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Show Henry Ward Beecher. Neither 1s there any Gospel that hns been pe rmitt ctl to r ebuke the~c thing:'. There is no chur ·h that I have ·vcr known in the South, that bears t stimony again. t the111. N either will the churches in the N orth, as a body, take upon th emselv e~ the r e!'ponsibility of bearing witnc a O'nin:-;t them. I go further: I declare that there must be a Christian public sentiment, whi ·h shall make the family inviolate. :!\len ornetime~ say, ''It is rarely the case that famili s arc scpnratcd." It is false ! It is fal ~c ! There is not a sla vc mart that docs not bear testimony, ten thou~ ancl times over, again t uch an as, ertion. Childr n arc bred like colts and calve , aml nrc di~ perscd like them. It is in vain to preach a Go pel to slaves tha t leaves out personal cha tity in man and womnn, or that leaves this purity subject to another's control! that leaves out the sanctity of the marriage state, and the unity and inviolability of the fiunily. And yet no Go pel has borne such a te timony in favor of tllCm, a to arouse the con cicnce of the ~ou t h! If mini tcrs will not preach liberty to the captive, they ought at lea t to prea ch the indi pen able nece ·sity of hou cholu virtue ! If they will not call upon the rna ters to set their slaves free, they should at least proclaim a Chri tianity that protects woman, childhood, and household ! The moment a woman stands self-poised in her own p uri ty; the moment man and woman arc united together l>y bonds which cannot be sunder ed during their earthly life ; the moment the right of parents to the ir children is r ecognized- that moment there will l>e a certain sanctity and protection of the Eternal and Divine government re~ ting upon fath er, and mother, and children; and Slavery will have had its dea th-blow struck! You cannot make Slavery profitable after the e three conditions are secured; the moment you make slaves serf..:; they become a difficult legal tender, and are uncurrcnt in the market ; and families are o cumbrous, so difficult to support, so H enry Ward BC'echer. 279 expensi ve that own · r::~ nr ' compc11 ·u, from rea on of' p cuniary int ·r •;; t, to (lrop th · syst •m. Th · refor ·, if yuu will only di:;s<·minnte the truths or the Gospel ; if~ getting t imi<l pri •;;t:; out of' the way, atHl lying societies, who·' cowanli ·c slnntlc rs the Gospel whi ·h they pretend to tlilfu. c, you bring a whole ~ola r flood of' r evel at ion to b ar upon the virtues and practical mora ls of the .-1avr, you will begin to admini fltcr a rcmcuy whit:h wi ll inevitably lwal the evil, if God d<'. igns to cu re it by moral means. G. Among the means to be <'mp loyc(l fo r promoting the liberty of' the SlaY<', we must not fail to include the pOW<' l' of tru Chri:tian p rn.y ' 1'. "\Vhen S lavery shall cease, it will be oy su ·h instrumen ts nncl influenc 'S as shall exhibit God's hand and heart in the work. I ts downfall will haYc b ·en a chieved . o lnrg '1y through natural ca use:::, ·o largely t hro11gh rcn~on s a::; broad as nation::;, that it will be apparent to a ll men that o<l led on the emancipat ion ; man b<•ing only one clcmeut among the ma ny . T here for , we haYC every encouragement to dircet our pray rs without ceasing to God that he will r estrain the wrath of man, i n~ p irc men with \\'isdom, overrul' all law , and control the commerce of the glohr, o that the poor may beeome riC'h, that the bond may become free, that the ig noran t may become wise, that the rna tcr and blave may r espect ea ch other, and that, a t length, we may be an evang •lizcd and Christian people. ~fay God, in h is own way and time, speed the day! |