ody, have been stripped of the dignity of Christians, degraded in
the scale of humanity, and treated as criminals, for no other reason
than the colour of their skin! Your resolution has, in our humble
opinion, _virtually_ declared that a mere physical peculiarity, the
handiwork of our all-wise and benevolent Creator, is _prima facie_
evidence of incompetency to tell the truth, or is an unerring
indication of unworthiness to bear testimony against a fellow-being
whose skin is denominated white. * * *

"Brethren, out of the abundance of the heart we have spoken. _Our
grievance is before you_! If you have any regard for the salvation of
the eighty thousand immortal souls committed to your care,--if you
would not _thrust_ beyond the pale of the Church _twenty-five thousand
souls in this city_, who have felt determined never to leave the Church
that has nourished and brought them up,--if you regard us as children
of one Common Father, and can upon reflection sympathize with us as
members of the body of Christ,--if you would not incur the fearful, the
tremendous responsibility of offending not only one, but many thousands
of his 'little ones,'--we conjure you to wipe from your journal the
odious resolution which is ruining our people."

This address was presented to one of the Secretaries, a delegate of the
Baltimore Conference, and subsequently given by him to the Bishops. How
many of the members of Conference saw it, is unknown. One thing is
certain, _it was never read to the Conference_.

LETTER XXV.

A Sabbath at Baltimore (continued)--A Coloured Congregation--The
Thought of seeing Washington abandoned--Departure from Baltimore
--Coloured Ladies in the Luggage-Van--American Railways--Chesapeak
Bay--Susquehannah--State of Delaware, and Abolition of Slavery
--Philadelphia--Albert Barnes--Stephen Girard's Extraordinary Will.

In the afternoon of my first Sabbath at Baltimore I found, after much
inquiry, a congregation of coloured people, who were some sort of
Methodists. My wife and I were the only white people in the place. We
were treated with great politeness, and put, not in a pew apart by
ourselves, but in one of the best places they could find, in the very
midst of the congregation. A serious-looking coloured man opened the
service, with great propriety of manner and expression. He was the
regular pastor. A black man, a stranger as I understood, preached. His
text (he said) was, "Behold, I come quickly;" a