The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-01-05

your fathers esteemed notn when I consider all this
mepts for moral instruction, from Moses and the Pro
phets than from the eloquent preacher OF Brooklyn but
as that reverend gentleman takes lead among those VINO
loudly aud most vehemently denounce slavenodins
as sin, wished to convince myself whether ne nta
any Scripture warranty for SO doing, and whether
for moral instruction advanced by the New
Testament. l have accordingly examined the various
reverend gentleman and his eompee,s no amthority
whatever for his and their bold determinations The New
Testament nowhere, directly or lndrecty, condemns
practice of all Christian nations during many centures
Receiving slavery Of tho conditions Of society,
rho New Testament nowhere nterferes with or contra
diets the slave oil Noses preserves letter
written by Of the most eminent Christian teachers
a slaveowner sending back TO him his runaway
slave. And when next refer 10 tho history and are
qurements OF our own sacred Scriptures, we find that
on the most solemn occasion therein recorded when God
gave tho Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai
There where His finger scorched the tablet shone;
There where His shadow on His people shone
HIS glory shr GUIDED in it's garb Of fire,
Himself no eye might see and not expire.
Even that solemn and most holy occasion slave
a sS not sssIsa and aDsn
it is Commanded that the sabbath of the lord
is to bring rest to- NgasdecAa ,s anathect.-"thy
male slave end thy female slayeo (Exod. xx., 10;
lieut.. ", l4) But the property in slaves is placed
under the same protection as any other species Of
lawful property, when il is said 'thou shalt not covet
thy neighbours house, his field, or his male slave
his female slave or his OK or his ass aueh that be
lorgeth thy neighbor'' Qb. Xxx, II; v, 2i) That
slave and the female slave here spoken
designate tho Hebrew bondman but the heather slave
shall presently SHOW you, That the Ten Command
highest authority is acknowledged by Christians well
as by Jews would therefore ask the reverend gen
tleman Of Brooklyn and his Compensation dare you
in the face of the sanction and protection afforded 20
slave property in Tho Ten COMMUNICATION dare you
that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job-tbe men with whom
the Almighty communed, with whose names He empha-
tcaly connects His own most holy name, and 10 whom
He voucl saed to give the character u perfect upright
fearing God and eschewing evil lob l., s)that all
these were Shareholders does it not strike You
that you guilty Of something very little short Of
blasphcmy2 And if you answer me, 0h, in their time
saveholdrg was lawful but now i has become SIM !,
in my turn ask YOU when and by what authority you
draw the liner Tell the precise time when savehoh
ing ceased to be permitted and became sinful When We
remember the mischief which this nventing of a new
not known to the Bible is causinghow IL has eyaspe
rated the feelings Of The South and alarmed the con-
science Of the North to degree that men who should
be brothers on the point d imbrsng their hands In
each others blood-are not entitled to ask the
rend preacher OF Brooklyn 'What right have you to in
suit and exasperate thousands Of God fearing law abd
ipg citizens whose moral worth and patriotism, whose
purity of conscience and of lfe fully equal to your
OWN What right have you to place yonder gray headed
phlanthropst tTouro) on level with murderer,
yonder yirtuous mother Of o family on line with
adultercss yonder honorable and honest man in
rank with hef?-and all this solely because they
cse right which your fathers and progeni-
tors during many generations held and exer-
csed without reproach or compunetion You
race according to the requirements Of the New
Testament; but tell where and by whom IT is said,
snncr, shall BIO danger of the council but whosoeyer
shall say Thou fool shall be in danger of the Judment
My friends find, and am sorry TO find that am deli
verrg slavery discourse am no friend TO slavery
in the abstract and still less friendly TO the practical
working Of slavery But stand here as teacher In Is
rae place before YOU my feelings and OPT
MONS but TO PROFOUND to the Word Of God the Bible
must state you the truth and nothing but the truth,
however unpalatahe or unpopular that truth may be-
III 1t remains for me now to examine what was the
condition Of the slave in Biblical times and among the
