to church office, in cases other than the three which God has made.—For she has claimed, and has exercised this very power, on grounds of class; and has been justified in doing so by all the divines and ecclesiastics; certainly by you. One instance of this was presented by the primitive Church, which, from the very days of the apostles onward, always refused to ordain slaves, although they freely admitted them to the Church. Have you ever heard any one, Mr. Moderator, charge this usage as unscriptural? Another instance of a hundred and fifty years' standing was presented by the Presbyterian Church in the United States, which, in all that time, never ordained a slave. Yet they were freely admitted to the church membership, and during all that time we constantly preached to them that "in Christ Jesus there was neither bond nor free." But we all, you, gentlemen, as much as I, exercised, and justified, the power of limiting the privileges of office from them. Where was then your doctrine, that the universality of the Gospel left the Church no power to restrain any church office or power from any class? Where the overtures and demands that the Assembly should declare colour and race no barrier to ordaining a negro as the spiritual ruler of white men, provided he had the other qualifications? You did not even demand their ordination as pastors of blacks; and you were right then, by the same showing that you are wrong now.
But, Mr. Moderator, there is an evasion at hand here also. It is, that the law of the land then gave masters rights over the labour of their servants, and that our allegiance to Cæsar (which is a scriptural duty) then made it obligatory on us not to interfere with this secular right. But now Cæsar has declared the Africans free! This plea will not do; and for two reasons. All the time, there was a multitude of free negroes in the North and in the South; but no Presbyterian asked that one of these should be made equal to us as teacher and ruler over white men in our church: and south of the Potomac, no free black was ordained, so far as I know, even to preach to our servants. The second reason is, that man's spiritual interests are more priceless than his secular; that the church, the guardian of the former, is independent of all but Christ in caring for them; so that if this right of Christian slaves to preach was sacred and indefeasible under the Gospel, it was your solemn duty to tell their owners so, and to demand, in Christ's name, their emancipation in order that they might preach. Where then was this high doctrine, which is now held up to be so imperative; and where that towering moral courage in defying prejudice and consequences?
Now I ask emphatically, what change has taken place in the black race, to make them more fit for ruling over white churches than they then were? Are they any wiser, any more religious, any purer, any more enlightened now? Nay; the only change is a violent revolution, made by the sword, by which, as every intelligent Virginian knows, they have been only injured in character, as in destiny. Hence, I cannot see why an ecclesiastical policy towards them which was wise, and right, and scriptural then, is not at least as much so now. But it is said: "Then they were by law slaves; now they are by law free." I reply, does Christ's kingdom wait on the politicians and conquerors
