the spirit and principles
of the gospel of Christ, which enjoin, that "whatever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." They
add, "It is manifestly the duty of all Christians who enjoy
the light of the present day, when the inconsistency of
slavery, both with the dictates of humanity and religion, has
been demonstrated, and is generally seen and acknowledged, to
use their honest, earnest and unwearied endeavors to correct
the errors of former times, and as speedily as possible, to
efface this blot on our holy religion, and to obtain the
complete abolition of slavery throughout Christendom and if
possible, throughout the world."

If, said Mr. B., he had expressed sentiments different from these, or
if he had inculcated as the principles of his brethren any thing
different from these just and noble sentiments, let the blame be
heaped upon his bare head. These sentiments they had held from a
period to which the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. Here
tonight, 3000 miles off, God enabled him to produce a record proving
an antiquity of half a century, in full maturity! How grand, how far
sighted, how illustrious is truth--compared with the wretched and new
born, and blear eyed fanaticism that carps at her! These are the
principles of the Presbyterian church of the United States. She has
risen with them, she will stand, or, if it be God's will, she will
fall with them. But she will not change them less or more. The General
Assembly is but now adjourned. They have had this question before
them--perhaps have been deeply agitated by its discussion. But so
tranquilly does my heart rest on the truth of these principles, and on
the fixed adherence to them, by my brethren, that nothing but a
feeling that it would be impertinent, in one like me, to vouch for a
body like that, could deter me from any lawful gage, that all its
decisions will stand with its ancient and unaltered principles. In
accordance with these principles the great body of the members of that
church had been all along acting.--There were about 24 synods under
the care of the General Assembly, of which about one third were in
the slave country. The number was constantly increasing, on which
account, and in the absence of all records, he could not be more
exact. The synods in the free states stood, he believed, without
exception, just where the Assembly stood, on this subject. In the
slave state