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treated with attention and care * But as Mr . Martin , in his endeavours to protect from injury the brutes , for which , by the way , he has been very improperly ridiculed , would not condemn as brutal all possessors of horses ; so nothing could be more improper than to condemn all slave-owners as being destitute of Christian feeling . ; We know that connected with our parks are to be found persons of whom it may be said ,
" No mothers or nurses Take such cafe of their babes as these do of their horses ;" but this does not render more desirable to the poor animals ( he dustman ' s service ; nor can the liberality aud kindness of a few tender-hearted slave-owners , who * after all , have perhaps become possessed
of this sort of property by inheritance ^ without thought , render that system which degrades man to an inferiority to the brutes , compatible with that soulennobliug 6 ystem which raises the human being to heaven , and makes him already feel himself allied to a higher order of intelligences than those which earth , affords .
But the , fact is notorious , that many of the ablest writers on Christianity have declared itfi spirit to be utterly at variance WjU ^ tfoe system of Slavery . Indeed , it has txeen pretty broadly stated , that if we mafee $ he Negroes Christians , they will soon cease to be Slaves . If there be any chauce Ojf this , it is evident that the tendency of Christianity is to make men FREp . Do we act in agreement with that tendency if we keep them slaves ? Why
prohibit Negro instruction , if there be up danger of jits altering the present lucrative system ? Perhaps I shall be told that , the Negroes are instructed , that we have bishops at work for this pious purpose . Be it so ; a bishop ' s gown is not sufficient to hide from my inspection the history of Smith the missionary , nor the published incidents connected with Mr . Tbomas > Cooper ' s voyage to the West Indies at the instance of Mr . Hibbert . I
fotone have but little faith in the exertions of bishops , generally speaking , to ameliorate mankind . But , without attempting , iti this place , to convince those of the antichristian nature of Slavery who entertain other opinions concerning it , presuming there are several in the body of Unitarians whp hold it in abomination , I would ask them whether \ % he not time for us to do something more , at our annual meetings than merely endeavour to teach sound doctrine T
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—though this is an act of which the apostle speaks highly ; but then he was wise , honest , and disinterested enough to act upon his own teaching . He connected together doctrine and practice . It was all very well for us to institute societies for the purpose of enlightening the public miud on the great doctrine of the Divine Unity ; but having done this
in a great degree , we ought now to stretch forward to things that are still before ; more especially as some amongst us seem to think that there is so little more to be done in the way of amending doctrine in England , they have been anxious to turn our eyes to the East , and partly failing there , now busy themselves in forming projects for Ireland , and are embracing in the arms of cordial affection the
inhabitants of America . Far be it from me not to wish that Unitarian chapels were erected in many parts of India , or that the Unitarian creed should not prevail , to the exclusion of every other , in the new world ; but it has always appeared
to me to be preposterous to be so satisfied with attempting to improve others in doctrine , while we take no adequate means whereby to assimilate our national practice with the pure creed which we thus offer to distant lands : and the
congratulations which pass from one to another at our meetiugs , on the success of our cause , or the regret sometimes expressed that there are difficulties in our way , are to me equally sickening , when I reflect that in these the business and spirit of our meetings is dissipated , aud no plan is discussed for the more
effectually removing of every thing which now hurts and destroys in the holy mountain of our God , or for making his praise that praise which consists in purity of heart , in the exercise of benevolence and love , in making this praise one , equally with the proclamation that his name is also ONE . *
Six years have now elapsed since the question of Negro or Colonial Slavery was discussed in the House of Commons at the instance of Mr . Brougham , since which little has been done . On a subject
in which such a complication of interests preseuts itself , perhaps six years is no very great time for any great advauce to be made or expected ^ especially if this advance is to be made only by politicians , by men connected with courts , which are
• We have taken the liberty of abridging our Correspondent ' s paper by omitting a portion on another topic .
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Miscellaneous Correspondence * 803
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1829, page 803, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2578/page/59/
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