Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1861-04-18
Written for the HERALD
Slavery Discussion RevIewe

| nmns. with your consent l will say a
word on some positions assumed by one Oh
two Of your correspondents.
If / understand Mr.. A. Brunson he would
have the y. S. purchase the slaves Of the
South, and colonize them in Africa. Re
speeding this have only tosay Mr.. B.seems
to have been mapping for the last twenty
five years, and has just walked up. Ii he
wishes to be heard on that old exploded
dogma, he must wake the sleeping dead Of
the past generation, for have heard my
father say they used to have some such
talk.
All school-boys know that we should not
deal in stolen property, nor compel men to
live in Africa, and call them free while
bound with such an adamantine chain.
But the position Of impartiality demands
more consideration. He makes the bible
sanction the chattel system Of American sla-
very. suppose he is a scholar critic
in Hebrew and Greek, for he tells us what
they teach on the subject of slavery.
| once opened Greek Testament and
looked through it, and once saw He
brew Bible in the Seminary library. 1t
seems to me to make the bible in these Ian
guages sanction slavery Mr.. A. must pinch
it with his pro-slavery forceps squeals,
and then interpret the squeal.
As / read my bible there is not one
word, not one example, either in the Oil
or New Testament that sanctions the chat
tel principleof American slavery. Itisad-
mitted that God sanctioned a system of
seryitude among the Israelites,. but this
does not prove that he sanctioned slavery
as it exists among us.
No argument can he made to support
the chattel principle from the bible terms
used to express this servitude. The Jews
used two terms to denote a person who
performed labor for another. One was sa-
kir, hired servant, hireling; the other
was obed, servant, man-seryant, bond-ser-
want, bondman. The sakir, hired servant,
was not incorporated into the family Of his
master, but performed his designated work,
and passed along. The obed, bondman,
was Incorporated into the family OF the
master; became member OF the church,
and often married the daughter Of his mas
ter. lie sustained nearly the same relation
to the muster and his family that IN appren-
ice among US does 10 lis. lndenture
wo,li better express the relation,than bought
andso.d.
There is nothing ii the term obed, man
servant, to signify that the master bought
or indentured from third person, rs the
slave master now does. But the servant
indentured himself tor 4 pr;c5 agreed up III
| by himself and the purchaser, Lev XIV:
AZ. eff Il sojourner or STRANGER .sax rich
by thee and thy brother by hin WAX poor
and sell himself unto the stranger, dc.
aow the same word is used when ilen are
said to be sold that is usei here 10 the nlan
selling himself. There is not the least In
tiInauon in the bible that God sanctioned
the purchase of a man from third person,
or that it was Zone only in two instances.
Joseph's brethren sold him; it il recorded
as a INDUSTRIOUS iniquiiy. The other case is,
man had Il right to contract for his
daughter in marriage. When man IN
dentured or sold him elf to another, be on
" sold fora time, what value there wss in
bis arm. He Old not sell his arm.
We find further, chat it was directly con-
trary to the Jewish law for third person
to sell man. Ex XXI: Is, 1T enc man
stole and sold another he was put to death,
1t is evident that the servant sold, intentur-
ed Linlself, and received tie price himself
from the fact that SO many OF them had
property and were wealthy. Instead Of
these Hebrew terms teaching Gosl-sanc-
toned chaftel system they teach that no
such system ever existed among Gods peo-
pie.
But we are told BY Mr.. Impaftiality that
Abraham had 81 bond servants, and there
fors chattel il right These were 5ls (o5ed)
men who had as they became grown ul IN
his family indentufed their services to.
Abraham for price according to the law
As riyen above Hagar, Sarahs handnald,
was according to this law indenturetlto her
mistress. She ran away before her TING
Of service expired, and the Lord sent her
back to fulfil her contract. Was this not
right?
Again. ssIf thou buy a Hebrew servant
SIX years shall he serve, and in the seventh
year he shall SO ouf free. II bis master
gives him wife and She bare him children,
the wife and children shall be her masters
ana lie shall 60 out by himself" Elk xxi:
81. When the Israeliles bought q ser
want, That il when they contracted for labor,
the contract was for six years, Or till The
jubilee. If III the mean Inc, the master
gave the servant a wife, it y IS for price. for
fathers claimed a dover for heir daughters
given in marriage. In thi ease the bus
Bands time would expire first. He then
should 20 free. but the wits must remain
With her master till Her time Of service ex-
pires; also the children must remain with
The nother,-to separate them was crsel-
II that half-civilized people could nesdo.-
Where is the chatteI principle here.
Again, of the children Of the strangers
that do soionrn among You, Of them shall