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 XVMERICAI TIUCT SOCIETY. 
 
 NEW YORK, 150 NASSAU-STREET, OCTOBER, 1857. 
 
 The following documents will place before the careful 
 and candid reader the constitutional basis, the past his¬ 
 tory, and the general principles of the Society, and en¬ 
 able him to see the propriety and necessity of its present 
 course. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF FIVE OF THE SOCIETY’S FOUNDERS. 
 
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 HISTORICAL FACTS LIMITING ITS ISSUES TO PUBLICA¬ 
 TIONS IN WHICH EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS AGREE. 
 
 1. The Society is not an individual^ hut a body cov'porale, a 'public trusty 
 for an object prescribed and limited by its constitution. An individual 
 may claim liberty to use his money for all purposes, or squander it, 
 as he pleases. A trustee is bound by the laws of God and man to 
 fulfil his trust, not diverting a farthing to any other object. The 
 Bible Society can employ its means only to issue the Bible “ without 
 note or comment the orphan asylum only for orphans ; tlie exec¬ 
 utor only for the heirs or legatees of the deceased. 
 
 2. What is the prescribed object of this Society ? Its constitution 
 defines it to be “to diffuse a knowledge of our Lord Jesus Clirist as 
 the Redeemer of sinners, and to promote the interests of vital godli¬ 
 ness and sound morality.” 
 
 3. By what means and limitationsl Its constitution declares, “By 
 the circulation of religious tracts calculated to receive the approba¬ 
 tion of ALL EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS.” Tlus carefull v S(‘lected language, 
 five of the surviving active founders, and the whole Executive Com¬ 
 mittee with the President and Secretaries, testify in a public docu¬ 
 ment (Ann. Rep. 1856, p. 193) was understood by the founders, and 
 has ever been understood and acted on by the Committee as binding 
 the Society in good faith to issue only such pulilicatiuns as evingel- 
 ical Christians throughout our country do in fact unite in approving.''^ In 
 the same Annual Report, page 22, the Executive Committee reaffirm 
 this “ sacred compact which binds the Society to peace with all Cod’s 
 redeemed people in seeking the glory of Christ in the salvation of the 
 perishing,” and say, “ It has been adhered to in all the Society’s 
 harmonious course, on which the blessing of God has so richly rest¬ 
 ed and they add, “Nothing can change these historical verities.” 
 Evidently essential as it was to avoid denominational contention, it 
 was and evei^has been no less so to avoid political, sectional, and other 
 
 
 if..» 
 
 W 
 
 H 
 
2 
 
 strifes often more violent and absorbing. That it ^yas the intent of 
 the above language of the Constitution to guard against collision on 
 any and every subject sundering true Christians from each other, is 
 not known to have been questioned by any one through a period of 
 nearly thirty years. If “ contemporaneous testimony is valid in law,” 
 this would seem to be conclusive. 
 
 As a further limitation, the Constitution provides that the Society 
 shall annually elect a Board of Directors ; that this Board shall elect 
 an Executive, including a Publishing Committee ; that ‘‘the Publish¬ 
 ing Committee shall contain no two members from the same ecclesi¬ 
 astical connection,” and that “-/io trad shall he published to which any 
 member of that committee (now consisting of six pastors of churches) 
 shall object^ By this prescribed method, and this alone, can publica¬ 
 tions be issued. With the free exercise of the judgment of the re¬ 
 spective members of this Committee, thus accorded to them in the 
 Constitution, no act of the Society has ever indicated any claim or 
 wish to interfere. 
 
 There is another implied limitation, delicate and beautiful, though 
 not expressed in terms, Christian confidence, vital to the Society’s ex¬ 
 istence in its true character, and which God graciously granted and 
 has long continued. At the time of the Society’s formation, such 
 harmon}^ had prevailed for twenty-six years in the parent Tract So¬ 
 ciety in London, and characterized all the prominent benevolent 
 institutions then springing up in our country to bless the world. So 
 essential was such harmony, that without the expectation of it this 
 Society would not have been formed. Its Executive Committee have 
 ever felt called of God to keep “ the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace,” in fulfilment of the Saviour’s prayer, “that they all may be 
 one, that the world may know that thou hast sent me and this 
 harmony they have universally inculcated in every branch of the 
 Society’s operations in all parts of the country. They have uttered 
 no word of unkindness to any ; carried no act into effect in opposi¬ 
 tion to the known will of any one of their number ; and every act of 
 the Society, till May 1856, was unanimous. 
 
