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tures.

PREFACE.

As the audience who attended the debate was chiefly composed of plain men, so it is my wish to adapt this publication to the plainer class of readers. This may account for some things which would otherwise appear very incorrect. One of these things is, that all my references to the Bible are made to suit that division of chapters and verses which is found in our English Translation, although hundreds of those references are professedly made to the Hebrew and Septuagint ScripWithout this method, ordinary readers would be utterly perplexed, in searching authorities, whereas, those of better opportunities need be at no great loss by the adoption of this plan. In quoting uninspired works, whether ancient or modern, second-hand authorities are often more accessible than originals. To the use of them, both parties were compelled, in a great measure, by necessity, during the debate; and where the credit of the reporters is untouched and almost intangible, the plan may be sometimes continued in this publication. Detections of errors will be thankfully received.

If my friends and the friends of truth knew the difficulty with which I write, they would no longer censure me for unavoidable delays, but help me to give thanks to that God, whose mercy has enabled me to progress thus far in the work. To him it is sincerely and solemnly dedicated. May he be pleased to accept the humble offering; to pardon its faults and imperfections, through the atoning blood of the divine Redeemer; and to grant the influence of his divine Spirit, to bless that portion of truth which it contains, to the good of all denominations.

MR. CAMPBELL'S LATE PAMPHLET.

Ir is amusing to observe the time and labour which Mr. Campbell and his testifying satellites have spent, in assigning to him and his Antagonist, their respective grades in the scale of talents; without being able to come to any certain estimate, at last. If I were in his place, it seems to me, that I could settle this darling question, upon a firm basis in a few words. I would sit down and write a certificate declaring that Alexander Campbell was a Solomon, and that his Antagonist was a Simpleton. This certificate should be signed by Alexander Campbell himself, and by a competent number of NEUTRAL Unitarians and Baptists, and Non-professing sons and brothers of Baptists and Baptist preachers. If it were then published without another word about the matter, it would save the party and his witnesses, from the unhappy appearance of inconsistency and selfcomplacency which they now assume. At present they certify that he could change sides and beat me; whereas he says that he did once advocate my side, and was overcome by an old woman. During the debate, he often represented me as incompetent and inadequate to the task which I had undertaken; in his book written afterward, he represented me as competent and adequate in his late pamphlet his witnesses certify that I am incompetent and inadequate; yet in the same pamphlet he extols my defence so far as to say that " nothing better has ever been said, and nothing better can be said," on my side of the question. After thus exalting me to a level with any Pedobaptist who ever wrote, he gets three of his witnesses to certify, that "Mr. Campbell was successful in argument, and greatly the superior of Mr. M'Calla in point of talents." Therefore, of course, he is greatly superior to any Pedobaptist who ever wrote.

As an apology for this strange proceeding, in a man of common sense, he would have the community believe, that it is only. a retaliation upon me, for claiming a superiority of talents over him. If I have ever done so, it has entirely escaped my memory. Nothing but inexcusable pride and ignorance could ever have led me into such folly. My innocence of the charge is plain, from the fact that my accuser has not been able to give one instance, in which this offence has been committed. It is true, I have claimed the victory in the debate; and I believe that a judicious community will admit my claims, when they read my own argument, instead of one forged for me by an unprincipled adversary. Yet, be it remembered, that I claimed the victory, not on account of superior talents, but because I advocated God's truth, and because the God of truth condescended to enable a feeble advocate to defend his cause against a powerful assailant. With regard to Mr. Campbell's talents, we are all, in a great measure, agreed. He considers them great, and so do I. Their superiority to mine he has established by several certifiI do not deny it. Why, then, so much about a matter, on which there is no issue?

cates.

