M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1861-04-18

command of God as follows: both
thy bondmen and bondmaids, which
thou shalt have, shall be OF the heath.
en- that are around about you; Of them
shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
Moreover Of the children of strangers
that do scjourn among you, of them
shall We buy; and oftheir families that
are with You, which they begat in
your lard and they shall be your pos.
session. And ye shall take them az
Ian,inhsritancs. Tor your children after
you; to inherit them for a possession.
They shall be your bondmen forever. "
This language is strong, clear, and
emphatic. 1t cannot be misunder.
stood. There is no circumlOcutiOn,
no evasion, or eguivocation. 1t comes
directly and sqnarely to the point;
there is no way Of avoiding its force,
except, indeed, by denying the Bible,
and substituting some higher law"
than that promulgated in the oracles
of God.
1t would be difficult in the whole
compass OF our language to find words
which can describe slavery with more
clearness and force. 1t ia no second
hand authority. 1t is introduced by
the strongexpresSlon, II am the Lord,
your God" and who shall dare gain.
say an order ushered in with so much
solemnity among the thnnderings of
Sinai--placed on identically tho same
footing as the Ten Commandments,
and still reposing on the same founda-
tion--neither having been repealed
or superseded in any part Of the Bible
the one more than the other, and if
the sacred decalogue lie still binding,
SO is the law Of slavery as above laid
down. .|
In the passages above quoted we
find slavery not only recognised and
tolerated, but absolutely required. L,
is not said ye may, but "ye shall' bny
"bond lnen and bond maids" which
were to be their possession forever;
and like other property, descend to
their children after them.
In the 2lst chapter Of Exodus, where
the punishment of various crimes is
provided for, such as smiting or ours.
ing father Or mother, and many others
which are punishe1 with death. it
goes on to say "and he that stcalsth q
man and selIeth him, or, il he be
found in his hand, he shall be surely
Put tU DEATH" Bnt that all doubt
might he dissipated as to whether this
was intended to apply to slaves, it is
said a few verses after in the same
chapter, (verse 20) "And if a man
smte his servant or his maid with q
rod and he die under his hand he shall
surely he punished; (verse 21.) not.
withstanding il he continue day or
two, he shall not be punished, for he
is his money"
Here we find the heaviest punish.
ment known to human laws, denounc
ed against man stealing, while even
the killing OF servant or slave, pro-
vided he did not die suddenly, goes
unpuuished. because ''he
is his money!" showing beyond doubt
or controversy, that although they
might not steal a man, yet they might
purchase "5ond men aud bondwomen
u the heathen round about" them at
pleasure, and use them, too, almost
at pleasure-for the punishment in.
hicted for abusing bond servants was
trihing, compared to that inflicted for
similar offences against other men,
because "bond servants" were their
owners money.
The mode of acquiring bond men
and bond women or slaves, (Which
terms may be set down as synonymous
Or convertible, for the mind OF man
conceive OF more absolute
slavery, than that of bond men and
bond women who were the property
of their possesso,s, forever; and de.
scended to their children as an inher.
tance-who might even be killed, IL
not too suddenly,without punishment,
for the reason that he is his money, y
was various and underwent several
changes in after time.
The first seems to have been by
purchase, either from a creditor, "a
rent or other authorized person-but,
however, the authority to sell was &C
luired, the sale seems to Nave been
ield good.
When Joseph was forcibly sold a
slave into Egypt NO blame was attach.
I'd TO the lshmaelites for purchasing
md agaip selling him to Potiphar, |
ior to Potiphar for retaining posses.
ion Of him; so far from this, indeed,
pCtiphar was especially aud greatly
blessed while the slave Joseph re.
NAMED under his roof.
Prisoners taken in their wars with
he heather, were frequently made the
laves of tl.eir conquerors, and some
!mrs, to express their complete de-