The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1863-12-03
A Northern Bishop with Southern Principles


The Right Reverend Bishop of the Diocese OF
Vermont has made himself notorious, II not dis
tnguished, within the past few years, by his ad'
yocacy of the divine right Of the master to the
unrequted labor of his slave. His letter TO some
New York pro-savery politicians on this subject,
written three years ago, and recently republished
and circulated in Pennsylvania, Vermont and
elsewhere, as a campaign document in aid o; the
peace democracy, and which called out the sharp
rebuke from Bishop Potter and large number
of the Episcopal clergy OF Pennsylvania, is a.
bored and lengthy argument i'll favor Of Slavery
SIS the luldllment Of Scripture prophecy, and
wise, benefcont and Christian institution. lie
calls the letter the Bible View Of Slavery" but
having exhausted lis Bible earning upon the
subject he deyotes much space in bis communioa-
ton to denounciDg the selt-eyident truths OF the
Declaration Of Independence, and dweils at con-
siderable length on the benefits to humanity, civ
ilzation and Christianity, arising from the lnstu-
ton SO much abused by the pesent abolition
lists.
1t S worth while to notice that The Right Rev.
erend Bishop SO far as he proves anything, has
proved by this letter that Slavery is right with
out respeo. 10 the color OF the master or the
slave. So far as he argues the question from The
New Testament, his view " is entirely irdl-
pendent of the curse OF Ham and We would
respectfully suggest whether it is not possible
that the yew," in this respect, proves rather
too much. Certainly the slavery, which he asserts
existed 10 the time of the Apostles, was Ct .irely
irrespective of the complexion, the education or
the intellectual capacity of the ensaved. and is as
much an argument for the White race being en-.
shaved by the Black race, as the Black BY the
White In fact, we cannot see from the view )
why, if the coored population at the South
should rise and enslave their masters, the Bishop
would not be bound to justify the new slavery
as he now does the old. If some Southern
STAKEHOLDER charmed by the Bishops Biblical
learning and dialectc skill, and DESTROYS Of hay-
ing such an abe defender of " the institution
in his permanent service for the trihing compeu-
sation of board and clothes,-tow cloth and corn
mea-should kdnap the Bishop and attempt TO
hold him as a slave, the - view would be a COM
plete eStoppel to writ of habeaS corpus on be-
half Of the Right Reverend John II. Hopkins, to
obtain his personal freedom aud in such case,
we think the doctrine Of the unbelievable rights of
man would gain note d convert, or the Diocese
OF Vermont would lose pro-slayery Bishop.
If the Bishop had confined himself to the BIZ
BILE View OF Slavery,"-which at the most proves
only that Slavery was tolerated in the Chris
ton Church and allowed under the old dispense
ton, and was not in terms condemned by the Sd
vior,-he might have found himself in no orse
company than with Brigham Young, who en-
ploys the same style of argument to excuse his
desire for several score of wives and concubines ;
and indeed the Bishopin his letter attempts very
lamely to make distinction between the Bible argu-
ment in favor of slavery and thatin favor Of polyg
amy, evidently conscious that the two are so nearly
alike as to be in fact almost identical. He how
ever, Goes not stop here, but boldly declares that
Southern Slavery, as it actually exists, is benign,
civzing, and outstanding institution. We sub.
init that here the Bishop gets beyond his Bible
and is simply giving the opinion of John IL, Hop
,kins and nasmuch as the opposite opinion is
held by about ninetenths OF the Christian people
of the earth, there is probability, at least, that
the Bishop is mistaken. An institution that
makes merchandise of human beings, that COM
pels the separation of husband aud wife, parent
and child, that places every female slave entirely
at the mercy of the caprices passions, and usts OF
her master, that does not recognize the marriage
relation as permanent, but encourages it Only to
multiply property, that is careful, by the strictest
laws and the severest penalties, to shut up to the
slave every avenue of learning, that makes whip
pings, torture, and decorations legal that hunts its
victims with blood-hounds, and brands, mains,
scars and shoots them, that takes from tho slave
all political, civil, and religious rights, and careful
y guards him from every influence that can excite
an aspiration for a higher life, in a word that re-
duces what, even the writer of this letter is willing
to recognize as a man and BROTHER to the
condition of horse or an OK, may, 10 the opinion
of the Right Reverend Bishop John Il. Hopkins,
be Christian institution, but for our part, we
pray to be delivered from the Christianity and
the learning that teaches such monstrous doc