 4. These limitations apply equally to what is published on all subjects, 
 whether Christian doctrines or morals, church polity or ordinances, 
 intemperance, freemasonry, or slavery ; and bind the Committee, in 
 reference to any subject whatever, to select and issue only such tracts 
 as promise usefulness and the harmonious consent of evangelical 
 Christians : their silence as to errors lying beyond these limits in no 
 respect implying approval. In the convention which originally 
 adopted the Constitution, and in,the formation of the Society, Chris¬ 
 tians from the north and from the south were cordially united. It 
 was then as distinctly understood that the above limitations applied 
 
8 
 
 to tracts referring' to slavery as to any other topic ; and the earlier 
 publications show that the Society was then as much restricted in its 
 issues on that subject, as it has been in any part of its history. On 
 this and all subjects the Committee have freely inculcated the un¬ 
 questioned teachings of the Bible—all its teachings indeed, in the 
 very words of Inspiration, with plain scriptural comments ; and the 
 various allusions to this subject in the great practical treatises of 
 Baxter, Bunyan, Flavel, Doddridge, Edwards, and many others se¬ 
 lected for publication, have never, so far as known, been either omit¬ 
 ted or objected to by any. On these publications, circulated through¬ 
 out our country, God has graciously set his seal by the converting 
 and sanctifying influences of his Holy Spirit. 
 
 These facts and principles are the basis on which this Society 
 has stood and must stand ; to which all the contributions and lega¬ 
 cies it has received have been consecrated ; and to which it is 
 pledged by the most solemn obligations man can assume. 
 
 The Publishing Committee have never understood these princi¬ 
 ples and limitations as excluding from their attention suitable Tracts, 
 pertaining to any subject whatever. When it had been urged that 
 more ought to be published on duties or evils connected with slav¬ 
 ery, they said in the Annual Report, May 1856, that while “it seemed 
 to have been understood by the whole community, that the subject 
 of slavery in its aspects of political, national, and sectional strife could 
 not be discussed, yet, should a tract be presented referring to ‘ duties 
 or evils’ connected with the subject, 'in which evangelical Christians, 
 north and south, would agreed and wliich promised usefulness, they 
 knew no reason why it should not be published.” They also inti¬ 
 mated their readiness to discontinue three small books in which the 
 omission of a few lines was objected to, which books they have since 
 agreed not to reprint. 
 
 Their careful attention to a proposed treatise on the “Duties of Mas¬ 
 ters” until insuperable objections arose to their issuing it, not only from 
 two of its authors, but involving the hazard of dismembering the Soci¬ 
 ety by cutting off nearly one-half of its field of usefulness with no war¬ 
 rant or anticipation of such an event by the Society itself, appears in 
 their published statement of September 10. Objections to issuing such 
 a Tract came both from the south and the north—from tlie south, be¬ 
 cause, in the present political and sectional agitations, the people will 
 receive no instructions on the subjeetTrom the north, and because such 
 a tract, borne by any colporteur or distributer, would be liable to be re¬ 
 garded as an incendiary document—objections from many at the north 
 to a discussion of these duties which would imply no condemnation 
 of slavery itself; and from many, both north and south, who, while 
 
4 
 
 they deplore the evils connected with slavery, object to the Society’s 
 thus departing from its legitimate principles and work. 
 
 Thus have the Committee omitted no reasonable endeavor to 
 issue on these “duties” as much as the Society’s principles allow ; 
 while they have not departed from those principles, or been recreant 
 to the responsibilities under which they act. And may not the ap¬ 
 peal be made to all, of every name and locality, cheerfully to accord 
 to the laborers in this work the priceless immunity and inalienable 
 right in this favored land, thus peacefully to continue, according to 
 the dictates of conscience, under their time-honored Constitution, these 
 heaven-blessed endeavors to obey their Redeemer’s ascending com¬ 
 mand, “ Go ye, and preach the gospel to every creature,” and claim his 
 promise, “ Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” 
 
 The above record of facts, deemed due at the present time to the members of 
 the Society and the Christian community, is made on the responsibility of the live 
 surviving founders of the Society, who are still members of the Committee or Sec¬ 
 retaries : Kev. Dr. Knox and ]\Ir. E. T. Haines, Chairmen of the Publishing and 
 Finance Committees ; Mr. Moses Allen, Treasurer ; Eev. Dr. Sommers, Eecording 
 Secretary 5 and Eev. William A. Hallock, Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 LETTER OF JUDGE WILLIAMS. 
 
 An official document of the officers of the American Tract Society 
 having been submitted to their President the Hon. Thomas S. Will¬ 
 iams, recently Chief Justice of Connecticut, he wrote in reply : 
 
 * * * ngy words of your constitution,* the tracts published 
 were to be such as are ‘calculated to receive the approbation of all 
 evangelical Christians.’ 
 
 “There is no complaint that the tracts you have published are 
 not such as receive the approbation of all evangelical Chri.<tians, but 
 the objection is raised, that you do not publish as you ought on the 
 subject of slavery. 
 
 “The question then arises, whether the Society consistently, 
 within the limits of their constitution, by which they must be regu¬ 
 lated, could publish such tracts as the complainants propose ? 
 
 “Are such tracts calculated to secure, or ‘receive the approba¬ 
 tion of all evangelical Christians?’ 
 
 “The Society was to be denominated ^Amcrictn.'’ It w'as intended 
 to know no North, no South ; it was intended to embrace all denom¬ 
 inations designated evangelical, nay, more, all Christians who could 
 be considered as evangelical. 
 
