Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-12-08
egency' or immortality, and cannot san. An insti:u
ton Is not even senlient being-t has none of the
attributes OF moral responsibility. We give the
thought in the lannnnna nf Tho RiLLr I,,,nns.

truman .Nal"rc.--There is great evil in the wor!C
charging sIn upon institutions instead Of charging
nPop human nature. Did Christ ever charge an il
Stituton with sin! Did the apostles ever make sue
a chsrge7 Men assail cipa institutions. They ar
UNJUST oppressive, nolerable. Away with them !!
very well. bst them all be swept away. WIS
now! Human nature redevelops itsel; in their sub
s'u.cs as hnoinhaby as before! Men asslil Ccci,S
nS''cdi Institutions. Tis too bad thst such false Hl
thorities shoud sti make havoc of tha Church. an
disgrace an age so enlightened. "Away with them /.
just so e' 'heln be abolished. Aud what now! liu
man nature nlmasks itself again, and proves ugl
anu yrahh'rsi al ever. Men assa sOc'di instu
''o'is: lhey h:e senseess, absurd, mscevous in
positions on the simplicity and honesty of the pee
PIE, ahttrrpa6lican, anti. Christian anti everythin
, lhat Is good and noble. away with them' +,
aclly; down with them all Aud what now! Huma
mnuie oaiias Others still upon their ruins =
,W nat ,neh! Shall We give up R-formi Not so.-
neanhere 10 the necessity of reform-universal r.
iorm. Bui the first thing to reform is human naiur
ifseif. In whole this is impossible, except 10 Chris
h Inc Resurrection But individual and spiritual re
sought above all other objects. l. Monarchy u sin
nerf or Popery2 or Prelacy? Presbytery! Slave
ryf or Masonry or any other civil, eccleslsstica
SOCIAL ,psttutoni Nay-but. o man! thou art h
sinner! Reform thysef! Make all right at home
IN my person, and in thy family. So live that wheI
,henew Heavens and earth appear, rejoicing in ever
asing righteous ness thou nayest ind aft position
'here' and be forever with the Lord"
If there is anything sinful in slavery, it results
from wicked motive and consists in some violation
OF the Divine will and law. Slavery has existed for
hundreds of years OH this continent, and from the
earliest ages on every continent. This generation
cannot be responsible for it hundreds Of years ago
and in distant countries. Whatever of right or
wrong is connected with it, relates TO it as it exists
now-is administered and perpetuated. As TO the
mode of its administration, there are doubtless
wrongs, grlevous ones-sins, awful ones, daily per-
petrated by the wicked sons of depraved race
These wrongs and Gins We have no disposition 10 dis.
guise or under estimate. They originate in the sinful
nature OF man, and must look, like all other wrongs
and sins, connected with social and governmental
economy, for mitigation and extrpation, the r,ge
nerasion of society by gospeagences and influence
For the present. we do not propose to go into the de-
tail Of them, 10 institute comparison between the
evils and abuses of slavery and those of the relation
of husband and wife, 0! parent and child, or of sub
lects and scvereigns. Shutting one eye to the bene
fits Of any human relation institution. and turning
with the full gaze Of the other upon i:s evils and
abuses, we should conclude that any one of the reu
tons and institutions of race, is not only sinful
be wicked and marked for destruction The Church il,
self could not abide this ordeal. All foundations
would give way and universal wreck and anarchy
close the history Of miserable race.
