The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1861-03-23
LsgtcAl Gonse4uents.


hinsslf in the Quincy Herald in favor Of the
Divine ordination and Gospel approval OF
human bondage. His articles are repro
ducsion Of the recent sermons North and
South on behalf Of the same Divinely oonsti-
used order Of society, and eur readers will
be interested TO see few specimens Of the
logic OF that class OF professed preachers OF
righteousness and the grounds by which they
sjnstify the ways OF goodto man."
aThs fact or Eoah's seeming familiarity
with slavery. would indicate that the insti-
tuition existed before the food"
Well, so did murder, polygamy, and idola-
try. And il was on account OF the wicked
ness and violence which filled the earth that
God determined to destroy them altogether
in one common ruin. And although a son
of Adam killed his brother, there 10 DO evil
dence that any Of his sons reduced their
brothers to bondage, and yet that would
have been less unnatural and not more wick
ed than fratricide. The gratuitous assump-
ton. therefore, that slavery existed before
the food affords no presumption that God
approved it. He did not preserve II in the
Ark, and as it afterwards grew up as an out
growth Of the evil passions of mankind, God
is no more responsible for the institution
than be is for polygamy and murder.
aNow would aek, If slavery be morally
wrong, how is it that Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. mon with whom the Almighty con-
versei. the men to whom lie himself gave
the character OF ssperfect, upright, fearing
God and eschewing evil" (Job LIST, {, how
is it that these men could have been slave.
holders?"
Well, Abraham and Jacob were bigamistl
and polygamists, and they had children BY
their bond maids. II their example justihe'
the shareholders in the one practice, it seem'
equally potent in the other. Lot was another
OF the old worthless who held slaves, ant
whose ssrighseous soul was vexed" with th'
wickedness Of tho men Of Sodom; yet Lo
got druak and committed incest. Abraham
faith, Jacobs truet in God and Lots obedi
encs are commended as examples for oul
imitation, but the practice Of incest polygam.
and siavehoiding is not warranted to US be
cause of their evil examples in those re
spects.
ssThey were shareholders because the insti
tuition was recognized and sanctioned by th,
Almighty, even amid the thunderr and light
nings Of Sinai, where lie declared "Tho,
shalt not covet thy neighbours house; tho,
shalt not covct thy neighbours wife, nor hi
man slave, nor his female slave, nor his cat
tie, nor anything that il thy nei9hbor's."-
Thy neighbours what? Thy neighbours prop
erty, most assuredly."
"Thy neigbor's what 2" Thy neighbour
pDe, most assuredv.
And, as matter OF fact, wives in tina
country and age were just as much propert
az slaves were. Jacob worked in pursuanc
OF a solemn contract seven years for Rachel
was cheated as bad as he had cheated hi
own father and brother, and then, by way Q
compromise, worked seven years longer fo
her. At all events, the argument draw
from that commandment 10 just as potent
favor OK the idea that wives should be bel
Is property in the United States, as it is Thu
negroes should be so held.
This is sufficient for the present, and it
fair specimen of nii tie iogfcsi argumen
drawn from the Bible 10 favor Of slavery.
~ An unsneakabiy vile unmentonab