 “Now that there are churches of every denomination called evan¬ 
 gelical, scattered over all our southern states, as well as individual 
 
 * The word “charter” in the original letter, is changed, by request of the 
 writer, to “constitution.” 
 
■ 5 
 
 Christians, wlio would not approve of publications of the cliaracter 
 proposed, is well known. Some may oppose them upon principle, 
 some upon the a,’round of expediency, some for the sake of peace, and 
 some waitinp; a more favorable time ; but whatever the motive, tlie 
 great mass of individual Christians, and of Christian clmrclies, we have 
 reason to believe, would say that such tracts did not receive the appro¬ 
 bation of all evangelical Christians among them. What then should 
 the American Tract Society, with their constitution for their guide, do ? 
 
 “Shall they, without other evidence, denounce all these churches, 
 and all these individuals, as not evangelical? What authority have 
 they for this ; and how would such a sentence be regarded in courts 
 of justice ? 
 
 “When this Society was incorporated by the name of the Amer¬ 
 ican Tract Society, I will venture to say, that no one who voted for 
 that charter supposed that there were no evangelical churches of 
 any denomination south of the Potomac, or that the effect would be 
 to confine its operation to the free states. It was a well-known fact, 
 that the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Methodists, 
 Baptists, and Reformed Dutch, as a body, were known as evangelical. 
 The constitution therefore, which speaks of evangelical Christians, 
 refers to these denominations, not intending, however, to exclude 
 other evangelical Christians. 
 
 “Now, unless these southern churches of these various denomina¬ 
 tions have renounced their creed, or been denounced by the ecclesi¬ 
 astical tribunals to which they belong, it seems to me that they must 
 be treated as of the same faith ; and that the officers of the Tract 
 Society have no right to say they are not evangelical Christians ; 
 and if so, the Tract Society would be bound to issue no tracts which 
 would not be calculated to secure their approbation. 
 
 “ The sentence of excommunication which some, in their heat, 
 have pronounced against southern ministers and southern churches, 
 is ex-cathedra ; and officers acting under your constitution would 
 not, in my opinion, be justified in law or conscience, in adopting it. 
 If these southern churches remain evangelical churches, and southern 
 Christians are still evangelical Christians, it is their right, and your 
 duty, to abstain from publishing even truths, the publication of 
 which they would not approve ; and I much misunderstand the 
 instrument under which you act, if those who are dissatisfied, how¬ 
 ever they may complain of the constitution, have any reason to com¬ 
 plain of the course pursued by those whose actions must be regulated 
 by it. 
 
 “Very sincerely and respectfully yours, 
 
 “THOS. S. WILLIAMS." 
 
 “Hartford, February, 1856.” 
 
TO OUR ENDEARED FELLOW-WORKERS, 
 
 THE 
 
 AGENTS, SUPERINTENDENTS, AND COLPORTEURS OF 
 THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 
 
 Brethren Beloved —There arise occasions when it is important for 
 those engaged in a widely expanded enterprise to enjoy a more full 
 and free interchange of thought and affection than is possible by a 
 brief and infrequent correspondence. The present divided state of 
 the Christian mind as to the position our beloved institution should 
 occupy upon one of the most difficult and exciting questions of the 
 day, seems to furnish such an occasion. 
 
 Most gladly would we, were it possible, call our hundreds of co¬ 
 workers together in some quiet corner of the land, away from the 
 noise and clamor of excited disputants, and laying aside every ques¬ 
 tion of discussion, cluster about the cross, and looking up to the face 
 of our redeeming Saviour, plead with one voice for a new baptism of 
 the divine Spirit to fit us for our great work. As we cannot enjoy 
 this privilege, let us strive to bring our hearts and minds into unison 
 by a common word of counsel and encouragement. Such is the aim 
 of this letter, prepared especially for your information, in which you 
 will see some of the reasons which have influenced the Executive in 
 their recent action. 
 
 Learning a few weeks since that some of our fellow-laborers from 
 different sections of our wide land would be in or near the city about 
 the same time, it was thought desirable to secure a conference of 
 such brethren at the Tract-house. Accordingly on the 18th, 19th, 
 and 20th of August, representatives from the New York, Boston, 
 Rochester, Philadelphia, Charleston, New Orleans, St. Louis, and 
 Chicago fields,* from half a dozen different denominations, held a 
 most delightful meeting for consultation and devotion, the results of 
 which we present, brethren, for your encouragement in your ardu¬ 
 ous work. If we shall succeed in conveying at all an adequate idea 
 of the harmony and Christian affection which characterized our meet¬ 
 ing, we are sure it will cheer your hearts. 
 
 « Present, Eev. Dr. N. W. Groertner, Secretary, and Mr. H. N. Thissell, Super¬ 
 intendent, Philadelphia; E. L. Kerrison, Esq., Sup., Charleston; Eev. Eandolph 
 A. Smith, Gen. Agent, New Orleans ; Eev. Charles Peabody, Gen, Agent and Sup., 
 St. Louis; Eev. Yates Hickey, Gen. Agent and Sup., and Eev. S. Warren, Gen. 
 Agent, Chicago; Eev. A. M. Stowe, Gen. Agent, Western New York; Eev. C. 
 Foote and Eev. C. Evans, Gen. Agents, Southern New York and New Jersey ; Eev. 
 A. Savage, Gen. Agent, Connecticut; and Eev. Seth Bliss, Sec., Boston; with the 
 occasional attendance of members of the Executive Committee. 
 
