Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-01-23

been sent to me, denounces slavery il
the severest terms;as 'straversing ever,
Law of Nature and violating the mos
sacred domestic relations, and the pri
mary Rights DINA You and you
Presbytery are christians. You profess
to believe, and no doubt do believe
that the laws laid down in the Old ano
New Testaments for the government 0
man, in his moral, social and political
relations, were all the direct Revela.
ton of God himself. Does it never
occur TO you that in anathematisine
slavery, you deny this Divine Sanction
of those Laws, and repudiate both
Christ and Moses; OF charge God with
downright crime, in regulating and
perpetuating slavery in the Old Tesla
ment, and the most criminal neglect, in
not only not abolishing, but not even
reprehending- it, in the New?
If these Testaments come from God,
it is impossible that slavery can "tra-
verse the Laws of Nature, or violate
the primary rights of Man. What
those Laws and Rights really are, IMAM
kind have not agreed. But they are
clear TO God; and it is blasphemous for
any ofhis creatures TO set up their nc
tons of them in opposition to His i'm
mediate and acknowledged Revelation.
Nor, does our system of Slavery out
rage the most sacred domestic rela-
tons. Husbands and wives, parents
and children, among our slaves, are
seldom separated, except from necessi-
ty or crime. The same reasons in
duce much more frequent separations
amongt the white population in this, and
| imagine, in almost every other coun-
Try.
But I make bold to say that the
Presbytery ofthe Free Church Of Glas-
gov, and nearly all the abolitionists in
every part of the world, in. denouncing
our domestic slavery, denounce thing
Of which they know absolutely nothing
nay, which does not even exist
You weep over the horrors of the Mid
Passage, which have ceased, so far as
we are concerned, and over pictures of
chains and lashes here, which have no
existence but in the imagination. Our
sympathies are almost equally excited
BY the accounts published by your
Committees of Parliament-and there
fore true; and which have been verified
blythe personal observation of many OF
of us-of the squalid misery, loathsome
disease, and actual starvation, Of mul-
tituJes ofthe unhappy 'laborers, not Of
Ireland only, but of England--nay, of
Glasgowiiself. Yetwe neverpresume
to interfere with your social or munich
pal regulations-your aggregated
wealth and congregated misery-nor
the crimes attendant on them, nor your
laws for their suppression. And when
we see by your official returns, that c.
ven the best classes. of English Agri-
cultural laborers can obtain for theil
support but seven pounds Of bread and
four ounces of meat per week, and
when sick or out of employment must
either starve or subsist on charity, We
cannot but look with satisfaction 10 the
condition of our slave laborers, who u.
sually receive as weekly allowance:
fifteen pounds of bread and three pounds
Of bacon-have their children fed with
Out stint, and properly attended to-ar'
well clothed, and have comfortable
dwellings, where, with their gardens
and poultry yards, they can, ifthe leas
industrious, more than realize for them
selves the vain hope oftbe great Frencl
King, that he might see every peasan
in France have his FOWL upon his tabl'
on the Sabbath; who, from the proceed
of their own crops, purchase even lux
ury and fnery; who labor scarcel.
more than nine hours day, on the av
/ erage of the year; and who in sickness
in declining years, in infancy and dc
crepitude, are watched over with ten
derness scarcely short Of PARENTAL
When we contemplatethe known con
dition Of your operatives ofwhom tina
IEof your agricultural laborers IS perhap
the least wretched, we are not only no
ashamed Of that Of our slaves, but ar
alwaysreadyto challenge comparison
and should be highly gratified to sub
4 NIT to reciprocal investigation BY en-
4 frightened and impartial judges.
I You are doubtless Of opinion, tina
all these advantages in favor Ct 70
4 slave, if they exist are more than cou la
Iterbalanced by his being deprived OF q
i freedom. Can you tell me what , iree
! dom is2 who possesses i, and hoy
I mucho it is requisite for human hap
pinessa Isyour moral condition who
lyour own official returns depict-de
nrived. loo. of every, political right, eve