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of the degraded creatures watching for a pretext for disturbance.
‘He began,’ relates
Dr. Furness,
1
with stating that they,2 the members of the Anti-Slavery Society, regarded the antislavery cause as emphatically the Christian movement of the day. Nothing could be more explicit than his recognition of the truth and divine authority of the Christianity of the New Testament.
He went on to examine the popular tests of religion, and to show their defectiveness.
In so doing, his manner was grave and dignified.
There was no bitterness, no levity.
His manner of speaking was simple, clerical, and Christian.
His subject was, substantially, that we have, over and over again, in all the pulpits of the land—the inconsistency of our profession and practice—although not with the same application. . . . Mr. Garrison said great importance was attached to a belief in Jesus.
We were told that we must believe in Jesus.
And yet this faith in Jesus had no vitality, no practical bearing on conduct and character.
He had previously, however, passed in rapid review the chief religious denominations, showing that they uttered no protest against the sins of the nation.
He spoke first in this connection of the Roman Catholic Church, stating that its priests and members held slaves without incurring the rebuke of the Church.
Up to this point the only symptoms of opposition had been some ill-timed and senseless applause—or what seemed such.
And as it came from one little portion of the audience,
Dr. Furness asked
Wendell Phillips at his
3 side what it meant.
‘ “It means,” he said, “that there is to be a row.”
’ The reference to the Catholic Church gave the first opening to the leader of the gang.
Captain Rynders (who occupied a position in the4 background, at one side of the organ-loft, and commanding a bird'seye view of the whole scene beneath) here said: Will you allow me to ask you a question?
(Excitement and confusion.)
Mr. Garrison—Yes, sir.
Captain Rynders—The question I would ask is, whether there are no other churches as well as the Catholic Church, whose clergy and lay members hold slaves.