1 
 
 COLPORTAGE. 
 
 Tlic first thciiiG discussod, and for some five Lours, was Colpor- 
 TAGE— its true idea, and the means of increasing its effidency. 
 
 This is ill some sense the right arm of our power as a Society ; 
 for while many faithful men and women are voluntarily scattering 
 these pages of evangelical truth in tract visitation, by far the larger 
 amount of our issues is brought into contact with the minds of men 
 by colportage ; hence the importance of a just view of what colpor- 
 tage should be. 
 
 The brethren were unanimous in the conclusion, that colportage, 
 in its true conception, is neither upon the one hand a mere book¬ 
 selling business, thus degrading it to the level of a worldly transac¬ 
 tion, estimating our success by the number of volumes sold ; nor upon 
 the other, is it a mere running to and fro of pious men, exhorting 
 and praying in every family, and carrying books and tracts chiefly 
 as a means of gaining access to the people ; but rather, it is a happy 
 combination of personal effort and the power of the press to bring 
 truth, divine truth, and therefore soul-saving truth, impressively, 
 widely, and permanently into living contact with the minds and 
 hearts of the masses. 
 
 The true colporteur has an experimental knowledge of God in 
 Christ, feels and manifests the life of God in his own soul, and burn¬ 
 ing with zeal for the glory of his Saviour, longs to bring others to an 
 acquaintance with him ; yet not relying simply nor mainly upon his 
 own knowledge of divine truth, nor his power to communicate it 
 effectively to others, he brings to his aid the best thoughts of the 
 holiest men, and in a printed and permanent form leaves in the fam¬ 
 ilies these discreet, quiet, ready, direct, pungent, tireless, immortal 
 preachers, to urge the claims of Christ from day to day and Sabbath 
 to Sabbath while he is pressing on to other destitutions. 
 
 The spirit of the colporteur is the soul-loving Spirit of Christ; the 
 work of the colporteur is to impart a knowledge of Christ; the chief, 
 though by no means the exclusive medium of that knowledge, is the 
 'printed page. 
 
 With such a conception of this agency, and such men to carry it 
 forward, may we not expect the most blessed and large results to the 
 glory of God ? 
 
 That this instrumentality may be made more efficient, by finding 
 larger numbers of intelligent, earnest, and godly men to engage in it; 
 that we should appeal to men of some means, who can rely partly upon 
 their own resources for a support to enlist in this self-denying work ; 
 that colportage is adapted to all states of society, to cities, villages, 
 and farming communities, to regions where the church has been long 
 
8 
 
 established, and to new settlements where the church is not yet 
 found, though not perhaps with equal promise of results to each ; 
 and that it must be extended onward and outward with increased 
 energy and hopefulness—were points discussed with much interest 
 and great unanimity. 
 
 Dear brethren, let us with renewed faith dedicate ourselves afresh 
 to the great work before us, arduous and self-denying as it is. “ He 
 that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless 
 come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” 
 
 MESSENGER, BOTSCHAFTER, AND CHILD’S PAPER. 
 
 A second theme, the usefulness of the American Messenger, The 
 ChihVs Paper, and the Botschafter, occupied for a time the attention 
 of the conference, during which many facts of deep interest and en¬ 
 couragement were mentioned by the brethren, showing their power 
 for good wherever circulated. Of these organs above 500,000 are 
 printed, and when we remember that probably two millions of im¬ 
 mortal minds are brought under their influence monthly, all over this 
 land and in every quarter of the globe, language fails to express the 
 reach of their results. Unceasing gratitude to God for the privilege 
 of employing such a mighty instrumentality for him ! Cannot our 
 many friends who love these periodicals, and appreciate their power 
 for good, extend still more widely the range of their influence ? And 
 cannot our agents and colporteurs, without interfering with other 
 organs of usefulness, or turning aside from their own great work, 
 increase the number of their readers ? 
 
 Brethren, we commend the suggestion to your prayerful thoughts. 
 
 TRUE INTENT OF THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 A third theme now claimed the attention of the brethren con¬ 
 vened : namely, the appropriate sphere of the Society as defined 
 
 AND LIMITED BY THE CONSTITUTION.* 
 
 This topic was examined fully and freely, each brother expressing 
 his views at length and without restraint; and though coming from 
 all sections of our country, and of course somewhat under local influ¬ 
 ences, to our surprise and joy the conclusion reached by every mind 
 was precisely the same. Nor yet should this appear strange, when 
 we note the fact, that the governing article of the Constitution is so 
 explicit and unambiguous as to be capable of but one construction. 
 
