Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1857-04-08

The. followers of Mahomet held u
their duty 10 convert men to their reli
gion by the sword They Conquered
and enslaved mankind. blacks and
whites. for the avowed pu' pose of con
veriing them bat by The Mahomedan
law, no master denied The right of his
slave to the life which God had bestowed
upon him; nor was the slave amJng Ma
homedans 'treated as an ordinary arti
Gle of merchandise" The slave at all
times had the right TO embrace Mahom
edan religion, and when he did so, the
law made him free. The female slave
who bore children to her master, was
not onlv free herself, but held her child
who was also free The barbarity which
you say was universal at the time our
Declar ton of Independence was put
forth, was unknown among MahOme
dams; nor did they make any distinction
! between blacks and whites. With them
it was purely a question OF religion. and
not of omplexion. Yet as early as 1870.
our British ancestors formed a ''holy al
lance with France to liberate those
christians who were held as slaves by
the Turks; and wars were waged, and
battles fought, and blood was she'd, To
establish the ris h, Of those christians 10
liberty as well as to life.
/ You. Sir, are Catholic. anil must be
aware that history informs u that Bar
tholmeoo de las Cassas." q Romish
priest, first publicly advocated the i'm
por,aiion uf African hedtkens 10 tins ct'n
tineDt, TO be held as slaves; and MS rea
sons were that il would afford the an
opportunity of beeoming concerted to the
ChYiStian rel gion. This was the only
argument ut that lime; it is the only ar
gument now advanced in justification OF
African Slavery. 1t has Tor two centu
ries been repeated from southern and
= from northern pulpits. and reiterated by
state men in our legislative halls. Soon
as the Africans abjured healhenism and
progressed christianity. they were received
into the Catholic church, regarded as
good and worldly members entitled to
h., fhsa of
the Lords Supper. marriage. extreme
unclion. and christian burial: and this
opinion .has been fixed and universal
with the civilized pcrlion of the white
race"
In each of the Colonies, in each Of the
State, by every denomination of chris
tians has the African been regarded as
a man tending 10 the same Immortality
with The whites. He has worsh pped
the same God, trusted 10 the same saliva
ton: They have become members of
the same churches and TO this day are
regarded as entitled to all the reli .ious
rights which white members enjoy.
Bu' you assert "tbey were regarded
a an Inferior order Of beings" | answer
thai this inferior'ty or superiority was
never made question, nor was it in any
way material. except as ali laws are sup
posed to be made more particularly for
protecting the weak and friendless than
for the powerful and influential. your
assertion, if true, would give them
stronger claims to legal protection than
they would possess if acknowledged to
be equal or superior TO the white race.
Yon assert that ''Ihey were regarded
as unfit associates for the white race,
either socially OF politically" l have
previously shown them eptitled TO. and
in the actual enjoyment of equal politi-
c Il association with the white race, unit
long after the Declaration Of Indepen-
dence was announced: and il is equally
UOtOflpuS klldl lht tNO races HO0 uSSOCt l
ated until their blood had become ming
led in every conceivable degree. Com |
plexion constituted no qualification to
citizenship. nor did it subject the indi-
vidual 10 slavery: White men and white
women were held in bondage. Will
black men and black women we're free
Free blacks Bow buy and sell enslavet
whites, and hold them in servi,ude NJ. |
jeff rs0n assures us that .fhe best blood |
of Virginia .tlooed IN the ueins Of her
sLaues." and his own descendants, tho |
white as you or myself, are now held in
bondage. The rule OF law was the same
then as now. The child of a slave
mother. thoug h white, WAS slave, while
the child Of a free mother, though black.
was nevertheless free. / cite these facis
to show you err when you say the blacks
were regarded as unfit associates for The
white race. r..f
bui when you assert " the 6k0ck nan |
had no rghts," that '.ks Was treated as
an ordinary article Of merchandise" you
shock the moral sense OF the narion.-
Not one of the Colonies, not one of the
States recognized that doctrine until af
ter the close of The Revolution. The
general right of the slave to his life was
iully recognized by every Colony snd
State. In some of the Southern Iclo
nies the master was authorized to Kill
MS slave If he resisted punishment: OF if /
the slave ran lrom bis master when OF
dsaed ~ stop. the master was authorized
2 -i1-rT .ac-sa.-Tes &c