The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-03-24

Servant" If one Of them don't mean slaoe,
the other docs but Mr.. F. seems now to be
disinclined to wed with either of the ladies' in
particular. He prefers having the free range
Of the whole family: embrace one to-day and
another tomorrow, as interest, caprice, or in
clination may prompt. A real Polygamist in
logic.
I now proceed TO state some other points
on which the discussion largely hinged, and
on which most respectfully ask for light
Mr.. Fowler quoted Leviticus, %: 46, to prove
the Divine sanction to perpetual bondage
here they are to bc perpetual possession to
the Hebrew and his children for erer Mr..
Taunton showed that:lhe w,rds, "ior cvcr''
were often used in Scripture to signify lin
tied period Of time, and not to multiply in
stances he quoted I'd Samuel, l %, in which
it clearly meant only the life time of man.
This was not denied, and Mr.. Fowler on read
ing Exodus, 2l: &, came..upon the words "for
ever" which words ihe said, "mean until the
year Of Jubilee" Now if SO, tha: could not
mean more than forty-two years, ana it
might mean no more than six years; for if
the servant had commenced his servitule in
the thirty seventh ysar Of jubilee, his scrv-
ice would terminate in the forty third year,
and if he then refused to 60 out free, rather
than leave his1 wife and children, he would
have but six years to serve until Jubilee
Thus, according to Mr.. Fowler's own admis.
sion, ''for ever" might mean only six years,
and in no case contemplated in that verse
could it exceed forty 1.-TWO years. The words
''for ever" being thus narrowed down in ma
ny inst .nces, by tire showing of both the dis
putants, to very brief periods of time, what
right have we to q oanstnction.in favor of
perpetual bondage from tho words 'for ever
as found in the forty-sixth verse referred to ?
and that too in the face of command in the
tenth verse of the same chapt II, to proclaim
liberty Throughout all the land, to all the in
habitants thereof, in the year of Jubilee" p
To this cited comman to era It liberty to all,
Mr.. Fowler made no reply; sorry for it, it
seems to need none. But Mr.. Fowler very
innocently, and l suppose unconsciously
brought sl'vcry to an end, himself In read
ing the forty-sixth verse, he said, 1.-THE words
''for ever' here mean, during the oontinu-
ance Of the Jewish ::iispensation." Very
good; the Jewish dispensation expired with
the coming Of Christ; then of course, accord
ing to his own showing, slavery expired with
the advent Of Christ. If this, his own view
Of the matter, be Correct, what becomes of
the Shareholders warrant as far::as it is drawn
from the Mosaic law? Well might the slave
holders say of such defenders, "save me from
my friends, and leave me to deal with my
enemies" ....
The wosdss.afor ever" and the argument
drawn from 4th and 10th Commandments,
bell we were the only grounds taken by Mr..
Fowler to prove the perpet uity of slavery (if
we except that drawn from Noah's curse),
and must confess that thought livery un-
satisfactory, more especiallyt a. She shrunk
from handling the 10th verse, which COM
manded liberty to all at .the year of Jubilee.
In order to- showshew impossible it was
that slavery should be perpetual among the
Jews, Mr.. Taunton brought up the 34th chap
ter of jeremiah, in which We are told that for
l,o other reason but because the Jews refus-
cd to let their servants..gosat the appointed
time Of release, but held them on; thus at
tempting to make their scrvitude perpetual,
the Lord brought up the armies of Babylon.
and literally fulfilling the prophetic. thre. n
left their cite. s.desolate and without an in
habitant, for the captain Of the guard carried
away, into captivity, the kins,!,he nob!es,
the craftsmen, in fact all the inhabitants, ex-
ccpt the poor of the land, whom they left to
be vinedressers and husban linen. Mr.. Taun-
ton remarked, ''if the stakeholder comes tn
the Bible for his privileges, let him take tie
penalties also let him take the whole dose,
pills, powders and drops, and it will SOON
purge our soil Of the moral disease of slave
ry." We should then no more behold our
dearly loved country made
"A land of carcas,cs an Slaves,
One dreary waste Of chains and graves"
Here in the case quoted was most mark
ed Divine condemnation of perpetual servi-
tude; he freed the oppressed, and sent the
shareholders and their families into captivity;
and As we cannot spnpase that all the Jews
were Shareholders, we might be puzzled to
account for the fact that all were carried in
to captivity, unless we suppose that those
frecm,n who held no slaves lent their moral
and political aid to the iniquity; in that case
the alder and abettor of tbs wrong was just.
ly involved in the common and awful calam-
ity with the actual perpctrator. l do not say
that such is the position of those who at the
present time uphold slavery yet hold no
slaves, but I ask, rh' kno@si The Jews
were seventy years in CALLING captivity, and
no Shareholder, nor tho abet:or Of the slsyc:
holder ever returned to the land from which
they were SO justly, so isnominiously hurled.
To this point Mr.. Fowler made no reply; il
was kind Of porcupine. It was furthe,
a.