colored members in our church; and it is highly probable,
from various reasons which might be named, that _as many as
sixty thousand, or upwards of these, are slaves_; but what
proportion of these and _others_, are enslaved by the
_Methodist members_ and _Methodist preachers_, we have no
means of determining precisely; but the _alterations_ which
have been made in the discipline, show at once that _the
number is neither few nor small_; and if this evil was a
"great" one fifty years ago, what must it be now? What will
it be fifty or a hundred years hence, _should the discipline
be_ ALTERED _as it has been during half a century past_? Who
can tell where this "great" and growing "evil," will end? We
frequently hear Christians and Christian ministers expressing
the greatest fears for the safety of the "political" union of
these United States, whenever the subject of slavery is
mentioned; but no fears as to the prosperity and peace of the
Christian church, though this "evil" be ever so "great," and
though it be increased every day a thousand fold. But can it
be supposed that any branch of the Christian church is in a
healthy and prosperous state, while it slumbers and nurses in
its bosom so great an evil."

In reply to the challenge to produce one instance of a slave trading
Methodist, I give the following from "Zion's Watchman," a Methodist
newspaper, published in New York. It is from a letter of a
correspondent of that paper:

"A man came among us where I was preaching, a class-leader,
from Georgia, having a regular certificate, who appeared to
be very zealous, exhorting and praying in our meetings, &c. I
thought I had got an excellent helper; but, on inquiring his
business, I found he was a SLAVE TRADER: come on purpose to
buy up men, women, and children, to drive to the South!!! I
expostulated with him; but he said it was not thought wrong
where he came from. I told him we could not countenance such
a thing here, and that we could hold no fellowship with him."
He farther told me that on inquiring of a slave he had with
him, what sort of a master he was, he replied, "I have had
four masters, but this is the most cruel of them all;" and
told him, as a proof of it, to look at his back, which, said
the minister, "was cut with a whip, from his head to his
heels!!" The Rev. S. W. Wils