They were determined that we should not have a Sabbath School in operation.

For slaves this was called an incendiary movement.
The Sabbath is not regarded by a large number of the slaves as a day of rest.

They have no schools to go to; no moral nor religious instruction at all in many localities where there are hundreds of slaves.

Hence they resort to some kind of amusement.

Those who make no profession of religion, resort to the woods in large numbers on that day to gamble, fight, get drunk, and break the Sabbath.