The register. (Monroe, La.) 185?-1861, 1860-05-17
Facts for Fanatical MethOdists,
AND OTHER BIGOTED RELIGIOUS DE.
NOMINATIONS,

| AND OTHER BIGO7ED RELIGIOUS DE.
NOMINA TONS.
| Our exchanges have brought full report of
the discussion upon the Slavery question by the
Methodist Episcopal church north. The speech
which appears to have had the most effect, was
delivered by the Rev. Mt. Kettell, an abstrac,
Of which we give below
"W Was slavery sin to such an extent that
man should be communicated for holding
slaves? Now II it was sin TO hold slaves.
there was no alternative they must cut it of,
root and branch. Yet brethren who said It was
sin, objected to the instant abolition ofslavery.
Now, the whole question was, "Is slavery n
sin or not?" There was great deal of pious
rhetoric aud sentimentalsm spent on this theme.
Slavery was called sinful, because evils grew
ont oft. He denied 1t was necessarily sin.
There were many evils growing out of the mar
riage relation in the present imperfect state of
society, but marriage was not sinful per Sc.
The Bishop reminded the brother that he was
not speaking to the question.
Many voices-"Let him 60 on, We like to
hear him.
Mr.. Ketell continued The Sabbath. also
was made the occasion of riot aud dehauchcry
but who would dare to say the Sabbath was
sinful institution The old ailage that the world
owed every man living, was nonsense every
man owed the world his labor, and If race
would not work, men were right to exact labor
by force. This principle was understood md
carried but at the North, in our vagrant and
workhouse systems. The question with us was
not whcter we could adopt such n system, but
whether its adoption was sin worthy of ex
communication. All the rhetoric expended a.
bout people owning the bodies aud souls of sla-
yes is nonsense. The Southcrncrs only owned
the right to make their slaves work, and to con-
vey them from one place to another to Nuke
them do so. At Athens and Rome, the bodies
and souls were owned, but in our day, slaves
were treated with kindness, and cruelty to them
was punished severely. Slavery, as it now cx-
listed, was not sin. The question was, whether
they should let loose 100000 of paupcrs upon
the world. lie depicted the natural degradu-
tion of the negro race, and insisted that they
were best off as at present. The negro in the
West Indies was incapable of taking care of
himself Emancipation had blightcd one half
of the finest Of the Antilles This was proved
incontcstably. Toussaint l'Ouvcture disccrncd
the evils of freedom to the blacks, and cs,ab-
lishcl the famous Rural Code" with the in-
tent to finally cnslavc all his race. Go where
you would in our own North, and the negroes
were IN idle set. If slavery had degraded the
negro, why didn't freedom elevate him? Tie
affirmed most emphatically that, under Gods
providence, slavery in America had been the
only thing which had elevated the negro race
and he wns bold man who denied It. In NOR
ais, health and civilization, the slaves were faI
above the free negroes. Many statistics were
given to show this. Mr. Wesley was often quoted
as having said that American slavery was
the vilest system under the SUM-" Mr. Wesley
must have been blinded by prejudice, or he
would never have made such remark. Folks
said We were " cottonzcd." 1t was a blessed
thing for us that we were. The wealth flow.
ing to us from the Southern cotton crop alone
kept alive our institutions and so called eleya
ton.
The speaker here went on 10 contrast thu
products of the South and of the North, finding
an enormous ratio in favor of the latter, ant
ending with the conclusion that we were thu
ones who were actually deriving the most ben
eft from the institution of slavery. Didn't hi
brethren love coffee and sugar, and, he was sor
ry to say, tobacco? Did they ever think ofabol
ishing slavery by giving up slave products? 1
was something very curious to sec q brother
get up and make an anti slavery speech, with
} cotton shirt on his back, and tobacco in hi
mouth. [Great laughter.l If slavery was n rcli,
Of barbarism; it was because the negroes wer
barba,ians; all this talk about their being c
: quail with us, he didn't believe word of. 'Twa
) all nonsense and sophistry. Attempts to altc
, Southern institutions by such talk made hin
, think of the European rival villages, "Grca
, Barre" and Little Barre" The people in tn
latter place built a lofty stcepc with wonder
fnl clock in it, looking toward the rival village
from which the semblnnce of a human counter
ance loomcd forth and made faces at Grca
Barre, whenever the clock struck the hour q
the day. This was what we were engaged il
doing-making faces at the South, and Ii
t didn't think ii was very digniicd, or that
would result in much in the end. [Great mel
rimcnt and confusion"
They Have the Advantage.