Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1859-03-31

1
And holy men quote Scriptue Tor the deed.
But these men do not truly interpret tn
Bible. They teach for doctrines the com
mandments of men, and make the word o
God of none efset trough their traditions
How dare these mensmake the Bible LEM
its sanction to system that abrogates pa
rental authority and filial duty!
So, also, with the conjugal relation. Th'
Bible everywhere represents this as tn,
most sacred, inviolate, e. indissolub!e OF al
human relations. Father g. mother are to b
forsaken, in obedience to the claims of thi,
still higher and holier relation. Now, wha
does Slavery do with this domestic institu
ton! Leave God and the parties perfectly
free to regulate it In their own wayt No
with imp:o1s and braseE front, it steps il
and utterly annihilates the marriage rela
tion, so far as its victims are concerned
There is no NOR e am legal marriage among
the three or four millions of slaves in the
United States, than there is among SC
many cattle. Slaves 10 the eve of the Law
are cattle, and them union is rhat of brutes
They are declared to 5e goods, chattles per.
sonal, to all intents, constructions, and pur.
poses, whatever. The civil law which pre-
walls in some of the States takes them pro
nullis, pro naorfuis, pro quadrupedibus.
Would it not be al interesting spectacle
to see one of these clergymen, who teach
that the Bible sanctnns Slavery, called in
to attend the wedding If bureau and ches,
of drawers: The chairs, and shovel. and
tongs, are invited as guests. After fer
vent prayer for the divine blessing, the
clergyman SAYS:
by the old Leviical laws,
JON the bureau The drawers
Qrid Rides? autdt0 roTiae, de ts fd6ula narratHr
Absolutely there cIn be no norc a lega
marriage between two slaves, than between
.wo articles Of furniture. or between two
brutes. They stake up together" they dc
not marry. No clergyman dare pronounce
two slaves husband wife till death shall
separate them. The will Of the master is
their fate. The BIbfe Gays: What Goo
hath joined together, let not man put asun-
der - The slave system says: Who cares
for God, I will separate :hem when
please. A slave who is church member
is taught by his religious teachers, that it is
his duty, on being sold from one plantation
to another, leaving a SO called wife behind
to take another mate; and the reason as
signed by these pious instructors is, that in
this way he can be most profitable to his
master, which is his first and paramount
duty. Thus he may, as coed Christian
take up with new woman on every plan
tation to which he is sold. This has been
formally so dec ided by an ecclesiastical
council And yet these blasphemers seek
to make God a partner in this revolving
practices: ..-
The Bible everywhere requires an equiv
alent 10 be given for services rendered
"Wo unto him that bnildeih his house by
s=sighieananess and his chambers BY wrong;
that useth his neighbor's service without
wages, and giveth him not for his work. 81
"Behold, the hire Of the laborers who have
reaped down your i-lds, which by you i:
kept back by fraud, crieth, and the cries O
them thai have reaped are entered into the
ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Slavery
never allows any wages at all to those who
garner in its harvesis. To say that the
clothing and the focd that the slave receive:
are wages. is 10 say that the hay, grain, ant
stablng of the horse, are wages These
constitute the keeping of the horse and oI
the slave: wages they are not
1t is frequently said, thai although indi
vduals may do wrong, yet the sy stem ii
right. Now, it is against the system that
speak. The truth is. the individuals are
be tier than the system. The humanity
and in my charity, perhaps, | ought to say
the Christianity-of the master often tri
umphs TO great exteat over the system !!
every master exen2iitied the extreme capq
bility of the system for outrage and biabol
ism, an indignant wcr'd would rise and wipt
it out.
Suppose, now, this system, all reeking
with lust, incest, crime, and cruelty, Il
brought out and placed under the blaze o
Christianity. Whatsoever We would tina
men should do unto you, do ye even so unit
them; for this is the law and the prophets
This is the condensed summary of the whoi'
Bible. Who has the hardihood to say tha
the practice of slavehulding is consisten
with this Injunction! What. in The New
Testament, is the classification Of ave
holdersi 1t places them with murderers o
fathers and murderers of mothers.
Everywhere the Bible nculcates sPiri
of generous magnsnmity. aye that ar
strong ought TO bea- the inirmities of The
weak, and not to please yourselves" S'av
cry, know. claims this attribute, and talk
about its chivaIry and magnanimity. AnC
is it not magnanimous to cheat a poor
ignorant, degraded man, out OF the entir
earnings of his whole lfe-rob him of hi
wife and children, and then justify i. by say
ing that they are an inferior race! Admi
the fact of inferiorty-does il therefore fol
low that it is right to oppress them! Ever
page of the Bible flashes its snathema
against the oppression of the poor and help
less. The chivalry OF the Bible is TO hel
the weak. TO protect The defence!ess, an
rescue those in peril. This, indeed, is ,h
idea of the olden chivalry. Witness III
incident in the romance of Ivanhoe. Th
true knight, enteeble1 by sickness, ride
into the lists to meet powerful antagonis
and in whose defence. For one belong
ing to race as despised and degraded the
as that of the African now is This chi,
airy we recognise as having somethin
manly and noble in it. But, from the chi,
airy that robs mo.hers of their childre,
that applies the scourge 10 helpless womel
to secure their labor or make them surrer
der their chastity; which sells boy for
harlot and girl Cor pair of shoes; whic
hv sunerinr knnw lie doe. combination Ill