Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-03-20

"''usr ana return to Its mother earth, whlle tn
I spirit shall live on and while God himself e1
lists No injury to the body can, therefore, bea
any comparison to the enslavement of the intel
ect, the degradation Of the moral nature of man
By the established laws of our existence. thu
oody requires food raiment and habitation. II
each individual are given limbs to bear him fortl
rom place to place; hands to cultivate and gathe
'De frcits of the earth to feed the body, provide
raiment and habitaton for its protection eyes t
Ruiae him, and ears to detect danger. These art
MI held in subjecton to the mind and are put il
operation only by the will of the individual. The
mlnd Itself is constrained TO action by an inexiblt
law which God has ordained for its early unfolding
s hrss care is TO nourish, and feed and clOthe the
oooy, to render it comfortable and pleasant habi
tatiOn during occupancy, The spirit is constran
eu' IN seeking food, to put the limbs, and hands
ana all the physical faculties into operation to sat
'sy the hunger and thirst of the body, to provide
raiment and habitation for its protection. That
uod has endowed each member of the human fam.
| ny with the inherent and inaienable right to use
ms own limbs and hands and bodily faculties for
these purposes is literally. q "Self ecident buth"-
II is a truth that cannot be rendered more clear
by argument its force cannot be increased by
ioglc or made more beautiful by eloquence. But
THIS care Of the body constitutes the fret lesson,
the lowest exercise Of the intellect and is ntroduc.
tory to that eternal embodiment which was designed
by the Creator as the means of elevating man to
L
down as religious axiom that in degree rs man
becomes wise, just, pure, and truthful he aproxi
mates that happiness which constitutes the final
design Of his existence.
That God has endowed every human being with
the right thus to enlarge this sphere Of thought
aud elevate his moral nature, is so obviously, SO
self'evdently true, that he must indeed be a most
arrant inhdel who denies it, Itconstitutes part
OF the fundamental proposition that "al men are
endowed by their creator with inaienable rights"
Its existence is however denied by American In.
hdels;" and this constitutes the second collateral
issue between the religious and irreligious portions
of our people. The ensavement of the soul pre-.
sents lhhdehty IN It's most revolving features. 1t
paralyzes the moral nature of man renders the
soul ster and unprepared for heaven. We must
wait the day Of final retrbution to disclose the ex
tent of its enormites.
Yet the body can only be held in bondage BY
ensaving the spirit, by surrounding it with mental
darkness. Permit q man to understand the duties
which he owes to himself, to mankind, and to God,
and ne cannot be slave. Hence. the whole pol
icy of slaveholding governments is arranged and
adapted to the purpose Of first enslaving the miAds
pf their bOndmen. In most slaveholding commu
mites it is statutory ofense, punishable by fine and
lmprs sonment, to teach slaves to read the gospel
they not permitted to read the words of Him
sho spake as never man spake )" who declared
His mission on earth "to proclaim liberty TO the cap
sirS - to raise ND the bowed down enlighten the
ignorant who taught His disciples and followers
Ito do unto others as they would have others do
unto them" A distinguished jurist of North Car.
ina. while dischargng his official duties declared
"a slave is one doomed in his own person and pos
erity TO lice wttom knopledge". lie is not permit
cd to understand the ctiects of human existence
lie can have no conception jlStice ,cis3On. or
)urty, or TRUTH Slaves have no correct idea of
he duties which children owe to their parents :;
lor of those which are due from parents to child.
on pa rputi is nOt to tpac
I'm his child nor is the child permitted to honor or
,bey his parent.
1t follows that the freedom of speech must be
'estricted among the free people of slaveholding
The public mind must be there
,nsltved in order to maintain the institution. and
10 man be permitted to assert the doctrines | have
'eferred to. They are not permitted publicly to
liter the truths which lie at the basis of our Gov
The policy of those communities is to
human thought, prevent a knowledge |
,f the duties which men owe to themselves and TO
heir fellow men. This policy was for many
Years enforced in this body, Members were pro
libited from speaking of the crimes and niquities
# slavery, lest the people should understand the
ubiect, and refuse to sustain such infdelity.
The right of legal marriage is unknown among
be slaves. They are not permitted to understand
he relation nor the duties of husband and wife,
The master sells him who is called husband, or Eer
Who calls herself wife, while he retains the other
lie sells the parent, and retains the child or he
ellis the child and retains the parent. These separa.
ions are but the practical workings Of that inidel
ty which denies TO parents and children those in
lienable rights which God and nature have bestow-
d upon them.
Slaves can have no proper conception of the |
ights of property. Robbed of their own earnings
old they have no claims to the food which they |
ather, it were impossible for them to conceive of |
ny such right in others. Nor is it possible that
uch state of society could exist among our
outhern population wihous greatly affecting the
,orals of the free people Indeed, the existence Of
hree millions of slaves among six millions of free
eople must, OF necessity, characterize the morali-
= of the entire population. One of the promi
ent vices of slaveholdipg communities is the rapid
of races The evidence of this vice |
leets the eye of the traveller at every step in his
rogress through our southern States.
The legitimate heir of pantation on coming
lto possession of his estate often sells the children
his father-his brothers and sisters of the half
that they "have any rights which |
hite men bound to respect. This infidety
enes the right of six hundred thusand females of
ur land to protect their own virtue and consgns
hem to practical prostitution. This state of soci-
ty is but the outworkiug of that infdelity which
enes the existence of mars inalienable right to
berty and to moral elevation.
II would be in vain for us to say to the Chris.
uTkey, that religious men Of our country support
nch sytem of pollution. Yet thousands of
hurch members, in the slave States, i'm
npiously charge Diety with authorizing
,ese crimes, and sacrigiously endeavor to per-
ert the holy Scriptures to the support of this in
deity. Newspapers professedly religious, lend
lent, and some an active support to these crimes
he others. even in our free States, openly Op.
ose and denounce all who resist the extension, or
xpose the enormites, Of slavery.
The number of heart5roken mothers. and the
'rture which they suffer on being separated from
ieir children, the physical suffering from fog
ings, thambscrews, and all the various means Of
,rture pracriced in slavehodDg communities, are
latters of which We can speak, but of which we
an form no estimate. This degradation and suf
ring constitute the legitimate sequence Of Ameri
an n6delity. If these God-given prerogativeS Of
ur race be abandoned. the mother can have no
ght to the food which she gathers by her toll no
ght to the intellect which God has given her no
ght to be virtuous, pure. wise and good no right
, live. ! repeat that the religious men of our
alton insist that these rights Of human nature
hall be held sacred, and their enjoyment secured