We are not so well agreed on every thing said by him and his witnesses. Mr. Vaughan has made a very dashing general accusation, about the affair of Captain Buckner It is time enough to make a particular answer, when he shall make a particular allegation. Until then, I must be satisfied with pleading not guilty to his general charge.(a) In the mean time, let it be remembered that Captain Buckner was a member of my church, and so uniformly and perseveringly attached to me, as a Christian Pastor, that, before my leaving them, he declared that if he were possessed of his former means, he would pay my salary out

(a) This reminds me, that Mr. Campbell mentions certain things, which he says were published against me in Lexington, subsequent to my departure from that place. Their truth he takes for granted, because they have never been contradicted. To this I answer, that I have never got a sight of them. I publicly solicited the writer and his phalanx to come out, like men, while I was on the spot. But they chose, like Mr. Vaughan, to shew their bravery, after the mountains lay between us,

of his own pocket, rather than part with me. Mr. Vaughan admits that this warm friend is "a man of incorruptible integrity." If so, it seems to me, that Mr. Vaughan himself must be somewhat deficient.

In another charge of his, he has not left us to mere presumptive proof. Unhappily for this witness, he does not always deal in vague generalities, but, by venturing a specification, has shewn himself indisputably guilty of the very crime, with which he charges an innocent man. The following are the facts. In my exposure of Mr. Campbell's report, I had written to Mr. Edgar the following words, viz. "You were very well satisfied "that I had encountered Mr. Campbell, until your mind was "changed a few months afterward, by information received from "his neighbourhood. You then told me, that, from unanswera"ble evidence, his character was too low to justify so formal a "notice by any respectable man; and that, in defence of my "own character, an apology should be made to the public." Compare this with Mr. Vaughan's certificate, and a note which Mr. Campbell has published as Mr. Vaughan's, and which I will here add in brackets, to that part of the text, from which he refers to it by an asterisk. It is as follows, viz. "Edgar did

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not inform Mr. M'Calla by letter, that you were a man of too "low a character for him to have any thing to do with. [This "Mr. M'Calla said in his pamphlet.]" According to this pamphlet of mine, Mr. Edgar's communication to me, was a verbal one, made a few months after the debate, and, of course, before I had removed from Kentucky to Philadelphia. The words are, "You then told me.” Mr. Vaughan certifies that my pamphlet said that this communication was 66 "" BY LETTER. Now it appears, from Mr. Vaughan's own shewing, that Mr. Edgar has never denied that he "told" me this, as my pamphlet declares; he only denies that he communicated it by letter, a thing which my book does not declare, but which Mr. Vaughan has forged for it. Now where does the real falsehood lie?

Another of Mr. Campbell's witnesses subjects himself to a very easy refutation. Mr. Moses Ryan, once a zealous Pedo

baptist," as Mr. Campbell states, testifies as follows, viz. "I had to experience the mortification of seeing Mr. M.Calla "exposed for misquoting the Scriptures to suit his own pur66 poses and in reading extracts from Robinson, with the book "in his hand and before his eyes, he would put language in Ro"binson's mouth that was no where to be found in it." "I can "unhesitatingly say, that Mr. Campbell has given a fair repre"sentation of all of Mr. M'Calla's arguments, during the four "days that I attended, excepting the leaving out of Mr. "M'Calla's vulgar, abusive, and ungentlemanly language, to"gether with his base misquotations of the Scriptures and "Robinson's History of Baptism."

From this certificate, it appears that I have been guilty of vulgar, abusive, and ungentlemanly language; but Mr. Campbell charitably dropped this from his report, while he faithfully recorded every thing that was decent. It seems that I was guilty of base misquotations of the scriptures, to suit my own purposes; and of basely interpolating and misquoting Robinson's History of Baptism, while the book was in my hand, and before my eyes: but Mr. Campbell tenderly concealed these errors from the public, while he faithfully reported all my correct quotations from the Scriptures, and other books. If there is any meaning in language, this is the meaning of the above testimony.

Let it be remembered that this witness attended only four days, and that two of these four were the sixth and seventh. Then his testimony goes to show that Mr. Campbell, in his report of the sixth and seventh days, omits nothing that I said, except my vulgarities, and my misquotations of the Bible and Robinson. On examining his report, it will be found, that, for each of my half hours on these two days, he has allowed me, upon an average, between one and two pages; which, according to my way of speaking, would be delivered in less than three minutes. The result then is, that, during the two last days of our debate, I occupied twenty-seven or eight minutes out of every thirty, in gross vulgarities, or base misquotations of the

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