 “Art. I. This Society shall he denominated the American Tract Society, the 
 object of which shall be to diffuse a knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as the 
 Redeemer of sinners, and to promote the interests of vital godliness and sound mo¬ 
 rality, by the circulation of Religious Tracts calculated to receive the approbation 
 of all evangelical Christians. ” 
 
9 
 
 THE SOLE OBJECT OP THE SOCIETY. 
 
 AYitli tliat articlo before tlie eye, “the diffusion of tlie knowledge 
 of our Lord Jesus Clirist as tlie Redeemer of sinners’^ is seen to be 
 the object, the aim, the design, the purpose, before the Society. To 
 make known “ Clirist crucified,” and by tlie power of this miglity truth 
 “to promote the interests of vital godliness and sound morality,” is 
 the sum of our duty, and every thing outside or beyond this one 
 simple object, this one definite aim, is unauthorized by the Constitu¬ 
 tion, The American Tract Society is not a church, banded together 
 to contend for the whole truth which its members might think im¬ 
 portant and its creed demand, nor a combination of churches to pro¬ 
 mulgate what as churches they might agree in holding in common. 
 Nor is it a society banded together to publish upon any and every 
 subject, nor even upon every subject in which its individual mem¬ 
 bers may agree ; but it is a combination of good men for a specified 
 object, and that object unmistakably defined and strictly limited, 
 “ To diffuse a knowledge of Christ,” we repeat, is that object. It 
 cannot therefore be made an organ of any system of religious or 
 moral reform, nor do aught else than “diffuse a knowledge of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of sinners, and promote the inter¬ 
 ests of vital godliness and sound morality.” 
 
 MODE OF ACCOMPLISHING THAT OBJECT. 
 
 But further, not only is the object of the Society thus restricted, 
 with ecpial explicitness and emphasis does the Constitution define 
 the manner in which it shall aim to accomplish that object. 
 
 The Society is forbidden by the organic law to publish any tract 
 which is not “ calculated to receive the approbation of all evangeli¬ 
 cal Christians.” “ The approbation,” not of churches, of sections, of 
 parties, but of “ Christians,” of “evangelical Christians,” of “all evan¬ 
 gelical Christians,” is an essential condition in its issues. 
 
 And this limitation is vital, inasmuch as the very existence of the 
 Society depends upon the agreement of Christians in the character 
 of its publications. Unlike a church organization, which is bound 
 together by an extended creed, forms of worship, frequent meetings, 
 power of discipline, educational feeling, and denominational and an¬ 
 cestral attachments, and can therefore maintain its integrity in the 
 midst of great diversity of opinion among its membership, the Amer¬ 
 ican Tract Society, without any of these bonds, continues to exist 
 only by unanimity of thought and feeling among its friends. 
 
 Discussion and even sharp contention may work out good results 
 in a compact and strong church organization ; but they work out 
 disaster and death to a voluntary society of good men who are united 
 to accomplish a definite object in a specified way, and who, in the 
 
10 
 
 very instrument which gives them existence as a society, are bound 
 to hold in abeyance their diversities of opinion. To throw itself into 
 the discussion of questions yet unsettled among evangelical Chris- 
 tions, is to disregard, contemn, and trample under foot the law which 
 gives it being. It were fratricide and suicide in one act. Harmony— 
 harmony in judgment, harmony in feeling, harmony in action, is the 
 prerequisite to membership, the informing spirit of union, the con¬ 
 trolling spirit of progress, nay, the very lifeblood of existence to the 
 Society. Hence the importance of these words in the Constitution, 
 the approbation of all evangelical Christians,” and hence the neces¬ 
 sity of securing that approbation. To 'prmch Christ in such manner 
 as to secure the approval of all good Tuen, is the object and aim of the Society, 
 as defined in the letter and spirit of the Constitution. 
 
 THE PAST COURSE OF THE EXECUTIVE. 
 
 Another point considered in the conference was this: Has the 
 Executive, in the past history of the Society, understood the Constitution as 
 thus definite in its object and thus limited in the manner of pursuing that 
 object ? 
 
 A brief examination convinced all that from the beginning the 
 Executive had ever acted on this construction of the Constitution. 
 
 Of the large amount of religious literature issued by the Ameri¬ 
 can Tract Society in thirtj^-two years, perhaps ninety-nine hun¬ 
 dredths is directly in accordance with the great object, “to diffuse a 
 knowledge of Christ crucified.” But a fraction of its publications 
 have been upon subjects which may be called collateral. 
 
 The Secretary in the publishing department, who in counsel with 
 others drew the Constitution, and who has edited every publication 
 ever issued by the Society, assured the meeting that the Executive had 
 never issued book or tract except such as they expected would re¬ 
 ceive the approval of the great mass of evangelical Christians, and 
 that such approval had been given for long terms of years almost 
 without exception ; not that all treatises written on any subject 
 would be thus acceptable, but what the Committee had selected and 
 issued had proved to be so. Should the Committee err in, judgment, 
 and publish some treatise which evangelical Christians could not 
 sanction, the spirit of the Constitution would compel them to sup¬ 
 press the issue. 
 
 This testimony, in connection with the character of the publica¬ 
 tions themselves, proves irrefutably the strict construction the Exec¬ 
 utive has ever given to the organic law. 
 
