The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-09-07
Fu. The AississiRpFGn.
The Morality Of Slavery.
NUMBER ".
THE oRIsIS Aap Authority or civil GOV
MRNaENT.


Mn. EpIaoe In the present number pur-
pose to show that the institution OF slavery
occupies the same relation III principle, to
moral government or the government OF dod'
that all civiIgovernments do.
am f,Ss aware that even if succeed III
proving by gument that slavery has precise
~ the same ground Of justification that may
he properly urged in defense of civil govern
ment anywhere, it docs not, therefore, by any
means necessarily follow that slavery is NOR
ally ,ightl for it is not obviously true that
civil govelNlent itself is 50. Who is to as
sumo the 5gh perogatve OF deciding eiVil
government 20 be morally right, l. e., to DC
ooincident I 4 Divine government when it is
manifest thas St arises in human wisdom, and
is sustained and interpreted by human au-
thority Is not infallble knowledge imperi-
ously required for that Office
But as the argument is with Abolitlonists,
or those Who live under the authority of civil
government which they upheld and sanction,
they should be satisfied with any argument
that place; slavery on precisely the very same
basis of ddense occupied BY the civil govern
ment which they sanction and with which,
in the form Of conscience, they are content
and satisfied.
The Whole question therefore, turns upon
the ground in morals on which civil govern
ment repoes.
beg M. reader and you, especially Mr..
Editor, than fTay not be misunderstood, but,
srs it is impossible for me to defend civil gov
eminent onany such ground as that it is NOR
ally right. maintain the contrary. | beg
to be patiently heard What is implied by
saying tha ivilgovernment is morally right?
Certainly that it is conformed to the govern
ment Of God Who maintains such confor-
nifty ? 10 man, in his senses, as | conceive
As hive already said, conformity with the
Divine government, upon the part of human
Legislators demands an unerring wisdom, and
is, therefore, as difficult task as conformity
in the Christian church with the faith and
practice scripturally required of it. How diff
| ficult of attainment the latter is, the whole
world is a witness, in the multitude of Prot
estant churches, contesting this very question
of conformity.
| think it is plain that conformity in either
case requires knowledge above that of the
minds of men. There is very great differ
ence, be it noticed between conformity and
approximation to it
[ readily admit that there are points of sim
| ilarity between the two.
| But hold that it is not the office of civil
| government to copy the Divine-to teach it
to inculcste it. This duty, especially, lies
elsewhere. The office of civil government is
to consult the public welfare in material or
temporal point of view. 1t must, therefore,
limit its range Of operation to the mere issues
of time.
| | am aware that civil government cannot
consult the public welfare in time and in
secular affairs, without using and employing
many of the rules of the moral or Divine
government but this is merely occasional OF
incidental
But 90 to the extent Of maintaining that
though there is an approximation to conformi-
ty, that nevertheless the excellence Of civil
government grows out of its opposition to
moral rule Is this seemingly heterodox
proposition really true ? Let us make the
enquiry.
In the first place, the government Of God
is voluntary one, and this constitutes its
chief excellence, foI by it free agency is I'M
piled, which is the most distinguished preroga-
tive bestowed by the Creator on the creature
The Divine or moral government being as
say, a voluntary one, therefore, contains nc
sanctions in pain Of body or in deprivations Of
animal pleasure; Its SANCTIONS on the cen
trary, or il yJu please-in opposition are
wholly moral or spiritual-those of civil gav-
eminent being wholly temporal and bodily.
Gods, or the Divine government has no tribu-
| nal Of final or ultimate tribunal Of resort to
| decide disputes or differences Of interpreta-
ton, having for its end and object to preserve
the peaee-thus leaving the door open in
moral government for the right of private
judgment But what civil government in its
judicial department pays any respect to pri-
vate judgment when it happens to dissent
from the propriety Of a statute law passed by
the legally constituted authority None
Nor should they. ,.a.a
No, sir, the truth is the very moment civil
conforms to the Divine rule, in relation to
the same course of action, it ceases to be hui
man or civil, and is, ipso facto, merged or
swallowed up in the Divine government
This follows from the fact that rules of social
conduct originating in Divine authority are
the original or the prior; and therefore, the
fixed, and the permanent The road, there
fore, that civil government must pursue in
order to cease to prevail in the social circle, is
towards conformity to Divine government
Hence, the more ignorant nation Is of
moral obligation. the greater the need Of civil
rule, and the more informed tits and the more
willing to be obedient to it, the less the need
of human government, for civil rule then has
less to do. In other words, civil government
has more to do in order to promote the public
welfare in nation low down in the scale of
moral culture than in one voluntarily obedient
to moral Obligation, or advanced in the knowl-
edge and practice of its rules
Hence, the more intelligent and the more
virtuous a nation is, the freer may and will be
its civil rule, and uice uersa.
What is the object of civil government p
1t is to advance the general welare-to pro-
mote the good of the government But are
we to admit that the moral government of
God is insufficient to effectuate the general
welfare Certainly We are in time, and why :?
Because it is voluntary one and has only
moral sanctions.
Moral sanctions not being sufficient to pro-
mote the ends Of the public peace and general
welfare, q necessity arises for sanctions in pain
of body and deprivations of animal or bodily
Qualifications This is the specific necessity
for civil as distinguished from moral
rule, and II Is clearly abnormal.
Hence, | defend civil government on the
ground of its necessity to advance the well
fare of all human social intercourse neces-
sity growing not out of any inherent detec-
tiveness OF moral or Divine government but
because that government being voluntary
being ATTENDED with moral sanctions alone
people III social intercourse will not obey it.
In the first place, they are frequently in igno-
rance as to the moral rule to which they
should submit, and more frequently even,
when they know it, they prefer to sdisobey it.
| to the destruction of social peace and harmony,
| This being The state of society, specific ne
cessity arises for civil or human sanctions
pains of body and penalties OF estate This
necessity may also be called the doctrine OF
self-protection. Society has the right of self
protection, and resorts to pains and penalties,
not that these sanctions are intrinsically right,
but that they are the best alternatiye-the
choice of the lesser evil--pains and penalties
being lesser evil, to be chosen by ciyilgoyern-
meut than the total obstruction Of social inter-