The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-30 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

THE LIVE TRAM

BULL OF POPI':, GU.F.GORY XVI.. FOR THE
ABOLITION OF THE NEGRO SLAVE TRADE.
On the 3d of December, 1839, the ninth year of
the Pontificate.
I Placed as we are on the supreme seat of the
Apostles, and acting, though by no merits of our
own, as the Vicegerent of Jesus Christ, the San of
God, who through his great mercy condeceritiLd to
make himself man and to die for the redemption of
the world, we regard as a duty devolving on our
pastoral functions, that we endeavour to turn aside
our faithful flocks entirely from the inhuman traffic
in negroes or any other human beings whatsoever.
Beyond a doubt when the light of the Gospel first
began to diffuse itself, those unhappy persons who
were plunged into the severest conditions:of slavery,
\
in consequence of the numerous wars at that
time, found their condition alleviated among the
Christians. For the Apostles, inspired by the
Divine Spirit, taught even their slaves to obey their
carnal masters as Christ, and to do the will of God
heartily. They also taught their masters that they
should act well to their slaves, and do unto them
what was just and equitable, and abstain from
i threats, knowing that the God, both of them and of
1 their slaves, dwells in Heaven, and that with him
there is no acceptance of persons. But while a
sincere and universal spirit of charity is especially
enjoined by the law of the Gospel, and our Lord
himself said that he would consider any act of be-
nevolence and mercy done to the least or poorest, or
denied, as done or denied to himself, it readily
I followed that the Christians not only considered
their slaves, especially such as were Christians,
in he light of brothers, but were even very prone
to endow with liberty such as deserved. In-
deed Gregorius Nissenus informs us that such
liberation of slaves was customary on the occa-
sion of the paschal solemnities. Nor were there
Christians wanting whe, stirred up by a more burn-
ing zeal, subjected thereseives to slavery to redeem
others, many of whore that apostolical personage,
our predecessor, Clement 1., testifies that he knew.
Hence, in progress of rime, as the clouds of heathen
superstition became gradually dispersed, circum-
stances reached that point that during several con-
turies there were no slaves allowed amongst the
great majority of the Christian nations, but with
grief we are compelled to add, that there afterwards
arose even among the faithful, a race of men who,
basely blinded by the appetite and desire of sordid
lucre, did not hesitate to reduce in remote regions
of the earth, Indians, negroes, and other wretched
beings, to the miseries of slavery, or, finding the
trade established and augmented, to assist the shame-
It ful crime of the others. Nor did maily of the most
glorious of the Roman Pontiffs omit severely to
reprove their conduct as injurious to their souls'
health, and disgraceful to the Christian name.
Among these may be esrecially quoted the Bull of
Paul 111., which bean date the 28th of May,
1537, addressed to the Cardinal Archbishop of
Toledo ; and another still more comprehensive by
Urban VIII., dated the 22d of April, 1639, to
the Collector Jurium of the Apostolic Chamber in
Portugal, most severely castigating by name those
who presumed to subject either East or West In-
dians to slavery. Pope Benedict XIV. subse-
quently confirmed these decrees of these distin-
guished Pontiffs by a new Bull, addressed to
1 .the heads of the governing authorities of Bra-
zil and other regions, on the 17th of Decem-
ber, 1741. Even before anoeher predecessor
of ours, more ancient than these, Pius 11., in
whose age the dominion of Portugal was ex-
tended to Guinea, wrote on the 7th of October
1462 to the Portuguese Bishop, who was about to
repair thither, a letter, in which he not only gave
to . that high functionary powers to exercise with the
greater success his sacred ministry in those parts,
but gravely animadverted on the same occasion
upon those Christians who carried away youths
into slavery. And in our own time Pius VII.,
moved by the same spirit of religion and charity
as those who had gone before him, sedulously
interposed his good offices with the men in
power, that the trade in blacks should at length
be put an end to entirely amongst the Chris-
tians. These injunctions and these good offices
of our . predecessors, served not a little, with
the help of God, towards protecting the In-
dians, and the other aforesaid races, both from
the cruelty of their i•evaders, and from the cupi-
dity of the Christian merchants ; not to such an
extent, however, that the Holy See can have to re-
joice at their flocks having totally abandoned such
practices, since, on the contrary, the trade in blacks,
though diminished to some extent, is still carried
on by many Christians : wherefore, we, desiring to
avert this disgrace from the whole confines of
Christianity, having summoned several of our Re-
verend brothers, their eminences the Cardinals, to
our counsel, and having maturely deliberated on the
whole matter, pursuing the footsteps of our prede-
cessors, admonish by our apostolic authority, and
urgently invoke in the name of God, all Christians
of whatever condition, that none hence-
ford' dare to subject to slavery, unjustly per-
etecuee, or despoil of their goods, Indians,
n egroe's, or other classes of men, or to
be' accessories to others, or furnish their aid
or assistance in so doing ; and on no account
henceforth to exercise that inhuman traffic, by
which negroes are reduced to slavery, as if they
were not men, but automata or chattels, and are
sold in defiance of all the laws of justice and huma-
nity, and devoted to severe and intolerable labours.
We further reprobate by our apostolic authority all
the above described offences as utterly unworthy of
the Christian name ; and by the same authority we
rigidly prohibit and interdict all and every indi-
vidual, whether ecclesiastic or laical, from presum-
ing to defend that commerce in negro slaves under
any pretence or borrowed colour, or to teach or
publish, in any manner, publicly or privately, things
contrary to the admonitions which we have given
in those letters.
And finally, that this, our Bull, may be rendered
more apparent to all, and that no person may allege
any ignorance thereof, we decree and order that it
shall be published according to custom, and copies
thereof !se properly affixed to the gates of St. Peter,
and of the Apostolic Chancel every and in like
manner to the General Court on Mount Pitatonio,
and the field of the Campus Florae,and also through
the city by one of our heralds, according to afore-
said custom.
Given at Rome, at the Palace of Santa Maria
Major, under the seal of the Fisherman (sub annulo I
piscatoris), on the third day of December, 1839,
'
and in the ninth year of our Pontificate.—Counter-
signed by Cardinal A. Lambroschini.