 REASONS AGAINST CHANGE OF POLICY. 
 
 With this exposition of the Constitution, sustained by the history 
 of the Society from its origin, we are prepared, as was the confer- 
 
11 
 
 cnco, to oxainine anotlior question : Should the Exemtive dx'part from its 
 unraried ^vinciph and practice, for the puipose of noiv gicing a more dis¬ 
 tinct utterance on Slavery'? 
 
 1. Tliis is a serious question, and should have a careful consider¬ 
 ation, A line of policy which for a third of a century has met the 
 approval of almost all good men, and secured the evident favor of 
 a merciful and gracious God, resulting in the conversion of many 
 souls and the large extension of the kingdom of Christ, should not 
 be inconsiderately broken up for an untried, and to say the least, a 
 doubtful alternative. Discussions upon that subject are not promo¬ 
 tive of harmony among even the best men in our day, nor is it a 
 hopeful theme upon which to dwell where the salvation of the soul 
 is the one object before the mind. 
 
 2. Does it not appear unreasonable to require this Society, re¬ 
 stricted as it is, to attempt to give instructions upon a subject which 
 the most faithful and pious minister from one section of our country, 
 would not deem it wise to attempt in a pulpit of another section of 
 our country? Our friends should know and admit the truth tliat no 
 publication of this Society, distinctly upon that subject, could find 
 entrance at the South. No colporteur there could safely sell or give 
 away such a treatise, in the present state of feeling on the subject. 
 In this we simply state an incontrovertible fact. 
 
 3. It would seem a sad necessity for a society whose sole object 
 is “to diffuse a knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Re¬ 
 deemer of sinners, and to promote the interests of vital godliness 
 and sound morality,” to be compelled to spend its strength upon a 
 theme, however important, confessedly collateral to the great object, 
 while^ there are so many other channels for that discussion, and soci¬ 
 eties existing for that express purpose. 
 
 4. A departure from our line of action hitherto, not only does not 
 promise good, but surely involves far-reaching evil. 
 
 The issue of a single book upon that subject now, would instant¬ 
 ly array one half our friends against the other half; drive out of the 
 whole South our nearly three hundred colporteurs, superintendents, 
 and agents ; exclude our laborers and volumes from the seven or 
 eight millions in the South who are neither slaveholders nor respon¬ 
 sible for the system ; and effectually close up the ten thousand chan¬ 
 nels through which our other issues are now flowing freighted with 
 blessings to millions there. 
 
 This is not the working of fancy, excited by fear. We are not 
 afraid to do right; but our fear is to do a vast and irreparable wrong 
 to the basis of our union as a society, and to souls perishing for the 
 bread of life ; and we know this result is certain, if we yield to tho 
 demands now so persistently urged. 
 
12 
 
 Does some one, excited by bis conception of the wrongs of slav¬ 
 ery, and indignant at tlioso who tolerate it, say, “Well, if the South 
 is so sensitive and so unreasonable, let it go, let it go?” We think 
 not so, brother. Our blessed Saviour spoke not so to our lost race 
 when it was rushing madly away from him, saying, “ Let it go,” 
 The Holy Spirit said not so to our sinful souls during the long years 
 of our effort to escape his saving influences. No, blessed for ever 
 be His name, he still followed us with winning calls, and at length 
 sweetly subdued us by his long-suffering love. Should we not hum¬ 
 bly imitate this divine example in our efforts to save others? So it 
 seems to us. And we are afraid to adopt any other course. Is not 
 the fear of doing wrong, the fear of the Lord, and the beginning of 
 wisdom ? 
 
 Rut if the preceding reasons against a revolution in the practice 
 of the Society were insufficient, or even without weight altogether, 
 there is another argument absolutely unanswerable. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION FORBIDS. 
 
 5. Tht a'p'prohation of Christians over our country cannot he secured 
 to any publication upon that subject at the present. 
 
 Christians, evangelical Christians, the best Christians of the land, 
 are at this moment in total disagreement upon almost every phase of 
 the subject. Witness the argumentations in books, newspapers, pul¬ 
 pits, and the forum, in the city and in the country, in the steam-boat 
 and the rail-car, in the street and in the house, everywhere, and by 
 all classes. Witness the nature and results of these discussions, in 
 angry feelings, unhap|)y alienations, and broken friendships—in dis¬ 
 severed families, and dismembered churches. We do not cite these 
 things to defend them. Nay, it is a disgrace to the intelligence and 
 piety of the age that Christian men cannot discuss every subject 
 affecting the cause of Christ, calmly, dispassionately, affectionately. 
 We do not cite them to show that slavery should not be discussed in 
 fitting time and place, but simply to show—and this they do indu¬ 
 bitably—that this Society should not plunge into the discussion. 
 
 The whole argument can be stated in few words. The approval 
 of evangelical Christians is an essential condition of all our issues ; 
 this approval cannot now be secured to any specific issue upon that 
 subject; hence the Society cannot publish specifically upon the sub¬ 
 ject of slavery at the present. 
 
