stence, would produce starvation, or impel them to acts of lawless
violence. Emancipation must, therefore, as those friends of the slaves
contend, be gradual and prospective. The British Parliament have
not decreed an _immediate_ emancipation, in the West Indies; thus
recognizing the principle, that the slaves must be _prepared_ for
freedom by moral and intellectual culture. But this preparation must
be commenced and conducted by the _masters_; and they must, of course,
become the willing and zealous friends of emancipation, before it can
be accomplished.

We have thus shown, that the slaves in this country cannot be
emancipated, except by the free consent of the masters; and that they
cannot be prepared for freedom, without the voluntary and energetic
co-operation of the masters. For both these reasons, it is necessary
to adopt a kind and conciliating course of conduct towards the
slave-holders. The British Parliament might assume a peremptory tone
towards the slave-holders in the West Indies; because the power of
Parliament is not restricted like that of the American Congress; and
because the situation of the slaves in the West Indies renders the
preliminary preparation less necessary to the safety of the white
population. In the British West Indies, the slaves are dispersed among
eighteen or twenty islands, where the military and naval power of the
mother country might be easily applied to quell insurrections. In the
United States, there are above two millions of slaves, spread over a
part only of the surface of the Union, with no large military force to
overawe them, and no obstacle to a rapid combination of insurgents. We
presume, that the people in England would feel somewhat differently on
the subject of emancipation, if the slaves were among themselves, and
the perils of this moral volcano were constantly impending over their
own heads.

Besides these general considerations, there is one which affects the
duty of the Baptist General Convention. There is now a pleasing degree
of union among the multiplying thousands of Baptists throughout the
land. Brethren, from all parts of the country, unite in our General
Convention, and co-operate in sending the gospel to the heathen. Our
southern brethren are liberal and zealous in the promotion of every holy
enterprise for the extension of the gospel. They are, generally, both
minister and people, slave-holders; not because they all think slavery
right, but because it wa