slavery is , indeed , a degrading stain , one of the darkest crimes the world has ever witnessed ; but the educated part of the community in America regret it as deeply as its warmest opponents in this
country can do . They have put an end to the slave-trade , and they will gladly put an end to domestic slavery also if it is in their power . In several of-the states it has been already abolished , and they will , no doubt , proceed in the work of mercy . In regard to the treatment of the poor Indians by the Americans , such as it is represented in the author ' s
letter , I make no attempt to defend it , for it is wicked and indefensible ; but I do say that , though possibly containing some atrocious individuals , America , taken as a whole , is still a moral and enlightened nation ; and that it would be as fair to judge of the 'English by their bull-baitings , and the shameful cruelties which are often practised on the brute creation , as it is to condemn the American
nation m one sweeping censure for the conduct of a portion , and that the worst portion of it . I much regret that any
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expressions should be made use of in our public journals calculated to give rise to any unfriendly feeling towards a people so closely allied to ourselves in the principle ^ of civil and religious liberty , in language , manners , and institutions—a people to whom we are indebted for so many valuable additions to
our theological literature , aud for some of the purest and brightest examples of living excellence . I sincerely trust that no feelings of selfishness or envy may prevail amongst us , or ever render us insensible to real worth , in whatever country it may be found , or in whatever sect or party . The good have a common cause , and they should strengthen each
others' hands , not impede each others ' progress . Instead of seeking for the faults and imperfections of other nations , let us amend our own . Let us reform the ignorance and the brutality of the lower classes in this country , let us ameliorate our severe penal laws , and , above all , let us wash our hands of the blood of the slaves who are
perishing by hundreds and thousands in our own colonies . When we have done all this , \ t will be time enough to concern ourselves with the secret sins of other nations , and to bring to light their iniquities . I wish not to make any comparisons , for they are both unnecessary and invidious ; but I should be sorry , . indeed , if the reverence and love I feel for my own
country should blind me to the improvement and progress of other nations , or prevent my rejoicing in it . I revere the memory of Dr . Priestley , as an indefatigable , pious , and excellent Christian ; and , on the same principle , I revere and admire the writings of Dr . Channing , as inspiring an ardent love of virtue and of
truth , and impressing the reader with a deep sense of the beauty of holiness . Dr . Priestley elucidated new and striking truths , and Dr . Channing has opened new lights in the moral and spiritual world , to my mind still more than the former ; but why are we to set in opposition either their characters or their
exertions ? It is neither wise nor liberal to do so . Let us be thankful for all the intellectual advantages we receive from various miuds , and improve them as we may ; aud instead of making needless distinctions amongst the good , let us
reserve our opposition for oppression and vice , for evils which we can remedy , and which it is our duty to combat ; and , even in doing this , let us be careful to do it with that mercy which we ourselves must individually stand in need of . A LoVjer of Truth and Freedom *
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504 Miscellaneous Correspondence .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1829, page 504, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2574/page/56/
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