The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-11-17

tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
And if it will make. no peace with thee, but
will make war against thee, then thou shalt
besege it; and when the Lord thy God hath
delivered it into thy hands, thou shalt smlte
every male thereof with the edge of the sword
but the women and the little ones and the cat
tie and all that is in the city, even all the
spoils thereof shalt thou take unto myself
thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are
very far off from thee, which are not of the
cities of these nations "-Dem Xxx l0-l5.
The service and gifts we have already seen
rendered to Solomon by the kings on this side
the river were no doubt the tributes imposed
in accordance with this law. So, also, 1.-THE
Moabites became David's servants and brought
gifts I'll Sam viii, 2. The same is said Of the
Syrians? But will it be pretended that all
these tributaries were SidUeSl In after times,
the ISraelites themselves became tributaries to
foreign nations, but they are not on that &C
count described even by cur translators, as
bond men"
But what was the fate Of the women, where
the men were put to the sword They either
became members of the Jewish Commonwealth,
strangers in Israel enj lying the protection
Of equal and just laws, or, remaining in their
native country, they married the new Occu-
pants of the conquered cities, or the residents
of such of the neighbOring cities as submitted
to pay tribute. In the memorable war with the
Midianites an exception was made to the gene
raj rule and portion of the women were put
to death for the reason given in Mum. XXI,
10. Thirty two thousand young females. in
GLIDING children, were saved alive. What was
to be done with them They were orphans
not one had mother living-they were poor
and friendless Were they sent to auction
and sold to the highest bidder, and their price
paid into the treasury! The best disposition
possible was made OF them. They were dis
trbuted among the people; that is, they were
received into the families, both of those who
had been engaged in the war, and those who
had remained at home. Thirty-two of them
were intrusted to the high priest, and fifty to
the Levites We have no farther particulars
of them. Very many of them were mere in
fants These were of course brought up to
the knowledge of the true God. The others,
who were old enough to adopt form of reli-
gion, renounced idoatry and embraced Juda-
ISM or they were banished from Judea. As
the law expressly contemplates the case of a
be little doubt that many of these captives be-
came wives and mothers in Israel These
INDIAN females were advantageous to the fami-
lies in which they were domestcated in two
ways first, as domesticS-and thus making
by their labor a compensation for their main
Ienance; and, secondly, by the money re.
celved for them on their marriage Fathers
and guardians undoubtedly sold daughters and
wards for wives. In other words their consent
was necessary to the marriage, and for that
consent they were accustomed to demand pay.
But, throughout the Pentlteuch, we have no hint
IF any man having been sold by another to
third party, with the single exception of Jo-
,eph and he, instead of regarding his sale as
l lawful business transaction, vehementIy in
sisted that he had been stolen-Gen xl, IS.
JEWISH SLAVERY, HAD 1T EXISTED, WOULD
NOT HAVE WARRANTED ANY OTHER.
The common argument in behalf of the law
'ulness of American Slavery is that the Jews
we're dvnely authorized to hold slaves, and
therefore, that We may hold them. 1t has been
he object Of the preceding pages to show that
he assertion from which the conclusion is
irawn is wholly false We will now reverse
he argument, and contend that, even had the
assertion been true, the conclusion would still
be false.
The Pro-Slavery argument has been put by
he Rev. DR.. Fuller, of South Carolina, in the
IMPOSING form Of a sylogsm, viz:
Whatever the Holy God has expressly
sanctioned, cannot be in itself sin.
God did expressly sanction Slavery among
The Hebrews
therefore, Slavery cannot be in itself sin"
Ii will at once be seen, that the whole
point and force Of the ma or proportion, and
On which the conclusion rests, is, that no act
similar to that which God once sanctioned
an euer after be sinful. To say that what God
anctions cannot tDhtie he sanctions it, be in
tself ain, is but bald truism and the major
hus expressed would have no logical cOnnec-
ion whatever with the conclusion Sin is dis
obedience to the known will of God whether
discovered by revelation, the light Of reason,
)r the convictions of conscience. Now, the
predicate of the position implies what is evil
iently false, that the will of God is the same
n all ages, under every dispcnsation, and under
all circumstances and hence, that conduct
which was once agreeable to his will can at
no future period be in itself sin, if repeated
Let us apply this principle, and see where it
will lead us
The Holy God did expressly sanction every
Hebrew in putting to death his own wife or
son. if guilty of idolatry Would it be no sin
in an American citizen to do the same God
authorized the Jews to make war on certain
nations, and to put to the sword every male in
every city that refused to capitulate Would
it have been lawful for the American army
in Mexico to have observed the same divine
rule The Hebrews were required to offer
bulls and rams in atonement for their sins
May we do the same? But if what the
Holy God once sanctioned can never after DO
sinful, surely what he has once forbidden can
never after be lawful Now, God expressly
prohibited the Jews to eat an oyster, to yoke
together an ass and an OK, to SOW diverse seeds
together in the same field or to weave together
linen and woollen thread in the Same web.
Is it therefore sinful in us to do any Of these
things God sanctioned polygamy and di.
vorce and the putting to death of man who
gathered sticks on the Sabbath. OF all the
various practices and institutions under the
Mosaic dispensation which are inconsistent
with the spirit and precepts Of Christianity, Is
human bondage the only one that can non be
indicated by tho South Carolina sylloglsm!
The Judge of all the earth will do right.
To Him alone vengeance belcngeth. 1t was
righteous in Him to make the lsraeltes the
executors of his wrath against the Canaanites;
and had he condemned these people to Slavery
instead of death, the sentence would have been
equally righteous 1t is alleged that God did
select and point out to the Hebrews certain
people whom they might hold as slaves. II
this be so, the selection was made by Being
infinite in wisdom, justice, goodness, and power,
and the title of the Hebrews to their slaves
WAS as perfect AZ the gift Of the Divine Crea,
tor could make it,
But, most strangely, this special grant by
God himself to the Hebrews of certain slaves
is made in DIR. Fuller's logic warrant for
all ages and nations-the Slavery of Greece
and Rome, the villenage of Europe, the serf-
dom of Russia and that sum Of all villa
MES" American Slavery!