 We add this remark: this conclusion, based as it is upon the 
 present state of opinion and feeling in the church, is valid while that 
 state continues. The day may come when evangelical Christians 
 will agree substantially in their views on slavery, as they now do on 
 other great questions once held in dispute, and when publications 
 
on tliiri subject ciin be issued in conformity with the Constitution 
 and with the ho})C of doing good. 
 
 ANNIVERSARY ACTION. 
 
 One question alone—but this a vital one—remains : Did not the 
 Society at the last anniversary, with the Constitntion and these facts before 
 them, yet positively direct the Dxecntive to go forward and publish on the 
 subject of slavery, regardless o f consequences ? 
 
 The brethren answered, We do not so understand the action, taken 
 as a whole and construed consistently with itself. It contains no pos¬ 
 itive and peremptory order to publish, regardless of consequences. 
 We ask you to consider the following suggestions with the resolu¬ 
 tions before you. 
 
 The first four attempt to draw the line of discrimination between 
 what the Society may and may not publish on the subject of slavery ; 
 the fourth expresses the opinion that, Avhile its “political aspects” 
 must be utterly avoided, certain “moral duties” and “moral evils 
 and vices” growing out of it, can and ought to be discussed in a fra¬ 
 ternal and Christian spirit. This is expressed as an opinion, not as 
 an order. And then, lest this judgment of the Society should lead 
 the Committee to adopt a course which might limit the range of the 
 Society’s usefulness and destroy its unity, by cutting off from the 
 field of its operations a part of our land, the ninth resolution is 
 added in the nature of a guard or limitation. “With great confidence 
 in the wisdom of the Executive,” the Society anticipates “that their 
 action in carrying out the principles contained in the previous reso¬ 
 lutions, will be such as will tend to promote” its “widest and best 
 usefulness throughout our whole country.” That is, in brief, there is 
 a certain thing which the Society think can and ought to be done, 
 and it wishes the Committee to do it, unless the doing it would Avork 
 great injury. 
 
 This is what the action, tahen as a whole, seems to us to mean ; 
 this is what the Constitution demands, and Avhat the Executive in 
 good faith have striven to accomplish. Can any one believe that the 
 Society meant to direct, or even advise the Executive to go forAvard 
 and publish on the subject of slavery, in disregard of providential 
 indications, and at every risk, even though it should destroy the basis 
 of its OAvn being ? Surely no one. 
 
 A NEW STATE OF THINGS. 
 
 But if any mind doubts whether this is a fair construction of the 
 Society’s action, and claims that in vieAV of all the facts, the Society 
 did direct the Executive to go forward and publish specifically upon 
 certain aspects of slavery, let us grant it to such a mind and admit 
 
14 
 
 that the Society gave specific instructions in the then existing state of 
 things. This granted, we aver that a new state of things has arisen 
 since the action of the Society, which renders it impossible to pub¬ 
 lish without a direct and palpable violation of our Constitution. 
 
 That disagreement of views upon this subject has existed all 
 along among evangelical Christians there can be no doubt; but since 
 May last, this disa-greement among the friends of this Society has 
 been amazingly developed. For the first time since the organization 
 of the Society, has there come up from one half our land a unanimous 
 and earnest remonstrance, from large and influential ecclesiastical 
 bodies ; from the religious press of eveiy denomination ; from agents, 
 superintendents, and colporteurs, and from numerous highly intelli¬ 
 gent Christian gentlemen of every name, protesting that any pub¬ 
 lication, in the present state of opinion and feeling, would be re¬ 
 garded as a violation of our organic law, and actually and speedily 
 disruptive of the union and harmony of the Society. Nor is this idle 
 clamor. We have already lost some of our valued and long-tried 
 laborers, and others insist, against our earnest entreaties, that they 
 must retire from the work, as their way is hedged up and their use¬ 
 fulness destroyed by the suspicions already aroused. 
 
 We are not called upon to justify this state of things, but simply 
 to state the facts for the consideration of all society-loving and soul- 
 ioving men. 
 
 In these circumstances, as developed since the anniversary, which 
 neither the Society, nor the Executive could have foreseen, however 
 much members of either might have feared it, the Committee is placed 
 in a new position, “fairly belonging to that extreme class of cases in 
 which, owing to new complications or unforeseen circumstances, an 
 agent may deviate from, or entirely suspend action upon the instruc¬ 
 tion of his principal. There is a certain discretion of this kind that 
 is legitimately, and we may say, necessarily reserved in almost every 
 species of delegated trust. It is now certain that a different feeling 
 exists upon this subject, than was supposed by the Society when it 
 framed its resolutions in May last.” And it is absolutely certain that 
 in carrying them out, on the strict construction above admitted, the 
 approl)ation of evangelical Christians cannot be secured. Shall the 
 Executive then go forward, and by so doing rend the Society into 
 fragments, cut off from our efforts one half of our sad destitutions, 
 and drive the ploughshare of division through our Constitution and 
 across our wide land? or shall they, in accordance with the letter 
 and spirit of that Constitution, and in accordance with their past 
 history, press on in the one great mission of preaching “Christ cru¬ 
 cified ?” Surely the latter is the path of duty. 
 
