Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1845-07-02
MISCELLANEOUS.
From the South Carolinian. {
.s.. EXTRACT
Of Governor MaglRHnl o md's
Letters ON Southern
slavery.
SILVER BLUFF, S. c., I
January .2S, 1916.

Sduudi 80, lO4o.
SlR:-ln my letter to you OF the 25l
January-which trust you have receive
ere this-l mentioned that had lost YOU
circular letter soon after il had come L
hand. II was, | am glad 10 say, .onl,
mIslaid, and has within few days heel
recovered. Asecond perusa Of mduGe
Inc 10 resume my pen.
tits, lpercelve. addressed among other
10 "such as have never visited Inc South
ern States" Of this c0niederacy, aud pro
fesses 10 enlighte their ignorance of lnt
actual "coudIlion OF the poor slave IL
their own country"
| have notihe least doub, thai you think
yourself the very best informed man alive
on this subject. and that many think so
likewise. So lar as facts 20. even after
deducling from your list great deal that
is no, fact, will not deny that probably
your collection is The most extensive in
exislance. But as to The truth in regard
to slavery, there is mol an adult in this
region but knows more of it Than you do.
Truth and fact are, you are a" are, oy no
means SYNONYMOUS terms. Ninety mine
facts may constitute falsehpod; the hun
dreh. added or alone, gives the trulh.-
With all your knowledge Of facts, un
derlake to say that you are entirely aud
grossly ignorant Of The real condition. of
our slaves. And from all that can see,
you are equally ignorant of the essential
principles Of human association revealed
in history, both sacred and prolane, on
which slavery rests, and which will per-
petuate II forever in some form or other.
However you may declaitn againsl il;
however powerfully you may array afro
cious Incidents; whatever appeals you
may make to The heated imagiuatons and
tender seusibiities Of mankind. believe
me, your total blindness to The ,ctoie truth,
which alone constitutes the truth, idcapa.
clales you from ever making an impres.
sion on the s0Der Tea5ou anu suHuu coTTI-
mon sense Of The rorld. You may Sc
duce lhousands-youc eau convince no one.
Whenever and wherever youo the advo
Gates of your cause can arouse the pas
sious of The weakminded and the Ignorant,
and, bringing TO bear with them the inter
ests of the vicious and unprincipled, over,
whelm common seuse and reason-as
God sometimes permits 20 be done-you
may triumph. Such triumph we have
witnessed in Great Britain. But trust
il is far distant here: Nor can il from lis
nature be extensive or enduring. Other
classes of Relormers, animated by the
same spirit as The AboliIionists, attack the
institution of marriage, and even The
established relations of Parent and Child.
And they collect instances of barbarous
cruelty and shocking degradation which
rival, if they do not throw into the shade,
your slavery statistics. But the rights of
marriage and parental authority rest upna
truths as obvious as they are Interchangeable
coming home 10 every human being,
| sef-mpressed forever ON the Individual
mind. and cannot be shaken until the
whole man is corrupted, uor subverled
until civilized society becomes putrid
mass. Domestic slavery is nof So un'vsr-
sally understood, aor can II make such a
direct appeal to individuals or socIely
beyond lis pale. Here, prejudice. and
passion have room 10 spot al Tie expense
of others. They may be excited aud
urged to dangerous action. remote from The
victims they mark out. They may, as
they have done. effecl grea, mischief. but
they cannot be mafle to maiutain, in the
long Iun. dominion over reason and com
mon sense, nor ultimately pul down what
God has ordained.
Innumerable instances might he quoted
where God has given and commanded men
to assume dominion over their ielIo, men
But one " i'll suffice. In the twenty fiful
chapter of Levi'irus you will find Domes.
tic Siauery-preciseiy such as is maintain
ed at this day IN shese States--oriaineo
and established 0y God in Language 'ohict
I defy you TO peIUert so as TO leare dou6
on any honest mind that fh,s institution acat
founded by Him and decreed 10 be perPetu
al. l9uUIe the words:
LevIilcus, % ch. A ": "Bmh Thy
Bondmen aud thy Bondmaids wbi b they
shall have, shall he of the HeaIhen AM
cans] they are round about you: OF then
ye shall bug Bondmen and Bondmaids.
As: Moreover, of the children of tht
strangers that do sojourn among you, q
them shall ye buy, and Of their .famille
that are s0ith you 'ohich they begat in you
land descendants of Bfrcans !? and the.
shall be your possession"
46: "And ye shall take them as an in
heritance for your children after yOu, t
, inherit them for a possession. They Shall
RE YOUR B0NDMEN FOREVER"
J.. What human Legislature could make
) decree more full and explicit hen Ibis! J
What court of Law or Chancery cou
defea, title to slave couched III term
so clear and complete as these And th'
is the Law of God. whom you pretend Z
worship, while you denounce aud 'raduc
US for respecting it.
: Ii seems scarcely credible, but the fac
E is so, thai you deny this Law so plant
written, and in the face of ii. have III
tardihood 70 declare that I" though SLAYER