We enquire if slavery is inconsistent with Christi
antyl If it be 3d. il will appear by the positive pre-
cepts of the Bible by its conflict with the revealed
principles Of the gospel.
tha .ls 30 b, al
There is law older thar all ages-radiant as the
throne of the Most High God-echonc through the
temples Of eternity, and to the outer limits Of the
Universe of worlds. 1t the shadow Of the Godhead
Illuminating the realms OF immortality and the sub
stance of that word which the Eternal Father
hath magnifed above all, His name" It's the un
repealed and irrepealable Moral Law, whose whs
pered specifications shook Sinai to its foundations
with the thunders Of its silence. Whatever cIoudy
specustions OF philosophy may envelope the ear,h nj
its base, it lifts ts massive tablets above the Ieavena
blazing with the changeless records of the Eternal
Mind. Whaever confusion Of babbling tongues may
be heard in IFS mountainous and earthly caverns, the
angels which fan ts celestial peaks with the radiance
their resplendeDt pluInrs. among the aars
and thrones of eternity, the high and notes
>
CITRATE the right, wseness and nghtipeas the purity
and majesty the power, the justice, the mercy, The
truth and the eternity Of that law.
What saith it 10 tho dwe!lors on the earth, of the
olden time aud the modern ages alikcl Let the
throne of England hear and the false phantiGcpists
Of Exeter Hall-ths miserable rabble philosophers
Of Boston Common, and the canting Doctors of New
Haven and fh, nf Ne,r all md
sngular-let them be silent and dumb, and hear
what He who sit,eth in the Heavens smith what
He saith to all times and kingdoms and people
what lie sai,h alike to Fe.ee islanders aud princes
merchants of Engand-to the Mandingoes Of Africa
tho Tartars Of Asia, and the hungry, humanity.
gering Yankees of these Western States of America.
What lie saith to Napoleon and the Pope--to Lord
Brougham aud Mazzni-to James Buchanan and
William Wslker-at the same fine end at all times
"When the voice of the trumpet sounded long and
waIed louder and louder" and the Lord had de-
scended upon the sanctifed mount in fire, and the
smoke thereof ascended the smoke of furnace,
and the whole mount quahed greatly" and the trern-
bling people stood pale and fearful and silent, beyond
the borders Of the moun-people and priests not da-
ring to touch the mount, lest God should "break
forth upon them and sisy them-IlE spoke all
these words of the Decaogue and among them, as
clearly enanoiated as any ohers-even those pro.
claiming His owl Providence and Sovereignty, and
unity and Jealousy and mercy-the majesty Of His
own name and the sacredne.s of His own hallowed
day. were uttered to the heavens and the earth these
words-"The Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor
81, fht,
maid serran thy cattle, nor the stranger that is
within thy gates." And agan-"Thou shalt not
comet thy neighbours house. thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his man serrant, his maid
servant, nor his OK his ass, nor any thing THAT
Is THY NEIGHBORS"
Hear ye that Man servant" "nad servant,
"house," COX" or anything that is thy ne'ghJor's
1t is his-his property-his "house," has "ox," HI:
"man.servant,' has 'naid servant" 1t is "tby neigh
BORE" Thou shalt no more "coret'' it, than thou
shalt 'ski' hm-or "commit adultery" with his
wife-or "stea any what other of his property
or "bear false wiiness" against him. This i. what
God said ON the top Of the mount of thunders, and
there is no escape from it. No quibble or sublile
mecon.ructon can be so cunringly conriVed as ia
avoid it. The why thou "shslt not coreA
that it is not thine, but II Is h1s-hs "house, bis
COX" his "man servant" vs o5cddo, his male s'arc
ra omatho his female STARE Touch it if you dare
Mr.. Philosopher Greeley, and see how the law.moun
will smoke, and hear the bursting thundera, and
read the revelation Of the Omupotent Will, IA ,hs
blazing lightning. You will so transcend "the
bounds about the mount" and He will "hreak forth
upon" you.
Here then il is-the word-the argument-the rea
son-the anaIogy-the law-the rght-ihe property
the slavery! and let the fanatic sand rohy philoso
phers and nfidel traitors of the old world, or tht
new, howl and foam at the mouth and gnash the
teeth as they may-j is here in the decalogre--oot
ed, planted, growing; and it will ouive the seetI
storm of winter and hot drought of summer, ane
blossom and bring forth the fruits Of ages to be gar
nered as Providence may order and design in th'
ata.