Page:Eleventh annual report of the Association for the Religious Instruction of the Negroes, in Liberty County, Georgia.djvu/19

 than their oWn for support and advancement, and in proportion to their ignorance and degradation is their exposure to decline. The moment the minister ceases to bear them on in a knowledge of truth and righteousness, they cease to advance. When he stops they stop. When his mouth is closed, the pure word of God is closed, except so much of it as may be retained in their memories, or imperfectly communicated by their own teachers. Where ignorance prevails, the spirit of man becomes an easy prey to objects of sense. The power of godliness is sacrificed to the form: the form itself degenerates into vanity, and then bigotry fanaticism and lasciviousness sweep in like a flood. The religious instruction of the negroes, like that of all other ignorant and degraded people, is a laborious work if faith fully attended to. When once commenced, however good the advance and however fair the prospect, there can be no relaxation of effort, without exposing all to imminent danger. The members of this Association and of this community must not suppose that the great work of the religious instruction of the negroes in this County is done: of that it has advanced to such a state, that it cannot recede. Such an opinion could spring only from ignorance of the nature of the work and of the. character and condition of the people. Without constant vigilance and well directed and sustained efforts, we should shortly see the present privileges which they enjoy of assembling together for worship on the Sabbath at the stations, and for social worship on their own Plantations during the week, sadly abused, and Sobriety, order, morality and vital godliness, greatly degenerated among them.

The population of Liberty County by the census taken for the State in 1845 is as follows: Free Whites, 1,854. Free Negroes, 24. Slaves, 5,493. The Tax Returns for 1844, give 4,729 Slaves: of which number 4,212 are in the 15th District: 125 in the 16th and 392 in the 17th District. Some Planters do not make their returns in the County and a number of negroes are over age and are not returned at all. This may account for the difference between the State census and the County returns of taxable slaves, say 764, Of these slaves, I suppose about 4,880 are located in our District, the Fifteenth. In this District 25 miles long by 15 broad, are Twelve Houses of Public Worship, namely, Sunbury, Midway (two) Mount Olivet, North-Newport, Pleasant Grove,