Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1857-06-24
Dr Ross and Slavery.

A highly respectable Southern Journal in
| the interest of the Associate Reformed Church
| (the Due West Telescope,) gives us in its
column of "editoria! brcvities, the following
| article:
'DR. Ross. This gentleman defended the
system or subject of slavery in the last New
School Assembly, and wrote some strong let
tiers on the subject after the Assembly ad-
journed We notice in q western religious
| journal, that one Rev Asa Turner tells the
world that the mother of DR.. Ross was a
slave That his father did not sell the moth
or and children, but liberated them and left
| them his property One Of the sons being
reproached with the impurity of his blood
one evening at party, could not bear the in
situation and shot himself The other re-
moved to Tenr essee, became pious, and is
now the greatDr. Ross. ... r.....-.... .......
"Now, whether brother told this to defame
DR.. Ross and destroy his influence, or because
| he is unable to answer his arguments on the
slavery question, we pronounce it decidedly
shabby. - -- :. III ..-s.-.-.sE .s.r...,,
IF there is any truth in the story, who is
to blame for impurity of blood? Surely not
Dr. Ross We would refer Mr.. Turner, and
those who would hawk about this story, to
Eek xviii 20, and other parts Of the same
chapter. .a.. .s,-a 80. .,
"Let every tub stand upon It's own bot
tom. ,~.-.-sy -.r. rtsa ss-es Ii.
1t is no disgrace to Frederick Douglass that
his mother, was slave nor that his father
was d much worse white man than d.: Il. 8
father seems to have been. Our southern
friend is entirely mistaken in supposing that
Mr.. Tnrner--an excellent brother, whom the
editor OF the Telescope would love and honor
if he knew him-to]d the story either to ode
fame DR. Ross and destroy his influence, or
because he is unable to answer his argu-
ment on the slavery question" The main
fact of the story has been, for more than five
and twenty years, well known to DR.. r. S old
friends in this part Of the country, who are
many, and none of them has ever esteemed
him the less on that account
DR.. Ross arguments in defence of slavery
are easily answered in variety OF methods.
But perhaps nomeshod is more compendious
more lucid or more conclusive, than the sim
pie statement of the fact that he himself was
born u slave There is little need of spend
ing time to unravel with microscopic care
the attenuated threads OF sophistry. when
the whole cobweb can be swept away in a
moment BY one touch Of a sturdy fact
What is it which Dr. Ross undertakes to
defend? Not Hebrew servitude, nor Arab
nor Turkish, nor Russian; nor yet some alb
stract and possible system in Utopia. He
undertakes TO defend the system by which his
own mother, instead Of being a wite--hcl
husband equal partner-was onIy concu
bine, his fathers property, with no conf uga
rights, with no parental right in the children
to whom her agonies gave birth. He main
tans the rightiulness OF the system undel
which, if his father, (more humane than mos
fathers of such children) had not contrived
to rescue him from its memorable cruelty, he
would have been a slave to-day, or would
have found a refuge only in the grave. Il
the system which he maintains was I'm just
to bis mother and to him, it is equally I'm
Just 10 every slave mother and to every slave
"Who is to blame asks the Telescope
FOR ;mpurity OF blood9 Surely not DR.
Ross" So we say. 1t is not DR. RS fault
that be was born Of fornication'" begotter
or a quodroon concubine by her owner But
driven out Of Alabama as a free negro, by
vindicatins in Gods name that wicked 8ys
tenn which put such dishonor on his mother
and makes such births as his matter OF
course .s... .....-I
"H no IS to blame tor Imnurlty OF blood:
Impurity Of blood is an idea which belongs
to slavery In our opinion, the blood in DR.
r. 8 veins is precisely rs pure as the blood
OF Pocahontas in tue veins of 81 Virginia
Governor. a,. -.-. ..~
"sVho is to blame for inlpurity of bsood?'
So we ask. who is to blame for being descen-
ded from Ham, the father Of Canaan? And
we would refer Dr. Ross and all who hawk
about the story that it is right to ensla"c the
negroes, because Ham was their ancestor
long ago, to those very texts in Ezekiel re
ferrsd to by the Telescope / The iadSpend.