are fully prepared to join us in these annual occasions, at Longwood, -and perhaps in more frequent conferences-if we, on our part, show no narrowness and are content to let the dead past bury its dead. It is true that the Discipline of the Society of Friends, if it were a living law and not a dying form, would interfere with the just freedom of marriage, among our young people, and would prevent the attendance of members, at Longwood meetings, where the salaried ministers are often welcome. But the fact that Friends, who were disowned in part for claiming larger freedom, are now invited to resume their birthright, unquestioned and with no injunction to abstain, may, perhaps, be accepted as proof that the same causes, which have enlarged and liberated the mind of those who came out, or were cast out, have also operated to enlarge and liberate the minds of those who have stayed in, so that they too have became "Progressive Friends" in fact, though not in name. "Friends, mind the light," said George Fox, who, being dead, yet speaks. We share your desire that all who have taken any step in advance may never retreat a single inch, but still press on. If there is now, or shall hereafter be, any cause to fear that the Discipline will be oppressively used, it will prove that your word of warning was not un-needed; and we shall trust that it will not pass unheeded. We are in undying love with freedom-the spiritual freedom of the Sons of God. "The prisoner, sent to breathe fresh air, And blessed with liberty again, Would mourn, were he condemned to wear But every sign of reconciliation and fraternity, between those who have been alienated and kept apart by misunderstandings, is so much like a triumph of the principles so often proclaimed, at Longwood, that you will surely join us in congratulations that good will, good understanding, good neighborhood, and practical co-operation in good works seem to have become possible. If the Friends of twenty-five years ago had stood where most of the Friends of to-day stand, probably the Longwood Meeting would never have come into existence. And now we regard the communities of South-eastern Pennsylvania, where Hicksite Societies most abound, as affording the best prepared soil and most promising field for the dissemination of all truth and the growth of all righteousnesss. Some stumbling blocks remain; some stupid and hurtful traditions still show signs of life; and perhaps in every Monthly Meeting a few unenlightened or strongly conservative persons can do much to obstruct freedom and progress; and can even in some cases subject the majority to the will of the minority, under the false plea of requiring unity. But good is stronger than evil; time brings things around; the tide sets strongly toward what ought to be; green and fruitful things spring out of "old decay;" and the younger generation breathes a new atmosphere. If we labor in love, we can wait with patience. We wish you all blessings, in your home, in your heart, and in your noble toil; and we hope also, to welcome your reappearance in our next gathering. Signed, by order of the Meeting, this 13th of Sixth month, 1874. |