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prospectus for the next volume discloses his views on this subject; and the community will now be able to discriminate between him and the American Peace Society.

"Next to the overthrow of slavery," he says, "the cause of peace will command our attention. The doctrine of non-resistance, as commonly received and practised by Friends, and certain members of other religious denominations, we conceive to be utterly indefensible in its application to national wars; not that it 'goes too far,' but that it does not go far enough. If a nation may not redress its wrongs by physical force,—if it may not repel or punish a foreign enemy who comes to plunder, enslave or murder its inhabitants,then it may not resort to arms to quell an insurrection, or send to prison or suspend upon a gibbet any transgressors upon its soil. If the slaves of the south have not an undoubted right to resist their masters in the last resort, then no man, or body of men, may appeal to the law of violence in self-defence; for none have ever suffered, or can suffer, more than they. Now, the doctrine we shall endeavor to inculcate is, that the kingdoms of this world are to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; consequently, that they are all to be supplanted, whether they are called despotic, monarchical, or republican, and he only who is King of kings and Lord of lords, is to rule in righteousness. The kingdom of God is to be established IN ALL THE EARTH, and it shall never be destroyed, but it shall 'BREAK IN PIECES AND CONSUME ALL OTHERS.'

"As to the governments of this world, whatever their titles or forms, we shall endeavor to prove, that, in their essential elements, and as at present administered, they are all anti-Christ; that they can never, by human wisdom, be brought into conformity to the will of God; that they cannot be maintained, except by naval and military power; that all their penal enactments, being a dead letter without an army to carry them into effect, are virtually written in human blood; and that the followers of Jesus should instinctively shun their stations of honor, power and emolument, at the same time 'submitting to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake,' and offering no physical resistance to any of their mandates, however unjust or tyrannical.

"These are among the views we shall offer in connection with the heaven-originated cause of peace.

* We

regret, indeed, that the principles of abolitionists seem to be quite unsettled upon a question of such vast importance, and so vitally connected with the bloodless overthrow of slavery. It is time for all our friends to know where they stand. If those whose yokes they are endeavoring to break by the fire and hammer of God's word, would not, in their opinion, be justified in appealing to physical force, how can they justify others of a different complexion in doing the same thing? And if they conscientiously believe that the slaves would be guiltless in shedding the blood of their merciless oppressors, let them say so unequivocally; for there is no neutral ground in this matter, and the time is near at hand when they will be compelled to take sides."

This appeal to abolitionists we deem worthy of their special attention; but, while we regard Mr. Garrison as a devoted friend of

peace, we would remind our readers of the broad distinction which ought to be made between the views expressed above, and those for which alone our Society is responsible.-1. His immediate object is not so much peace as political reform. He contemplates not the intercourse of nations, but the internal operations of government; while we are restricted entirely to the former, and do not inquire, as any part of our appropriate object, how a government ought to treat its own subjects.-2. Mr. Garrison denies the right to inflict the punishment of death in any case, or to use the sword in suppressing mobs and insurrections. These points do not come within the province of our cause.-3. He would, also, exclude from government every kind and degree of physical force. We hold no such opinion; nor does the cause of peace require us to express our views on this point any more than upon a hundred other points of civil and criminal jurisprudence.-4. Mr. Garrison would even annihilate all human governments as punishments inflicted on mankind for their wickedness. His aim is not to reform, but to destroy them; while it is our business as peacemakers merely to dissuade them from settling their disputes by an appeal to arms.

We wish our aims and views to be distinctly understood. There are three kinds of offences,-of individuals against individuals; of individuals against society, or citizens against government; of one society, government, or nation against another. The cause of peace, as an affair between NATIONS alone, is confined exclusively to the third class; while Mr. Garrison sweeps over the three classes, and would make the cause of peace only another designation for the government of God over mankind in all their social relations.

ARTICLE VIII.

MISCELLANEOUS.

RESOLUTIONS ON PEACE.-The South Middlesex Association of Congregational ministers, at their meeting in Framingham, Mass., Nov. 7, 1837, passed the following resolutions on the subject of peace:

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Whereas, the ultimate prevalence of peace over the whole earth is rendered certain by the promises of the Bible, and whereas the gospel is appointed as the grand instrument under God of effecting this glorious result; therefore, resolved,

1. That, for this purpose, the gospel must be applied to the intercourse of nations in such a way as to insure the pacification of our world as fast as it shall be converted to God.

