Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1861-03-21

or in6rm, suffer deduction Of wages when
time is lost, and is liable to be thrown out
of service because of fluctuation and depres-
sion of business. From all these our slaves
are totally exempt Is it not evident then,
in view of these facts, that this objection is
not only groundess but absolutely false p
Our slaves being shown to be the best paid
of all laborers iu menial service in the
world.
". His alleged also that slarery inter-
teres with and euen destroys the marriage
relation among slaves. This would be
news to the thousands of happy slaves that
are living with their wives and children a
round them, and who have never dreamed
that slaves could not marry and live in fam
lilies. The objectors are bound to show
how slavery destroys or essentially inter-
feres with the marriage union, and that the
same things, as difficulties, would not be
incident to the negro everywhere. We ad-
NIT that irregularities and abuses Of mar
riage exist among slaves. The sameis true
of all classes of society. The State has
not done all in its power to protect the
slaves in this respect, but this is only say
ing that the slave laws admit improvement,
as all others made by men.
As an offset to the objection we submit
the following facts: .
l. 1t should be remembered that under
the Hebrew laws, the marriage of other
slaves than those of Hebrew ori gin, was
not legally recognized. The heather slave
was privileged to form the conjugal relation
and live in what is known among the Ro-
mans as Contubernium But in certain
cases there was provision made for the sep.
aration of husbands and wives. Vide Ex.
81 90; I'll.
If such fact did not destroy the iusti,
tuition of marriage among slaves of Hebrew,
it need not, and does not do it in our slave,
ry. 2 The essence Of marriage does not
consist in the employment of certain cere-
monies, nor in the recognition of the mar.
riage by civil law. Whilst we regard it as
eminently proper that both Church and
State require formal marriage, and we
would extend this to slaves, yet it is GER.
tain that the Bible does not make this Ger,
emouy absolutely necessary. In the sight
of God there have been real marriages
where there was only the private and mu'
tual consent of both parties and subsequent
recognition of one another in that relation.
Such has been the case with ten thousands
of slaves whose marriage was thus as valid
in the sight of God as that of their owners.
The absence of State and legal recogni-
tion of slave marriage does not really des'
troy the institution in any case, and it will
not be treated as null and void or even un.
important, where public opinion is sound
and where the Church is true to her duty.
8. The fact is, there are as many slaves
living in this relation to one another, as a.
rong any other class of the laboring poor.
To illustrate; upon the plantation on which
the writer resides, there are twelve couples
who are recognized and treated as married.
Eight of them dwell as husbands and wives
in their own cabins on the same plantation.
One venerable couple have been married
seventy years The other four have each a
companion upon neighboring plantations.
This is not an extraordinary case or an un-
usual proportion of meuial servants, among
the same number. This might be expected ;
because slaves are not deferred from mar
rying by fear of poverty upon families; they
know this is provided against. Separations
between parties on same and adjoining plan
tations are rare, more so than in free States
where divorce laws exist among whites for
masters interfere to adjust difficulties, aud
compose strifes if they arise between hus.
bands and wives As to violent separations
produced by sale Of one party, these IN
some cases are unavoidable under the dis.
pensation of Providence, but even now
these are not frequent, and will diminish as
the slave laws of States are improved and
as public opinion is controlled by religion.
The idea is fast gaining the ascendancy that
the union of slaves, as husbands and wives,
should be respected, and we hope soon to
see the time when, except under imperious
necessity, masters will not for any consider
alton separate a negro from his wife. 4.
In addition to all this it should be remem-
bered that slaves belong to barbarous race
who in their natural state hare no regard
for marriage ties. This fact complicates
the difficulties of preserving the institution
of marriage among them, and it also shows
that some of the defects in reference to it,
charged upon slavery, are due to the char
acter and habits of the negro race. If,
however, the slave States could be left to
manage their own institution, without ma,
licious foreign interference, they could im.
prove slavery in all it's interests and rela-
tions. And would do it.
V. Still another objection IS that slacery
intcrteres with the moral and religions du-
ties Of the slares.
Against this we reply: that it is incum-
bentupou those who urge the objection, to
show that slavery both presents barrier to
possession of a spirit of obedience to God,
I. G. spirit of holiness, and furnishes no
opportunity for the discharge of the duties
of holiness Such an attempt would meet
bold contradiction at every step. All who
are familiar with the workings of slavery,
know that slaves are everywhere found, who
do love and serve God. In most communi.
ties the proportion of slaves who are pious,
and exhibit commendable consistency, is
as great as the masters and freemen, and