The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1860-02-18
Slavery IN North Carolina Thirty
Years Ago.

Ihlrty years ago tnefe was FREE SPEECH
in North Carolina; thirty years ago slavery
did not WELD the political power of the ma
ton, and had not perverted its moral sense.
In the Southern States, especially, where
the evil was directly fels, there were brave
men-christian patriots and philanthropists,
who labored increasingly for its overthrow.
Up to the year 1888. Southern ministers of
the Gospel and Southern politicians admit
ted in theory the essential injustice of Slave
~ and its contrariety to both natural and
revealed religion. AS late as 1880 there
was printed an address to the People of
North Carolina, by the Board of Managers
of the Manumission Society.of North Car
DINA. on the Evils of Slavery" at Greensbor-
ough, the very county town where the Rev.
Daniel Worth is now incarcerated for preach
ing the sentiments of that Address in Gull
ford county. In this Address the writer's,
calling themselves .'the friends of Liberty
and Equality and printing their names.
maintained these five propositions:
"PRoPosrTIoN I. Our Slave System is radical
ly evil.
II. 1t is founded. in injustice and cruelty
III. 1t is fruitful source of pride, idleness,
and tyranny.
". 1t increases depravity in the human heart,
while it inflames and nourishes numerous train
of dark and brutal passions and lusts disgrace
full to human nature, and destructive of the gen.
eral welfare.
V. 1t is contrary to the plain and simple max
inns of the Christian Religion, or religion of
Christ"
On page 81 of their Address they say:
I've believe that, as all men are created equally
and III, alienably entitled to liberty the child of
slave il = much entitled to his freedom at prop
er age as tn e child of free person, and as such
ought to have It. We hold that laws which de-
termine the contrary are eapitally unjust, and
such as in truth no hu man Legislature has just
right to enact, since sucis laws must be opposed
to the will of the Almighty Governor OF the U MI
verse, and his will must be supreme ana hence
we believe that this will of the Supreme Being
manumission should be regulated. On this sub:
feet we would say with Plato, that "Ne mortal
can make laws to purpose, unless made In con
formity with the divine will-that is, no human
authority give sanctity justice to a law
of nature or any other principle in the will of the
Almighty Ruler of the World. Such laws must
therefore be curse instead of blessing to those
by and for whom they have been enacted. Mel
Their are they sanctified by the principle of
sity, since this great truth still remains, ''That
which is morally wrong, cannot be politically
right"
On page "a, after an examination of the
lovv and sha Gnspal in aAfaranaa- tn Slavary
they add:
"Surely no serious and sober thinking Christian
will, with those Scriptures, and thousand 9TH
ers of similar import before his eyes. attempt
again to reconcile Slavery with Christianity. No,
brethren if you find your hearts to be evil, by
funusty and numerically enslaying your fellow
creatures !; by living in patnpered ease and aff1u
ence on the labors, toll and sweat OF, may we not
say, the flesh and blood of the poor African,
do not in suit the common sense of mankind, and
put that religion which you profess to love to the
blush by prostituting the mild and gentle doc
trines of the Gospel to the support of principle
and practice which shock every native idea which
mankind have of natural and universal justice ~
Thirty years has wrought wonderful
change in the sentiment of North Carolina
as well as the whole South--according
TO whom, at the present day, slavery is the
very foundation on which the Union rests,
and an institution supported and upheld by
Divine sanction. If this be so, we say let's
have more of it-let it be universal. If ii
is an institution sanctioned by God himself,
what matter that it lays waste and makes
barren as consuming S &:e whatever Of
earth il touches, that it sanctions and en-
courages adultery, and all the brutal. gross
passions of mankind no matter for these
things. It is Divine, and ought to be ex-
tended even though it should curse the race
from the face of the earth.