The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1860-06-29
WHOLE NO., 546.

slavery, and TO that end quotes from the
law the following passages:
''44. Both thy bondmen, and tby bond.
maids. which thou shalt have, shall be Of
the heather that are round about YOU; OF
them shall ye buy bondmen and bond
maids.
"45. Moreover, Of the children of the
strangers that Go sojourn among you, ef
hem ye shall buy, and uf their families
that are with you, which they begat in
your land; and they ahall be your pos.ss.
sion.
"46. And ye shall take them as an in
heritance for your children after you, TO
10 inherit them for possession, they shall
be your bondmen forever, but over your
brethren the children Of Israel, ye shall
not rule one over another with rigor."--
Levitivus, chap. 25.
"20. And il man smite his servant.
or his maid, with rod, and he die under
his hand. he shall be surely punished.
"2l. Notwithstanding, il be continue
day or two, he shall not be punished:
Tor I've is his money."-Exodus, chap. sl.
On those texts we may justly remark
that neither Of them shows :hat, even un-
der the Old Testament dispensation, eer-
wants bought Of the heather were the
property OF the lsraeli:es in the sense tha,
negro slaves are held as proberty 10 the
southern States. The expression "he is
his money" is not to be taken literally; for
a slave, either Christian or heather, is III.
orally neither specie nor bank6iHs. The
pharase is hgura,iye, and is equivalent,
and nothing more, to the assertion that
the master had an interest in his servant;
inconsistent, in the absence OF contrary
proof. with the presumption that the kill.
ing was with malice. The idea Of one
having an interest in servant as q ser.
want is as true in the case Of the hired
servant as in that Of the slave.
lfs whiio or black man makes fair bar.
gain to serve another, whether that o:hcr
be white or black, be is now under Law.
bound to fulfiil his contract; and to tho ex-
tent to which tho bargain is profitable to
the master, the servant "is his money" or
property, and If the contract of service and
the municipal law allow IL, 10 as transferable
as gold coin or bank bills and yet such o
servant is by no means a slave. in the sense
of the slave code of our Southern States.
Such oil arrangement, freely made on both
sides, reason. common sense, and Scripture,
all recognize to be just, whether the con.
tract be for tho Lifetime of the parties or Q
term of years. That this is the substance
Of what is to be drawn from those texts, will
DO worry plain, when we compare Scripture
with Scripture" az the Scriptures them
selves require, and reason snd common
sense would dictate for the Bible must be
its own interpreter. unless we leave il to be
tortured and mangled az self interest, pref.
udice, or malice may dictate. 1t must be
taken as authority for the whole or for none.
and passages which cannot be rcconcied in
this way to the satisfaction Of earnest and
candid minds, must be left ss destructive
contradictions. proving nothing for eithor
side OF any controversy. Thus the moral
teachings Of tho Old Testament and of the
New. must be consistent with themselves
and with each other, or they are both worth.
less as authorities, either for or against sla.
very. Things permitted, however, under Q
local, and, as il were, an Introductory dis.
pensation, ought not TO be cited as authori.
~ against The teachings OF the perfect aud
FINAL dispcnsatinn. But reasonable and just
as it is to demand this position to be con.
coded still do not ask even this. All re-
quire ia, that the New Testament shall be
conceded to bo the finishing and perfection
Of :he Old. and thar where these differ, IL
they Go differ. the New Testament shall be
held to be the superior.
The first great inquiry in this discussion
is, by what authority, according to the
Scriptures Of the Old and New Testsments.
or by the Now Testament alone, is one man
: Of mature years TO be subjugated TO another
| nd halA in, al a.
. what right, derived from the same authori.
ties. is an infant to be trained up and held
/ in the same conditions Now, the condition
of slavery is the complete subjugatiop BY
force. or by force and fraud combined, OF
i one human being to the sole use of anothe,
2 in the Status or condition OF that other'i
property. Il implies, on the one side ab.
4 solute uncontrolled power, and on the
othor. unconditional submission. But do
= the Scriptures authorize one man to exer.
;. else. or require another man to submit to
this uncontrolled dominion Now, the aei
of making or holding blaves must have 70,
it's moral sanction the accompaniment oi
+ such motives rs are declared by the Scrip.
= : fures to. be of universal moral obligation
What man, woman, or child, untsinted with
crime. Is it. whom We have the Divine sano
tion to snatch from a state of freedom and
I doom to life of unconditional bondagei :
Lot us now take the most favorable cas-,
:. for tie slaveholdcr--say that of our mortA
;, enomy, ,akon in the very act of . malicioul
attempt rpon our property, our liberty. ol
" our life oven. Surely, if We have Divine
!, authority to enslsve our fellow.creatures ID
d any case. this would be that case. But no
: not for a moment, not even though We may
r have been taught to do so out OF tho Old
). Testament even by Moses himself; and not
withstsnding that vengeance in such cas0
may seem so reasonable and go agreeable
9 to human nature.
. "43. Ye havo heard IL hath been said
i Thou shalt love thy neighbor. and hate
3 thine enemy:
1 "44 But say unto you. Love your enc
e mics, bless them that curse you, do good to
/ them that hate you, and pray for them which
i despitefully usO YOU, and persocute you.
--.MLtthetp chap. D..
How different mental exercise 10 this, 10
i "love. bless. and pray for our" enemies
: from that of hunting them like wolves and
i panthers. sto~ing them under slave decks
: and Transporting them thousands Of miles
over the iretful ocean, half suffocsted IL
. hlth, to tho doom Of censeless toll. for those
who render them only suficisDoy Of food
and clothing 70 keep them ib working order
al