liberation of the slaves is rendered impracticable by the existing laws, it is the duty of holders of slaves to treat them with as much justice as if they were liberated; to give them suitable food and clothing; to have them taught to read, and instructed in the principles of religion; and, when their services justly deserve it, to give them additional compensation.

"3. That those slaveholders who refuse to renounce the above claim, and to treat their slaves in the manner now specified, are unworthy of being admitted into, or retained in, the fellowship of the Church of Christ.

"4. That it may be lawful for persons in our communion to purchase negroes from those who are holding them in absolute and perpetual slavery, with a view to retain them in their service until they are recompensed for the money laid out in the purchase of the said slaves; provided it be done with the consent of the negroes themselves, and that they be treated, in the meantime, according to the second of these regulations.

"5. That it is the duty of Sessions to see that the above regulations be faithfully observed; but that, before they be acted upon in any congregation where the application of them is requisite, care shall be taken to have the people of that congregation not only apprised of these regulations, but instructed concerning the moral evil of the slaveholding here condemned."

The Synod, at this period, was composed of Presbyteries whose jurisdictions extended over the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as throughout the Northern States. The provisions of the act of 1811 not being complied with, the Synod, after having had the subject before them for a number of years, at another meeting, in 1831, passed a more stringent act, by which all slaveholders were forthwith excluded from her communion. The act of 1831 is as follows:

"Resolved, That as slavery is clearly condemned by the law of God, and has been long since judicially declared to be a moral evil by this Church, no member thereof shall, from and after this date, be allowed to hold a human being in the character or condition of a slave.

"Resolved, That this Synod do hereby order all its subordinate judicatories to proceed forthwith to carry into execution the intention of the foregoing resolution, by requiring those church-members under

their immediate inspection, who may be possessed of slaves, to relinquish their unjust claims, and release those whom they may have heretofore considered as their property.

'Resolved, That if any member or members of this Church, in order to evade this act, shall sell any of their slaves, or make a transfer of them, so as to retain the proceeds of their services, or the price of their sale, or in any other way evade the provisions of this act, they shall be subject to the censures of the Church.

'Resolved, Further, that where an individual is found who has spent so much of his or her strength in the service of another as to be disqualified from providing for his or her own support, the master, in such a case, is to be held responsible for the comfortable maintenance of said servants."

Then follows a list of directions which the Synod recommends to be observed in carrying out the foregoing resolutions. It may be remarked here, also, that a protest, signed by six members of the Synod, was offered, and answered by a committee appointed for that purpose.

A few years previous to the date of this act, as appears from the Minutes of the Synod for 1824, the Associate Presbyterian Church had under its care ninety-one congregations, settled and vacant, of which twenty-eight were in the slave States, and distributed as follows: South Carolina, eleven, North Carolina, ten, Tennessee, two, Virginia, five.

In 1840, the Synod addressed a letter to the people under their inspection in the Presbytery of the Carolinas, in which some allowance was made for those who might not be able to effect the emancipation of their slaves, provided they would agree to what was called a moral emancipation. This letter, however, was so far from conciliating the feelings of Southern slaveholders, that a mob of them visited with Lynch-law the minister who was appointed to be the bearer of it, and that, too, while he was engaged with a congregation in the public worship of God. The effect of these proceedings was to purge the Church of the sin of slaveholding, and, at the same time, entirely extinguishing the Associate Presbytery of the Carolinas."

* Rev. Mr. Kendall, now of Oregon.

"In 1845, in compliance with the purport of various memorials, the Synod addressed a pastoral letter warning their people against the sin of voting for immoral characters. The same subject was brought before the Synod again in 1853, and a report was adopted in which the great iniquity of voting for wicked men is pointed out, and ministers are particularly enjoined to instruct their people in reference to this matter, and to warn them against being partakers in other men's sins, by exalting vile men to high places. (1)

"The course pursued by the government for promoting the cause of slavery, and the outrages perpetrated by the friends of that system, were regarded by the Synod of 1856 as loudly calling for some action. A report was accordingly adopted, condemning, in very pointed terms, 1st. Slavery itself; 2d. The Fugitive Slave Law; 3d. The gross and brutal attack on Senator Sumner; 4th. The outrages in Kansas. This report the clerk of Synod was directed to forward to the President of the United States, and to each House of Congress."

The Associate Synod no longer exists as a distinct body, but has become merged in the United Presbyterian Church, by a union with the Associate Reformed Church.