Hebrews. And here must at once distinguish be-
tween the Hebrew bondman and the heather slave The
former could only be reduced to bondage from
two II no had committed theft and
had not wherewithal TO make fun restitution
he was sold for his theft Ixodi xx, lila! .,
life except by begging he had permission to "se' or
bind himself in servtnde. Uevt XIV, 49, Ct. sig) But
character ssx years shall he serve and in the seventh
he shall 90 out free for nothing" Hxod. XXI, 81 And
could not under any be held TO servtude
longer than the jubilee then next coming At that period
the estate which had originally belonged TO his father or
remoer ancestor reveIted to his possession that he
Ks his privilege of Hebrew citizen was thus oily sGss
pended the law, in permitting him TO be sold,
tempated his restoration to his full rights IL took
that during his servudc his mind should not be crushed
to the ahcct and cTrging condition of slaveYe shall
not rule another with rgor IL the provision
protection against any abuse of power the part Of his
employer and tradition strictly interpreted the letter
OF the law in his favor that II was common saying of
Biblical times and homes, which Marnonidcs has
preserved TO us, that ''he who buys He
brew bondmon gets himself master' Though
in sery,ude, this Hebrew was In no wise exempt
from his religious duties Therefore II is not for him
Ills that the Ten Commandments spulate for the
sabbath the Lord for his employer could compel
him TO work on that day. and If he did work of his own
accord he became guilty Of death like other Sabbath
breaker. Neither Goes the prohibition, " thou shalt not
was not hc properly If his Employer n fact between
the Hebrew bondman and the southern there
he Hebrews whose general condition was analogous to
that Of his Southern fellow sufferer That was the heather
rornd sbout Tho lama 81 israel or from the heather
strangers that sojourned in the and They should be
possession 70 be be0usathed as an inheritance to the
44-46) 0vor these heather slaves the owners
property was absolute; he could put them 70
hard labor to the utmost extent Of their physical
strength he could nnict them any degree
OF chasso ment short OF injury TO life and limb II his
heather slave ran away strayed from home every Ia
raeiio bound bring send him back he would
have 10 do any other portion Of his neighbours property
that had been lost or strayed (Deut. xii, 81 Now
you may, perhaps, ask how reconcile this
mcni with the text OF Scripture frequently quoted
against the Fugitive Slave law, "rhou shalt surrender
ter unto thee" (,cut xiii 49, answer you that
cordng to all egts this text applies TO heather slave
though that master BIO an Hebrew residing Of
the land OF Israel Such slave-but such slave only
s TO lind permanent asylum in any part of the country
he may choose his Interpretation fully borne out BY
the words OF the precept the pronoun thou Is hero
used in the same se,.sc ne in the Ten Commandments
There dcsgnacs every soul in Israel; since every udi
yidua has in his power and s in duty bound TO obey
the commandment But here where the carrying out OF
the commandment is beyond the power Of any indi-
sidua, and therefore the pronoun chou used in
this prcccpt dcsignates tho whole people OF israel
''Who shall escape unto thee likewise meaning
the whole people, and portion Of the people, op
position to another part of the people And the expires
SION remains the same throughout the procept, with
thee He shall dwell even among you in the Ikce lie
shall choose in Of thy gates, where IL liketh him
BEST plainly shows that tho whole OF tho land
open him. and the whole Of the people were 70 protect
the fugitive, which could not have been carried II
had applied 10 the slave who escaped from tribe
the territory of another Had the precept been expounded
in any other than ia strictly literal Il would
have caused great confusion since IL would have multi
fed two other prcccpts Of Gods awthat which directs
that slaves like lands and houses, 10 he dsinherit
cd forever and that which commands property, lost
straycd TO be restored TO the Any other inter
probation would, moreover have caused heartburning
and strife between the tribes for were az ena ous
Of their rights and property in those days they
are now. But no second opinion en-.
tertaned. Tho slave who away from
D to Bcrsbeba had 10 be given up, cven
the runaway from South Carolina has TO be given up
lpl tlor