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Show 318 UNCLE TOM'S CADIN: OR, They come to seek a refuge among you; they come to seek education knowledge, Christianity. \Vhat do you owe to these poor unfortunates, oh Christians? Does not every American Christian owo to the African race some effort at reparation for the wrongs that th~ American nation has brought upon them 1 Shall the doors of churches and school-houses bo shut upon them 1 Shall states arise and shake them out 1 Shall the church of Christ hear in silence the taunt tha,t is thrown at them, and shrink away from the helpless hand that they stretch out; and, by her silence, encoumge the cruc1ty that would chase them from our borders 1 If it must be so, it will be a mournful spectacle. If it must be so, the country will have reason to tremble, when it remembers that tho f:ttc of nations is in the hands of One who is very pitiful, and of tender compassion. Do you say, "'Vo don't want them 1JCre; let them go to Africa ''? That the providence of God has provided a refuge in Africa, is, indeed, a great and noticeable fact; but that is no reason why the church of Christ should throw off that responsibility to this outcast race which her profession demands of her. ~ro fill up Liberia with an ignorant, inexperienced, half-barbarized race, just bsca.ped from the chains of slavery, would be only to prolong, !Or ages, the period of struggle and conflict which attends tho inception of new enterprises. Let the church of tho north receive these poor sufferers in tho spirit of Christ; receive them to the educating advantages of Christian republican society a,ml schools, until they have attained to somewhat of a moral and intc11cctualmaturity, and then assist them in their passage to those shores, where they may put in practice the lessons they have learned in America. There is a boUy of men at the north, comparatively small, UFE AMONG THE LOWLY. 319 who have been doing this; and, as tho result, this country hns already seen examples of men, formerly slaves, who have rapidly acquired property, reputation, and education. Talent has been developed, which, considering the circumstances, is certainly remarka.blq; and, for moral traits of honesty, kindness, tenderness of feeling,- for heroic efforts and self-denials, endured for the ransom of brethren and friends yet in slavery,- they !Jave been remarkable to a degree that, considering the influence under which they were born, is surprising. The writer has li ved, for many years, on the frontier-line of slave states, and has had great opportunities of observation among those who formerly '"ere slaves. They have been in her f:unily as servants; nnd, in default of any other school to receive them, she has, in many cases, had theru instructed in a family school, with her own children. She has also the testimony of missionaries, among the fugitives in Canada, in coincidence with her own experience; and her deductions, with regard to the capabilities of the race, are encouraging in the highest degree. ~rho first desire of the cmancipa.ted slave, gencral1y, is for education. There is nothing that they are not willing to give or do to have their children instructed; and, so f:1.ras the writer has observed herself, or taken tho testimony of teachers among them, they are remarkably intelligent and quick to learn. 'l'he results of schools, founded for them by benevolent individuals in Cincinnati, fully establish this. ~rhe author gives the follo,ying statement of facts, on the authority of Professor C. E. Stowe, then of Lane Seminary, Ohio, with regard to emancipated slaves, now resident in Cincinnati; given to show the capability of the race, even without any very particular assistance or encouragement. |