15 
 
 THE AVIIOLE TRUTH CONTEMPLATED BY THE CONSTITU¬ 
 TION PUBLISHED. 
 
 Uefoi’c leaving this to])ic, it is important to note tliat the Execu¬ 
 tive have, for tliirty-two years, hccn doing incidentally and substantially, 
 though not in form, what the action of the Society seems to require. 
 
 “floral duties’’ and “moral evils and vices,” whether they arise 
 from slavery or other institutions good or bad, have been discussed in 
 scores of publications and in thousands of copies for years past, and 
 in the way thought to be most efficient for good. The “moral duties” 
 of justice, humanity, chastity, reverence, veracity, temperance, and all 
 others enjoined in the word of God, are continually enforced in our 
 publications. The “moral evils and vices” of injustice, cruelty, licen¬ 
 tiousness, profanity, lying, intemperance, and all others condemned 
 in the word of God, are condemned in our publications, either in dis¬ 
 tinct treatises or by incidental remarks. How fully this is done, in 
 the very order approved of God, finds an illustration in the “Family 
 Bible,” with notes edited and issued by the Society, and in many 
 other works. There is great injustice therefore in the charge that 
 the Executive suppress vital truth from fear. They have no fear in 
 the discharge of duty ; but according to the Constitution under 
 which they act, they publish the truth and the whole truth contem¬ 
 plated by the terms of that instrument which gives them being. The 
 love of souls, the love of Christ forbids any other course. 
 
 Such, brethren, was the conclusion reached by the conference 
 unanimously, after a discussion of some ten or twelve hours, and such 
 we confidently believe will be the conclusion yet reached by all true 
 and earnest friends of the Society. To them we leave the question, 
 while we press forward in our heaven-blessed work. 
 
 ECONOMY. 
 
 Passing to a fourth general theme, the brethren considered for a 
 time the importance of rigid economy in the working of our institution, 
 so using the Lord’s money as to produce the largest revenue of glory 
 to him. 
 
 This will be promoted by a careful use of all means put into our 
 hands by the benevolent donors ; by a sedulous watchfulness over 
 the stock in our agencies and in the hands of colporteurs ; by keep¬ 
 ing the amount of stock on hand as low as is consistent with a vigor¬ 
 ous prosecution of the work; by speedy returns to the parent Society of 
 the avails of sales; and by the employment in every department of 
 self-denying, whole-hearted, and earnest-hearted men. 
 
 During this session, a member of the Finance Committee made an 
 earnest appeal to the agents present to redouble their efforts in the 
 collection of funds, lest we should be crippled in our work, stating 
 
16 
 
 tliat the Society were in debt for printing-paper forty thousand 
 
 dollars, payable within six months ; and urged a rededication of our¬ 
 selves and our means to the cause of Christ. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 After some general remarks upon the importance of great patience 
 and forbearance under trials, of more trust in God, and more love to 
 men, and more zeal for souls ; and after a mutual and free expression 
 of fraternal Christian affection, adverting to the fact that, though of 
 different names in Christ’s house, we are all members of the one body, 
 all belonging to the one Head, and looking forward with joyful hope 
 to the day when we shall all meet in our Father’s house to go no 
 more out, and after committing ourselves, our families, the cause, 
 renewedly to Him, the brethren separated to their work, and warfare, 
 and reward, 
 
 Ud y the same spirit animate all the friends of the Society. 
 
 “ Brethren, farewell; be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one 
 mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” 
 
 WM. A. HALLOCK, ^ 
 
 0. EASTMAN, >■ Secretaries. 
 
 J. M. STEVENSON, ) 
 
 New York, September 23, 1857. 
 
 ESSENTIAL POINTS PRESENTED IN THE ABOVE 
 
 DOCUMENTS. 
 
 1. The Society is a sacred compact, before God and man, to issue 
 only those truths of salvation in which evangelical Christians agree, 
 as the Bible Society is a sacred compact to issue only the Bible 
 “without note or comment.” 
 
 2. The Society can and does present all duties, sins, and evils, as 
 fully as they are presented in the Bible, and in the very language of 
 Im-piration. 
 
 3. By refraining from a formal discussion of those points, or 
 phases of any subject whatever, on which true Christians differ, it 
 neither condemns what is right, nor approves what is wrong on these 
 points, because they lie beyond the prescribed limits of its action. 
 
 4. No contests are more bitter, or more absolutely to be avoided, 
 than those blended with political or sectional strife. This is illus¬ 
 trated in the present absorbing national contest, in which the moral 
 and the jiolilical bearings of slavery are inseparable. 
 
 Will not men of all parties and localities accord to the laborers 
 in this SocieW the privilege, not to say the inalienable right, thus 
 peacefully to unite, according to the dictates of their own conscience, 
 in making known their Redeemer’s name ? 
 
PAMPHltT BINDER 
 
 Syrocuse, N. Y. 
 3;^ Stockton, Colif. 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 ntC 2^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S.A.