Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-12-30


To The Hon. John Forsyth. Secretary Of State,
United Stairs.
olk: Zoe Divine sanction Cor tSs existence Of
slavery and Tor The various titles by which prop
erty IN slaves may he acquired. being sbcwn, az
would rest upon those Who deny is religious le-
gAlity 10 day to prove distinctly that this sanction
had beel Withdrawn. Nor would il answer their
purpose plead that the political and civil cod
Of Judea vas not TO be obligatory upon Christians.
because 10 not assert their oblig alton upon Us
but we declare that they Contained sanction
Incompatible With the natural Iaw, or the princi-
plies OF sound morality: aud they did contain the
sanction OF slavery, anu OF the titles OF acoui-
sit0n, which, re say. cannot therefore be i'm
moral. unless they be incompatible with laws
subsequently, enacted. This enactment Is 10 be
proved by those who oppose o. and must be,
at least. plain what We have exhibited.
The view which i have taken was confined 70
Judea-because it was only there could procure
distinct and direct evidence of the Divine sane
ton. Nor was this privilege ol that people. be.
cause We hnd t in existence previous 10 the for.
nation of the Hebrew nation. Aoitnelec the
contemporary OF their great progent0r, gave slaves
10 Abraham; and as be could not convey better
title than existed in himself. IL he did not law
fully own the slaves, Abraham could not lawfully
accept them Bathuei was not Hebrew, and he
had slaves, some of whom accompanied his
daughter Rebecca. Laban was not a Hebrew,
nor was job IL was not then privilege granted
u the Hebrew people, 10 Abraham and his
progeny. but It WAS common right. and subject
10 the legislative regulation OF nations.
It's existence was very extensive, il not univer
sal-and the regulations concerning it varied ia
the several States AMI nations he exhibition
OF their difference would be an idle and useless
display of references to the various codes and
customs OF the Gentle world The number of
slaves are very great. la Attica, at one period,
when the citizens did not amour; to thirty thou
SAND, the slaves were four hundred thousand this
disparity IN numbers was hot, however, a fair
| representation oil the world. nor even OF Greece
itself The generally ackuow lodged titles, Oy
the Law OF nations. were purchase BIRTH legal
| conviction, or capture in just war.
Ii will be well 70 observe in TINS place, and
the principle viii be of e-sentiel Importance in
examining tue apostolic letters of the Holy See,
that waged Tor that mere pretext OF making
siaves-or under other pretexts, but for that pur-
| poSe-was always considered To be as notorious
| ly piratcal would be incursions made for the
purpose OF obtaining any more booty; nay. IN
this case II Was worse than any other kind OF rob
berry. The stealing of freemen and selling them
into slavery, or invading people for the purpose
OF reducing them To slavery, were considered
great crimes; the individuals who we're :hus
guilty, were, IN almost every place, liable To cap.
ltal punishment; and If a nation committed the
crime, IL was considered to have lost its rank of
| civilization The capture should have been
maize in properly waged, and carried on &C
cording to the usageof cviIze nations: and in
most cases the captive could, ii he had property.
redeem himself, or be ransomed by his friends
and thus saved from slavery.
ANY person cOnversant with the history of the
Gentle nations previous to the Christian epoch
will Immediately perceive the striking contrast
between the comparatively happy situation OF the
slaves oi the Hebrews, aud the oppression under
winch those OF the most polished among the other
nations labored. Yet the writings of some of
these latter servants torn 10 inconsiderabe share
of our classical collections
shall, then, pass over any view of the slave
| system OF the Gentiles further than to remark
that, at the period when the Savior came, it was
exceedingly oppressive; and that, in many in
stances, the master could put his slave to death
without the interference OF any legal tribunals.
and that the instances of It's iuiiction were by no
means rare. shall not stop TO inquire into the
validity of the claim to the exercise of this power
nor into the moral criminali;y of those who
use il
proceed To examine what the Divine Legis-
ator OF Christianity has done upon this subject
lie has made no special law, either to repeal
to modify the former and still subsisting ght;
but He enforced principles that, by their neces-
Sdfy operation ana gradual influence, produced
an extensive amelioration In the words OF the
apostolic letter of Pope Gregory XVI. "Verily,
when the light of the Gospel first began diffuse
| itself, those unfortunate men, who, by occasion
of so many wars, had fallen into cruel servitude
| felt their condition among Christians very much
| alevllted. Inspired, indeed. by the Divine
| Spirit, the Apostles taught servants TO render
| obedience to their masters in the fiesh unto
| Christ, and 10 do the will of God with cheerful
\ aDd. nh aA OIL
| that they should use their servants kindly that
| they should render unto them what ia just and
| right, and that they should not employ threats,
remembering that the God of both is in heaven,
and that with Hin. lere is no respect OF per-
< sons
| Bergier says, Dict. Theol Art. Esclavage,
| III :" wv hen our Lord Jesus Christ appeared
| upon earth. the rights of humanity bet
ter known than they were in the tine of Moses
! The philosophers. in place of rendering them
more clear, had made them more obscure. The
Greeks had decided that amongst men some Ma
tons born for liberty and Others for slavery:
that everything lawful against barbarians,
that Is, against every one that was not Greek
| In the State OF Athens alone there were four
| hundred thousand slaves fer twenty thousand
citizens I'm Rome the condition of slaves was
not better than tbdt of beasts OF burden. One
shoulders al reading the treatment oil those IN
! iortunates See Memories of the Academy OF
! Inscriptions tom. 90. in l2mo p. l02 Such
was the common aw 0: all nations in the ages of
| philosophy. Ii Jesus Christ had by his laws at
tackled, face 10 face, this assumed right, he
would have given weigh - the opposition of the
enperors and other sOyeTegi- 10 the lromulga-
ton Of the Gospel: ana our philosophers OF the
| present day would have accused Him for having
| assaed the public law OF all nations
! The Divine Legislator did better: Hedisposed
: the minds of people by HIS ma xims Of charity of
, meeauess, OF fraterna love between men, 10 per
ceive that slavery in its then character was Get
ting into opposition to the natural law Ii may
] be perceived by the letter OF 81 Paul 10 Phile-
mon, what was the teaching of the Gospel moral
ty on this essential point, and how eloquent was
the language of humanity proceeding from the
/ lips of Christian charity. The baptized slave be
came of right the brother of his master
/ The right which Berser in this place alludes
/ to-as his entire article shows-was not civil.
but religious right: the right of brotherhood in
I Christ Jesus, as redeemed bv Him. and nm heir
20 the glorious inheritance. as the Apostle
! 81. Paul Describes il in his Ep,ste To the Gala
/ tians. chapter VIII 20: For you are all children
Of God, by filth IN Jesus Christ. p. For as many
I of have been baptized in Christ have put
on Christ. D. There IS neither Jew nor Greek :
there i neither bond nor rec; there is neither
male female. For you are all ore in Christ
Jesus. % And if YOU be Chrs,'., then you are
/ the seed of Abraham. heirs according to the
prnmis