Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-10-01

"God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall
dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan
shall be his servant"
Both the curse and the blessings of NOAH
have been fulfilled in wonderful manner
The descendants of Japheth conquered those
of Shem and dwelt in their tents; and the
posterity of Hem have been servants every
where. In the dispersion of Noab's pos
terity over the world, (Sears' History of the
Bible, page 36,) "the descendants of ia
pheth not only possessed all Europe, but also
a considerable portion of Asia. The pos.
terity of Shem had in their possession the
Greater and Lesser Asia, and probably all
the countries to the East as far as China
The descendants of Ham possessed all Africa,
with great part of Asia"
The curse of Noah upon Hams posterity,
as proclaimed against hisson Canaan, for the
sin of the father, fell with awful severity on
all his race, both in Asia and Africa. The
Canaauitesin in Asia felt the scourge of bro,
ken law, when conquered by the Hebrews;
and in Africa the condition past and present
of Hams offspring but shows the certainty
of G od's avenging wrath. The continent of
Africa was peopled by three aboriginal races,
the defendants of Ham. Egypt was settled
by the descendants of Mizraim, the second
son of Ham; the Lybian race are descend.
ants in part from branch of the family Of
Mizraim, and in part from Phut, the third
son of Ham; and the third race was the Ethio-
plan or Black, which was known to the Greek
and Roman historians. The Blaze rack, de.
cendants of Cush, the eldest son of Ham,
possessed at first Nubia and Abyssinia, on
the Upper Nile. Western Africa has boen
peop!ed by some one Or more of the families
of Ham, who have scattered over the whole
continent. This region and modern Ethiopia,
in Southern Africa, were unknown to the
Greeks and Romans. Western Africa, the
region from whence our slaves were first
brought, is a rich soil, producing sponta-
neously many necessaries for human subsist-
ence, extending along the western coast of
Africa from the 10th degree of north latitude,
the southern border of Sahara, to Benguela,
about the 10th degree of south latitude, EN-
bracing from 200 to 800 miles of land inte-
from the ocean, and about l,00n, 900
of square miles of territory, with a popula-
tion of about o0,OOO,0O0 Of negroes, in the
relation, at this day, of either master Or SLAVE
"a slavery ofthe most CALLING and degrading
sunk in superstition, idolatry
and barbarism. Missionary white labor has
never been. able to redeem them from this
except in few instances, and these
were only like shot cast on the calm ocean of
their depravity, making but momentary rip
pie, the impress of which was soon lost to
view. For four hundred years, since the
Portuguese first tcommenced missionary labor,
but little progress has been made in civilizing
and Outstanding them, and in most in
stances where Gospel light seemed to illu-
mine their savage souls, they have backslided
into iuquity, "like the dog that is turned
again to hisavomit, or the saw that is washed
to her wallowing in the mire." The land
is beautiful and fertile, but cursed with a
climate and with diseases which the negro
can endure, but which will forever prevent
the white race from possessing and cultiva-
ting the soil. If Providence, with benig-
nant hand, had not bestowed the blessings
of food and adaptation to the climate, on the
negro, in that country, he would long since
have perished; but it seems as if Western
Africa had been destined to be the cradle of
that hardy muscle which is indispensable
for developing those lands owned and occu-
pied by the descendants of Shem and Japheth,
whose servant Canaan is doomed to be. If
any one doubts that slavery is sanctioned by
Heaven, let him remember that even the He
brews-God's chosen peol'le-undcr their
theocracy, held slaves. The patriarchs held
slaves; and the good Abraham, the father of
the faithful, had three hundred and more.
In the march Of the Israelites through the
Wilderness, after the Exodus, Heaven-di
rected by fire at night and by cloud in the
day, slavery existed and accompanied them !;
and in the thunderings, and in the light
uings, in the earthquake, the smoke, and
the trumpet-sound of Sinai, when God de-
livered the ten commandments to Moses,
(our moral la~, slavery was recognized and
implicitly sanctioned. In two of the CON-
mandments we find this : in that concerning
the Sabbath, saying, "Iu it thou shalt do
no work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daush-
ter, nor thy man servant, nor tAy maid SER
uant;" and also in that concerning covct-
business, saying, "Thou shalt not covet thy
ueighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's morhis n,an-screuut, nor his
maid-s~rant," &c. Would God have tolcr-
ated sin? When Jesus Christ came incar-
nate into the world, he found slavery existing
in Greece, Rome, Egypt, Judea, and almost
everywhere among the nations. He came
to inculcate system of true religion and
morality, as we'll as to atone by His blood
for the sin of the world. He was God, and
His mission divine. lie fearlessly denounced
wickedness everywhere. He attacked not
only the religion of the Pagans, but what,
in many instances, was politically, because
morally wrong; and if he had thought sla.
very sin, he would have denounced, con
demued and forbidden it. But there is mol
word in his teachings, nor those of his a
pcstles, against it. On the contrary, we fine