BRO. SMITH : In the Sab. Recorder of April 30th, at the head of an article entitled Slaveholder's Treason, by G. B. C., is an introduction by D. E. M., in which Dr. Cheever is endorsed by Mr. M. as "one who seems to understand for what purpose the gospel was sent to the earth," and that Dr. C. is one who has not bowed the knee to this modern Baal. I ask, if Dr. C. understands for what purpose the gospel was sent to the earth, why is he breaking the law which Christ came to fulfill and to make honorable? I ask what difference there is between worshiping the Baal of Slavery and the Baal of Papacy; and if D. E. M. supposes that Dr. C. is a true shepherd, then how can D. E. M. teach another and an opposing doctrine; for surely if those leaders who hallow the first day and defend it are the genuine shepherds, D. E. M. and his fellows must be false; for God is a God of order, and he has not instituted two Sabbaths weekly, one for us and one for G. B. C. Will D. E. M. clear up this matter?
In Mr. Cheever's article it is taken for granted that the constitution of the U. S. A. does not degrade the black man. Dr. C. says, "Only local State-laws, well known, can put any disability upon him." I ask how Dr. C. can be serious in making such an assertion?
If the constitution does not degrade the black man, how does he dispose of that law giving the owner a three-fifths vote for his human chattel? True the constitution does not say slavery, but slavery did exist then, and the gift of negro suffrage, three votes for five chattels, fully endorses it.
Then to assert that our constitution does not legalize slavery is simply absurd, and the effort by professed teachers to exalt the constitution as faultless is most certainly criminal. Let the axe be laid at the root of the tree. The Christian prays, Thy kingdom come, or in other words, for a Theocracy. Can he then be a consistent Democrat who in heart is praying for the coming of Christ's kingdom? Let us come out fearlessly and honestly, lay aside the mark of hypocrisy, and shout, Live forever, glorious King!
Let worldly and political affairs alone. Let godly men be such politically and morally, be as men who wait for their Lord. Surely he will come. Shall good men be found at their posts or not? Can man change the nature of the lion or the spots of the leopard?
Let men who work for God work legitimately and in their sphere. Let not Paul or Peter attempt the reformation of the Roman form of government, but rather the purification of the church and the interests of those who are ready to crucify the flesh. Let teachers and shepherds look to the lost sheep, and not to the taming of wild beasts.
Truly yours. JOSEPH CLARKE.
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