The end of the Civil War left the Methodist church deeply divided; the Northern Methodist churches felt both militarily and morally vindicated by the success of the Civil War on both fronts. The southern Methodists had largely sided with the Confederacy. 

The present work attempted to show the antislavery cause as rightly and authentically within the moral / religious domain of the Church by showing the activity of Thomas Fowell Buxton, William Wilberforce, Elizabeth Fry, and others from a deeply devotional and religious perspective. An excellent biography with a lengthy section specifically on anti-slavery and abolition well beyond Buxton.

Mudge, Z. A. The Christian Statesman; A Portraitureof Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton: with Sketches of British Antislavery Reform. Four Illustrations. New York. Carlton & Porter. 1865. 268pp. 

A very shelf-attractive volume with bright gilt on spine; very faint tide mark to cloth visible at certain angles. This extends into the text block impacting only a few gatherings at the lower right corner. Very sound and crisp otherwise.