The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-09-07

my life to his wrongful attempt to take it
both being intrinsically evils.
This choice of the lesser evil, is what we call
the right of selfdefense. It is what makes
homocide in sef,defense jjustifable. 1t is a
lesser evil in me to kill man seeking to take
/ my life, than voluntarily to give up my life,
and hence the death of the assailant Is right,
and not right because homocde is ever other
| wise, than inherently wrong. 1t is the neces-
sity alone that justfes it, and not the intrinsic
right Of it. lntrinsically or distracted from
circumstances, homicide is never right
Bodily power and penalties are inherently
wrong-that is-are opposed to the moral
sanction by which divine government is sus-
tanned. But as human intercourse in peace
and harmony is right, and can only be obtain
ed by using civil or human sanctions to civil
rules, they thence become necessary to pro-
mote the general welfare
Now slavery is a civil regulation. instituted
to promote the peace and harmony of the
social intercourse of our portion of the con-
tederacy. how are we to abolishit-abolisht the
pains of body that enforce it-that make If
tolerable-that make it of advantage to the
public welfare, we should have. instead Of
concord and happiness, the widest scenes of
bloodshed and anarchy-nay-the utter over
throw of all that is at all valuable in social
intercourse. Moral or divine government the
government of the higher law being wholly
voluntary-relying exclusively upon moral
sanctions, 1T follows as a necessary result that
If our Northern fellow citizens desire con-
formity between the civil rule under which
they live, and the higher law, they must
! repeal all bodily penalties-all penalties that
| are calculated to disturb the freedom of choice
on which moral government proceeds and
without which it would cease to be mora,
| or higher than human.
| The very moment you proceed to force a
man to behave properly in the social relations
| by any species of temporal or bodily terror,
that very moment is the freedom of his moral
agency disturbed
! God in moral rule permits his subjects to
act as they please and only deters them by
setting before them the evil or the good conse-
quences of their choice-consequences wholly
aside from temporal blessings or temporal
penalties for he is as kind with temporal
| blessings towards the rebellious, as toward
the obedient.
| p,1t nv Ia,,b -hoiI
| ing moral considerations in the distribution of
its sanctions says to its disobedient subjects,
that it will either for example, incarcerate
the body in some jail and thus deprive its
victim of animal pleasure. or hang him on
some gallows until deprived of animal life
Thus are the two governments in direct and
cardinal opposition and hostility. Mr. Editor,
is not this plain and fair reasoning But
what Sir is it that makes civil government
valuable ? 1t is because of its bodily pains
and penalties. What makes the higher law
valuable ? It's avoidance of human or civil
sanctions and its preference on the contrary
for those that are Of moVal character. Do
they not then differ? Are they not dissimi-
lar :? Now while | am able logically to
justify civil government on the ground of its
necessity to the public welfare, | am unable
to show it to be confoTmed to the divine gov
ernment The reader will please observe that
when speak Of conformity, do not mean
occasional similarity do not mean partial
conformity.
The death penalty, for example, is mani
testify necessary to the public welfare, but no
man is mad enough to suppose that the terror
OF this animal punishment exercises no intiu-
ence over the moral purposes of men-no one
is silly enough to suppose that hanging man
is accordant with the higher law that we must
do unto others rs we would they should do
unto Us. The very idea of any such accord
or agreement is purely absurd. There is
obviously no accord between a law that die
tates to me to love my enemy-to do good to
him and consult his pleasure when he dispute
fully usas ne-ta- submit kindly and patiently
to his unjust butfettings and another law that
tells me to throttle him to death with rope
on some gallows-or put him to solitary con-
fnement in some dungeon and beat him and
brand him with moral infamy-Heaven is not
at a greater distance from hell, than is the
law of universal brotherhood from the powers
and penalties of body that exclusively give
sanction to civil or human rule
Now what is it that makes civil govern
ment valuable? 1t is clearly, not it's con-
formity to moral government but its sanctions
in pain of body and penalties of estate. If
these sanctions are not divine sanctions-are
not the sanctions of the higher or the moral
government, does it not necessarily follow
that civil government is valuable because of
its departure from divine government ? The
| the sun at noon.
| If now therefore, Abolitionists can point to
the want of conformity between the civil
sanctions that constitute our slavery institu-
ton and the higher law, it would be no valid
| ground of objection, if we can show as we I'M
doubtedly can, that they tend to the public
advantage Of our portion of the confederacy
1t is obviously not conformity to moral gov
| eminent that makes civil rule valuable, for
| when the conformity takes place and any good
is the consequence, the good results exclusively
from the moral rule The only good that re-
suits from civil government exclusively, is
when it departs from-when it refuses to con-
| form to moral sanctions.
Moral government is wise and good and of
| advantage to the public welfare in the social
relations of life, civil government being wholly
out of consideration. This kind of govern
ment is good, wise and profitable at all times
! and under all circumstances. The reason why
this government fails to promote the public
welfare is-not because it is not intrinsically
right or proper and beneficial, but because
| the public refuse to use and employ it, in the
sphere of human life. If every one constitut-
| ing the public, would voluntarily agree to use
and employ the rules of this government up
on all occasions, and with unfaltering fidelity,
civil government would at once cease to be
necessary, and then, its justification would be
at an end, and yet the public welfare would
be fully secured. The leading distinction
| ''the punctum saliens' between moral and
| civil rule is that the former is intrinsically
good which cannot he said of the latter, since
! it is human in its origin, and human in its
authority, and therefore wholly yicarious
| There is, therefore, but one plea for any de-
parture from moral government upon the part
of civil or human authority, and that is, that
it would be a less evil to society, to depart
| from it than to submit to it. 1t is the doe
! trine Of moral necessity-of common, frequent
and almost of daily occurrence. For example
moral government requires the entire avoid
| ance of personal conflict or strife of body in
| the social relations-requires submission to
the constituted utherities-submission to the
powers that be. The law is in opposition to
| remember having recognized this doctrine
even as far back as the writings of Tacitus who
holds this language-"Aliquid habet iniquo
omne, magnum exemplum quod contra singulos,
utilitate publica rependitnr. sentiment
herein contained fully sustains the argument Of
| = fkaks.