2. That the continuance of the war-system in Christendom itself for so

many centuries, is owing mainly to the neglect of Christians to put in practice the pacific precepts of the gospel, and renders necessary a special effort to reincorporate these principles in the faith and character of the professed disciples of the Prince of peace.

3. That peace, being confessedly a part of the gospel, ought, in its spiritual aspects and bearings, to be inculcated, like any other part of the gospel, in the ordinary course of instruction by ministers, parents and teachers.

4. That the cause of peace, as auxiliary to the conversion of the world, deserves special attention from Christians in this age of benevolent enterprise. 5. That we commend this cause to the prayers and patronage of our churches; and, as God will fulfil his promises of universal peace only in answer to the requests of his people, we recommend the observance in our churches of the annual concert of prayer for the prevalence of peace.'

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AGENCIES.-We have no room for a detail of the labors performed the last quarter by the devoted servants in our employ. Our Secretary and two Agents have been prosecuting their work with unusual acceptance and success. They have visited, beside many country towns, several places of importance, and been received in a way which proves that the public mind is well prepared for appeals on this subject. We never have witnessed such an awakened spirit of inquiry; and could we send forth agents through the land, and scatter our periodical and tracts in every city and village, we might expect soon to witness the most cheering results.

AUXILIARY SOCIETIES.-Our Agents seldom attempt the formation of auxiliaries; but, if simple organizations were formed for the diffusion of intelligence, and every member required, as the only condition of membership, to pay for a peace periodical, such a movement we should hail with pleasure as likely to do much good without being liable to the objections urged by many against societies in the usual form for any object whatever. On this principle an auxiliary was organized in Lowell during the month of January, when our Secretary visited that city; and, if we may judge from the generous response to his appeals, particularly in the First and Second Congregational churches, we shall expect efficient aid from our friends there. We subjoin their brief and simple constitution, and commend the example to our friends through the country.

CONSTITUTION OF THE LOWELL PEACE SOCIETY.

ARTICLE I. This Society shall be called THE LOWELL PEACE SOCIETY, auxiliary to the American Peace Society.

ART. II. The object of this Society shall be to promote the cause of peace by coöperating with the Parent Society.

ART. III. Any person may become a member of this Society by paying an amount sufficient to procure the periodical of the Parent Society, and a life-member by the contribution of ten dollars at one time.

ART. IV. The officers of this Society shall be an Executive Committee of not less than five, with power to fill their own vacancies, enlarge their number, and superintend the general concerns of the Society. The Chairman of the Committee shall act as President of the Society, and the Secretary both as Secretary and Treasurer.

ART. V. There shall also be a Board of Directresses, with power to supply their own vacancies, and transact all business of the Society connected with its female members.

ART. VI. The annual meeting of the Society for the choice of officers, and other incidental business, shall be at such time and place as the Committee shall direct.

ART. VII. This constitution may be altered at any regular meeting of the Society, by a vote of three fourths present.

Massachusetts Peace Society. This Society, the oldest in the country, and most distinguished for the extent and success of its past labors in the cause of

peace, held its annual meeting for business in January. The question, referred from a meeting held last summer, of merging the Society in the American Peace Society, was called up, and indefinitely postponed; a pledge, we trust, that the Society will go on in its own course with increased energy and zeal.

Reports desired from Peace Societies. We have heard of the anniversaries and other proceedings of several peace societies, some connected with ours; but we have received no official accounts from them. We earnestly request all associations for the furtherance of this cause to send us regular reports of their doings. This is the only peace periodical in the land; and all important proceedings in behalf of the cause ought to be recorded on our pages. We solicit, especially from auxiliaries in literary institutions, a report as soon as the first of May, of what they have done the past year.

Petitions respecting a Congress of Nations. Our friends in the city of New York have called the attention of Congress to this subject, in a memorial requesting that our government will accede to the proposition of Mexico for a reference of existing difficulties between the two countries. This part of the memorial has been referred to a committee, which has not yet reported; but much good is likely to result from the movement, whether Congress adopts or rejects the proposal of an amicable reference. That part of the memorial which urges a congress of nations, has not, we believe, been referred to any committee; and we doubt whether Congress will ever move in earnest on that subject till its tables shall be loaded with petitions for the purpose. Public attention is now turned to this subject by our agents; and we hope, before the return of another year, to secure such a number of petitions as shall constrain our rulers to look at the subject in solemn earnest. Such petitions should go from the friends of peace, not as members of a peace society, but simply as citizens.

