RELIGIOUS OPINIONS OF THE ABOLITIONISTS. 487 



cannot, unite with them, and appear upon their plat 

 forms, when they visit the United States. We are 

 generally a religious people, and have a certain regard 

 to what we consider the soundness of the religious 

 principles of those with whom we associate at least 

 we rather shun those who openly avow and publicly 

 propagate opinions which differ very widely from 

 those we ourselves profess, or which are generally pro 

 fessed by the people among whom we live. Now, Gar 

 rison and his friends are notorious, even in this most 

 liberal city of Boston, for their ultra views upon certain 

 matters of religious belief. It is impossible, therefore, 

 that a British orthodox clergyman would be seen asso 

 ciating much with them, without incurring the censure 

 or suspicion of the good men of his own persuasion in 

 the United States, and being open to censure, and 

 perhaps deposition, on the part of the church to which he 

 belongs, on Ins return to Europe. 



A few years ago. a clerical deputation from the Free 

 Church of Scotland visited the United States, and, on their 

 return home, some of the Anti-slavery Society in London, 

 and of their followers in Scotland, attacked those clergy 

 men for avoiding Garrison and his party while on their 

 North American tour, and they found some supporters even 

 among the members of the Free Church itself. I sympa 

 thise strongly in the general objects of the Anti-slavery 

 Society, and I have in many ways aided to promote 

 these objects 5 but in this matter they were wrong. 

 Broad and avowed differences in doctrinal opinion 

 thrust forward, as I may say they have been, unneces 

 sarily by the abolitionists will always, and I think ought 

 to, shut out from communion and public co-operation 

 with them, the orthodox clergy of Great Britain of every 

 denomination. With laymen the case is different. On 

 a public platform, where a purely social question is under 

 discussion, differences of sentiment on religious topics 



