IAN FRIEND,--I fear I shall make myself tedious to you by
dwelling so long upon this, to me, painful subject,--slavery. I will,
therefore, in the present letter, finish what I have to say for the
present, hoping that our future correspondence may be on more grateful
themes.

There are a few questions which are suggested to us by the brief view we
have taken of this most important subject. The first is, Must slavery,
with all its attendant evils, be perpetuated? Must this blot rest upon
our beloved country, and tarnish its escutcheon forever? I am persuaded
that the spontaneous answer from the Christian heart of this nation is,
_No!_ It was never contemplated by Washington nor Jefferson nor Adams,
nor by the framers of our Constitution, nor by the great mass of noble
patriots who perilled their all for the independence of their country,
that slavery was to be handed down to posterity. If you will look at the
writings of the leading public men of the last century, you will find,
that, almost without exception, they looked upon slavery in the United
States as a temporary evil, to be removed as soon as circumstances would
permit. They regarded it not only a wrong inflicted upon the slave, but
an incubus upon the nation, soon to pass away.

The great body of Christians in our land have been looking forward to
the time, and praying for its arrival, when all the oppressed within our
borders shall go free. That the time will come when slavery shall cease
in our land, I as fully believe as I believe that there is a God who
presides over and directs the destinies of men. You and I may not live
to see the day; but it will come.

Another question suggested is, Does the church of Christ in this country
sustain any responsibility in regard to slavery, and has she any duty to
discharge in relation to it? By the church of Christ, I mean the great
mass of Christians of every name who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity,
both North and South.

This question is easily answered. There are no evils existing in the
Christian's field of labor--the world--in regard to which he has not
some responsibility, and for the removal of which he is not bound to do
something. As a general truth, the nearer the evils come to our own
firesides and bosoms, the weightier those responsibilities become. The
hundreds of millions of heathens in foreign lands lying in sin and
degradation appeal to our sympathy and efforts, and that appeal we may
not disregard.