Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-09-23
THE RE Z MAN.
Discourse on the Death Of Rev. Charles
I. TOrrey,
BY REV. E. II. sAYLEs, East Berkshire.


ye even so to them the law aud the PTorhats
The great majority of slave enactmems are contrary
TO the laws of God and no marve for slavery itself
is direct violation of the whole tenor of Gods reveal
ed will. The fundamental law of slavery making
goods and chatels of human beings and consigning
their unborn posterty to eternal bondage clashes with
every principle and every dictate Of inspiration, and
has in reality no binding force Every slave has just
as good right to his master as the master has to the
slave. THE same right by nature-by the principles
Of Justice and of Holy Writ. There are no signs or
marks of designed bondage the slave more than on
the master There are no indications and evidences
in the universe which go to show that part of man
kind are designed to be bondmen to the others and
every STAKEHOLDER in the universe would entertain these
same sentiments if reduced to bondage THEMSELVES
Suppose that Gov Pratt of Mayl'nd and his egls-
aue, and Their families, should be smpwecked on tie
Agerine coast--be SEIZED and confined in the slave
dungeons of that unacceptable people, and be advertised
for sale. Fhe day of sale approaches-a large multi
tude assemblies the goods and chattes brought out,
and the auction opens in due form The Governor,
his Honorable Senators and Representatives are P4ac-
ed upon the stand chained and handcuted and struck
off to the highest bidder. Their wives and torey
daughters are placed upon the stand, surrounded by
fierce, savage Algerines who minutely examine their
beauty and then bid enormous sums and drag them off
to grace an Agerine harem. Would these honorable
men look on with indifference, and console themselves
with the reflection that this LatU-that these laws
must be obeyedthat this government one of the
"powers that be-" and had right to enact Just such
laws as they peaseda right to make goods and chat
tells Of honorable, christian men, their wives and fami-
lies. Would they suppose that such laws were agree
able to the commands and principles OF Holy Scripture
soncti6ed approved and ratified by the Word of God?
Would they suppose that the great God of the uni
verse could look down with appreciation upon such
Transactions and sanction the principles and the acts
of rendng assunder the strong cords of domestic at
attachments to gut the avarce or saate the brutal usts
of savage Algorines. Suppose that Governor Pratt,
and his family as they wetcred and writhed beneath
a burning suh9shoud resolve on flight to some land
sheltered by the flag Of England, and when tired ex-
haused, and their thirst raging like fever should be
met by some humare benevolent Torrey would they
lot like be fed, sheltered protected and assisted on
their journey? Would they not regard him as exht-
ing the spirit fhis divine Master the temper of hea-
ven and of all holy beings, and would they not invoke
the best of heavens blessings upon his righteous
head? Or would they suppose he was violating the
laws Of his country and of God, and suppose that he
ought to chan bind and drag them back into bondage?
And would they not think it hard that this humane and
benevolent Torey should be condemned to hard la
Dor with thieves robbers and murderers, and obliged
to languish and die within the cold, damp, gloomy
II A. 81 r
lily and friends Had the Rev. Charles T. Torrey been
thief or robber or even murderer he never would
have languished and died within the walls of prison;
bun having been guilty of more dreadful crime, in
the estimation of slavery he is denied the usual treat
ment of the most abandoned villains And all this in
the monumental city, where cahedrals, churches and
meeting houses are scattered in thick profusion-
where there are scores and hundreds Of Chrss minis
ters whose business it is to enforce, explain, and prac-
ce upon the principles of the gospel-where there
are thousands of Christians who profess to do they
would be done by! Tell it not in Turkey publish it
not in the streets of Agiers, lest Mahomedans rejoice
, but savage Barbarians triumph.
n In the next place, we will inquire whether in any
case, it is right to violate the civil law From the
premises and arguments already advanced to
IS the following conclusion that when civil law in
direct collision with divine laws, when civil law re-
!, qurcs us to do what divine law condemns when civil
law forbds what divine law requires then we are I'M
u der obligation to obey the laws of God and moi man.
Let us examine this position in the light of holy scrip
ture and see if we find any examples where good
: and holy men have set human enactmens at defiance,
and thus sanctioned the principle of resistance to
;, righteous laws.
n Nebuchadnezzar, King Of Babylon, set up great
image of gold and required all to worship it the Jews
9 refused and were cast into furnace of fire. Now
Nebuchadnezzar in fact and in form, the govern
ment He was one OF the "p1wers that be-" and as
i such was "ordaincd of God" He an absolute
ID monarch and all law proceeded from him. his present
will and wish became lac for his subjects. But in
this case three of his subjects refused to obey and set
re the law at defiance. Again the same king made
70 decree that no should ask petition of any god or
1t man, except himself for 30 days. This decree was
signed and sealed and not to be altered Daniel went
d into his chamber, and with windows opened prayed
/ three times day. ard for this offence cast into a
- den of lions. Now who does not admire the rghe-
T. GUS and manly course of these men? And who would
!, not have denounced them as crngng sycophans ana
in base towards had they obeyod? These laws violated
e the laws of Cod and the dictates of their cwn con-
sciences and hence they did not hesitate to set them
< at open defiance The prophet jeremiah was forbid
he den to prophecy against the holy city, the king, and
T. the chosen people, and to prophecy smooth things; and
this he refused to do and thrust into well and i'll
!, to the mud Saul, the lawful king Of Israeli made
aw that none sho lid taste of food until he had taken
vengeance upon his enemies Jonathan tasted of honey,
r. for which the king declared he must die but the peu'
pie said that not hair of his head should fall to the
6 ground St. Peter was arrested by order Of king Her.
cd, bound with two chains, and kept by two soldiers,
n but was delivered by angel in miraculous man-
ner. Here was case of divine interposton to arrest
these civil proceedings. Paul and Sas were imprs-
III oned by lawful magistrates, the powers that be-
RS and they were delivered in the same wonderful and