The foregoing facts are taken from the Minutes of the Associate Synod, and from the Church Memorial, a work recently issued, under the patronage of the United Presbyterian Church, and embracing an historical sketch of the two bodies which united in the formation of this Church.

SECTION II.-THE LEGISLATION OF THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED SYNOD OF THE WEST ON SLavery.

This Church, like the Associate Church, was, originally, the offspring of the Scotch Seceders. Its action on slavery is quoted mainly from the CHURCH MEMORIAL, and embraces, substantially, its proceedings down to the time of its being merged in the United Presbyterian Church. Its action, like that of its kindred churches, resulted in excluding it from all the slaveholding States, excepting a congregation in St. Louis. The legisla tion of this Church on slavery was as follows:

"At an early period in its history, anxious inquiry was made as to the course that should be pursued in regard to this system; and

extending, as the body then did, into slaveholding territories, it was a practical question of grave moment. At different meetings of the General Synod, the subject was discussed, and committees were appointed to prepare statements of the Synod's views, but from various causes, nothing was effectually done during the existence of that body.*

"At the meeting of the Synod of the West, at Chillicothe, Ohio, May, 1826, the subject came formally up, in a memorial from the congregation of Hopewell, in the first Presbytery of Ohio, and a series of discussions and acts were entered upon, which resulted in the adoption, at the meeting in Chillicothe again in 1830, of the following resolutions, which, with some modifications and explanations that we shall append in foot-notes, contains the final action of that portion of the Church:

"1. Resolved, That the religion of Jesus Christ requires that involuntary slavery should be removed from the Church as soon as opportunity in the providence of God is offered to slave-owners for the liberation of their slaves.

"2. Resolved, That when there are no regulations of the State to prohibit it; when provision can be made for the support of the freedmen; when they can be placed in circumstances to support the rank, enjoy the rights, and discharge the duties of freemen, it shall be considered that such an opportunity is afforded in the providence of God.†

"3. Resolved, That the Synod will, as it hereby does, recommend it to all its members to aid in placing the slaves which are within the jurisdiction of this Synod in the possession of their rights as freemen; and that it be recommended to them especially to take up annual collections to aid the funds of the American Society for colonizing the free people of color in the United States.‡

* This Church was originally composed of three subordinate Synods-the Synod of the South, of New York, and of the West-represented in a General Synod.

† At a meeting in 1838, the Synod passed the following in reference to this resolution:

"Resolved, that an opportunity in the providence of God shall be considered as afforded when the master can emancipate his slave, and place him in circumstances where he shall not be liable to be immediately sold into bondage."

In consequence of a memorial from Robinson Run congregation, the Synod, at its meeting in 1839, adopted the following in regard to this resolution:

"4. Resolved, That the practice of buying or selling slaves for gain, by any member of this Church, be disapproved; and that slave-owners under the jurisdiction of this Synod be, as they hereby are, forbidden all aggravations of the evils of slavery, by violating the ties of nature, the separation of husband and wife, parents and children, or by cruel or unkind treatment; and that they shall not only treat them well, but also instruct them in useful knowledge and the principles of the Christian religion, and in all respects treat them as enjoined upon masters toward their servants by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Two years afterward, in 1832, the Synod issued a Letter of Warning, or an Occasional Testimony, in which these resolutions were quoted, and the following extracts will show in what sense they were intended and understood as the law of the Church: 'Now, brethren, it is expected that the foregoing resolutions will not be as a dead letter, but be respected and reduced to practice. It is expected that Sessions and Presbyteries will see them enforced. It is expected that slave-owners in the Church will make conscience of seeking and improving opportunities, and the very first which offer, of liberating their slaves. It is expected that in the meantime they will give satisfactory evidence to their respective Sessions that they do consider slavery a moral evil, that they do truly desire to get rid of it as soon as they can, and that it is their intention to embrace the first opportunity which God in his providence shall give them for so doing. And it is expected of Sessions that they will require this of slaveowning church-members or applicants,' etc. (2)

"These acts of the Synod of the West remain unchanged. They were carried into the General Synod of the West, were recognized in the union with the Synod of New York, and are strikingly similar to the Testimony on this subject in the basis of union with the Associate Church in May last."

The Letter of Warning, referred to above, among the many

"As there are two conflicting Societies operating in the community-the Colonization and the Anti-Slavery Societies-and as this Synod has recommended the former to the patronage of the Churches under its care; and as it is desirable the Synod should keep clear of this excitement; and as the Church should not be involved by the operation of bodies over which it has no control, therefore,

"Resolved, That this Synod withdraws the recommendation formerly given to the Colonization Society."