The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-11-13
a Proposition.

eAe uish eau duOfO ahc CApchsc-
Proposition.
The second inquiry we proposed, In our paper
of the 30th ut., was this:
The Christian obligation We are under to le-
galze The rites of marriage among colored peo-
pie, and prohibit by laws the separation of hus-
band and wife-parent and child.
Marriage, legally speaking, is not known
among our slaves Either husband or wife has
the right to separate at will, and for any cause
That this is a sad state of things-that it leads
to the very worst consequences, that it I'M lures
white and black be disputed. None
but the most pernicious moral consequences re-
suit. The Rev. DIR. YoUNo, of Danville, says,
when speaking on this point:
We should absolutely prohibit them from
forming those irregular and temporary unions,
which are alike opposed TO the commandments
Of God and TO tire decency of civilized life. Even
the lowest barbarian has some form or ceremony
by which he gives a moral sanction TO the union
of the sexes-how then can We tolerate unsanc-
TONED, uncOnsecrated connections between per-
sons living In christian families, and under the
control of Christian guardiansl How can we
incncate integrity, faithfdlness, and the various
christian virtues, upon those whom permit
TO live IN condition which all decent society
views with contempt and sbhorrence7 To con-
vince you Of the masters duty on this subject,
II is surely not necessary that We should por-
tray the brutslzing effects Of a system Of licen-
honsness, and prove the necessity of the mar
mage rite-it is enough for US TO direct your at
tention TO the fact that, if servants are not pro-
hibited from trampling upon the rite which God
mas Instituted as one of the greatest preserva-
tves Of human virtue, he will hold as response
bic, not the ignorant servants merely, but the
more intelligent masters, who might have con-
tolled them By what plea can men defend or
justify their power over their fellow men, unless
they use il TO restrain them from vice.
"Masters should enforce upon their SER
wants" says DR.. Young, ''Ibe duty of respecting
the rite of marriage" But howl By what
means can they GO it under the present system
They have, in the opinion of the colored peo-
pie, authority TO DO what they please TO make
and unmake the law. II is seen, that the mar
risse tie is respected among the whites, and the
power Of Earth, and the sacredaess Of Heaven |
invoked, as it is announced, swhom GOD hath /
JOINED let not man put asunier." Yet for the |
blacks, no sGch law eKists-no such sacredness
is feit-and they are left 10 90 as th.y please /.
Nov imagine the best master, under these cir
cumsisnces, going to his servants and telling
them, that he meant TO enforce among them the
marriage rite. He might attempt 10 do It by
brute strength-that is, by punishment But
This ne would not cream Of, nor any enlighten-
ed conscience approve. All, then, that he could
DO would be, to fall buck upon his moral power.
and what would this avail against passion, long
established custom, and general usage7 Masters,
we admit, may DO something-msy DO much
10 arrest this great evil Of ELECTROMAGNETIC
they can only patiiafe il, until marriages are Le-
galiy sotemniSed among our coiored people.
But the evil lies deeper TOO deep 10 be reach
I'd even by this step COlOre4 people are sffec-
donate in their dispositions. Their character
sites are, that Of kindness of heart-of fall
hess in all those emotions which make men love |
zach other. They are docile, tractable-theyl
GEEK to imitste-to folIow-rather than lead
This being 50, how happens it, that they form
'irrregulsr and temporary unions'-that they
themselves blunt, if not destroy, these natural
lendencies-that ihey often brutaiize them
selves, so far, as 10 put away from them, as IL
they were so much trash, their own wives and
children, There must be, independent of the
fact Of their being enslaved, some mighty cause
operating steadily and strongly upon them
u .Si-s them ss--- end ----hi-e ...;. better .f
fectons as by iron fate What is lit 1t is this
that masters hare the porer 10 separate husband
and ~ife-Parenf and child. They may seek, in
every way they can. to enforce servants to re-
spect the marriage rite. They may, in addition
to this, call in the sanction of the law, and the
sacredness Of the church, to aid them. All will
be vain, unless, at the time, they are barred,
by the same high authorities, from separating
families. This is the great step. Let it be TAX
en-, and, in few years, we shall find our coored
people as virtuous as any class in the commu-
atty.
Pause for a moment, and reflect upon this
position.
Slaves understand their lot. They know, too
heir natural tendencies. Imagine them reason
ing on both when about 10 form a matrimonial
They would say-"ifwe give our
hearts TO each other, and centre all affection
upon our offspring, We only run the risk Of des-
;roying all our happiness. We may be all sep
Grated at any moment. One may go East, e
mother South, and the rest West, and never !
more each other on earth. We will not :
rust our happiness TO such uncertainty, and,
therefore, we viii do as we best can, and live a. 2
We please" Put yourself. reader, in their posi-
ion. Get down to their lowly lot and ask
What you would do, under similar circumstances. a
For our part, we should not dare risk our hap =
illness, and the happiness Of others, upon such :
N uncertainty. There are some who sy,a "ccl- n
red people DO notcare about all this-they like y
/" We know better. We have seen them in g
he FAR South, when "old master had died." = :
Feep, as if their very hearts would break, when u
old into new homes, and make the air ring as
gain, with their shrek Of agony, as children
ERE torn from father, or husbands sepsrateJ IN
ON wives. Give them a chance 10 have a b,