GLANCE AT PUBLIC AFFAIRS.-Europe. Its general surface is unruffled. Spain is still rent with civil war; but, although more than half a million of her inhabitants have perished in this unnatural conflict, the world, hardened by familiarity with her calamities, gaze upon the scene with seeming indifference. There has been some trouble between Sweden and Denmark, and between Holland and Belgium; but, since rulers have learnt the common sense of negotiating before they fight, instead of fighting just to make it honorable to negotiate, there is found comparatively little difficulty in settling international disputes without an appeal to the sword.

America. In South America they are fighting as usual; but the public seem to take little notice of the rapine, bloodshed and devastation going on there as the legitimate result of liberty won by the sword alone.-The contest between Mexico and Texas has been suspended; but how soon it will rage again, we cannot conjecture, though a damper has probably been put upon the disposition of our citizens to interfere in the quarrel. Our interference with Canadian affairs has taught us some wisdom, which will doubtless exert a good influence on our southern borders.-The time has not come for us to sketch the rebellion in the Canadas; but we shall hope, in some future number, to review its history, and also to give a view of the unnecessary, expensive and shameful war in Florida.

How much the war-spirit costs. Appropriations to the amount of nearly a million of dollars have been made by Congress just to keep our own citizens on the Canadian border from violating the laws of neutrality! How much more than this will ultimately be required, it is impossible to foresee, although the rebellion in the Canadas seems to be nearly at an end; but we are sure, that a fraction of the bare interest upon $1,000,000 would, if judiciously spent years ago in diffusing the principles of peace along our northern frontier, have saved all this waste.

The contrast. Compare the interference of New York, Ohio and Michigan with the conduct of Maine. Though strongly tempted, by her interest in millions of acres included in the disputed territory, not a meeting has been held by the citizens of Maine to abet the Canadian insurgents, and not a cent has been needed to maintain there the laws of neutrality. Why this difference? Mr. Ladd has been in Maine; and for the influence he has exerted there on the subject of peace, he deserves a pension from our government. A few hundred dollars at most expended there in diffusing pacific principles, have superseded the necessity of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to restrain the war-spirit.

Peace Lectures in Boston. A course of weekly lectures on the subject of peace, under the direction of our Executive Committee, was commenced on the 29th of January at the Odeon in this city, and is still in progress. We may hereafter give a sketch of them.

Explanatory Resolves. The following resolutions are published by direction of the Executive Committee, as expressive of the view they take of the second article in our constitution, and are referred by them to the next meeting of the Society:

“1. That we do not think it necessary or expedient to make any verbal alteration in said article.

2. That we consider it as designed to assert, that all national wars are inconsistent with Christianity, including those supposed or alleged to be defensive. 3. That the article has no reference to the right of private or individual self-defence, to a denial of which the Society is not committed.

4. That the article does not require a pledge, expressed or implied, on any of the points in dispute among the friends of peace, but is merely declarative of its general object and course.

5. That we invite the cooperation of all persons who seriously desire the extinction of war, whether they agree with the principle of the article as thus explained, or not."

Need of funds. Our operations have been enlarged, while the times have curtailed our resources; and we are now in special need of funds, for the following objects in particular:-1. For new editions of tracts. Though we issued about 30,000 of these last year, very few of the more important ones are now on hand; and for this purpose we urgently need several hundred dollars immediately.-2. For new tracts. Several are much needed on topics of present urgency; and for this object several hundred dollars more will be necessary.-3. For the gratuitous distribution of our periodical. More than a thousand are now sent without charge to ministers pledged to plead our cause; and we deem it very important to send it in the same way to a large number of others from whom our limited means compel us at present to withhold it. We need for this purpose not less than $1500.-4. For small popular books on peace; an object of great importance, especially in reference to the young, upon which there ought to be expended more than $1000 as soon as possible. Some works of the right stamp are already on hand.-5. For agencies of various kinds. This department must be greatly extended, and will, of course, require a larger amount than either of the preceding items. Will not our friends respond to these calls by sending in their spontaneous contributions? Those who have on hand money for the Society, are requested to forward it without delay.

To subscribers for the Advocate, and members of the A. P. S., we send with this number a bill of what was due, we suppose, some time ago; and we trust that no one will delay to send us the amount due. It is a small sum for the individual, but indispensable in the aggregate to the prosecution of our work. If there is no private opportunity soon, it should be sent by mail, post-paid. Acknowledgments of nearly twenty life-memberships, we are com

pelled to omit.

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