Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1863-09-12

they are ia accordance with the will of
Him, before whose tribunal must render
a strict account in the last great day.
l proceed, accordingly, to the evidence
of the sacred Scriptures, which, long ago,
produced complete conviction in my own
mind, and must, as I regard it, be equally
conclusive to every candid and sincere in
quirer. When the array of positive proof
is exhibited, shall consider the objec-
tions, and examine their validity with all
the fairness in my power.
The first appearance of slavery in the
Bible is the wonderful prediction of the
patriarch Noah: "Cursed be Canaan, q
servant Of servants shall he be to his breth.
ren. Blessed be the Lord God Of Shem,
and Canaan shall be his SerUaut. God
shall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell
in the tents Of Shcm, and Canaan shut be
has SerU Ulnk (G'n. 9: 25.)
The heartlcss irreverence which Ham,
the father of Canaan, displayed toward
his eminent parent, whose picty had just
saved him from the delugc, presented the
immediate occaSiot for this remarkable
prophecy; but the actual tu5fllme"t was
reserved for his posterity, after they had
lost the knowledge of God, and become
utterly polluted by the abomirations Of
heather idolutry. The Almighty, fore
seeing this tai degradation Of the race,
ordained them to servitudo or slavery un-
der the descendants of Shem and Japhet,
doubtless because he Judged it to be their
fittcst condition. And all history proves
how accurately the prediction has been
accomplished, even to the present day.
We come next to roof that slavery
was sanctioned by the Deity in the case of
Abraham, whose three hundred and eigh-
teen bond servants, born in his own house,
(Gcn IA: l4) are mentioned along with
those who were b0ugM mhh his money, as
proper subjects for circumcision, (Gep. II:
l2) Ills wife Sarah had also an Egyptian
slave, named IIagar, who fed from her
severity And "thc angel of the Lord'
commanded the fugitive to rrturn 10 her
1nistrtss and Su0sJW hersdE (Gcn. 10 {;
o. If the philanthropists of our age,
who profess to believe the Bible, had been
willing to take the counsel of that angel
for their guide, it would lave preserved
the welfare of the Union.
Tho third proof that slavery was au-
thorizcd by the Almighty occurs in the
last of the Ten Commandments, delivered
from Mount Sinai, and universally ac-
knowedgcd by Jews and Christians as
THE MORAL LAW; "I'hou shalt not cove'
thy neighbor's wife, nor his mon-SerOomt,
mar lis mriLSerUant, nor his OK, nor hi.
ass, nor anything that is thy neighbors s.
(Exod. 30: ~ Here it is evident thai
the principle Of 11r0perty-"anything that
is thy neighbor's''-runs through the
whole. l am quite aware, indeed, of the
prejudice which many good people enter
tain against the idea Of prope/ty in hu
man being, and shall consider it, in duo
time amongs. the objections. am equally
aware that the wives of our day may take
umbrago at the law which places them III
the same sentence with the slave, and
|, even with the house and the cattle. Blu
the truth is none the less certain The
, husband has real property in the wife
because she rs bound, for life, to serve ant
obey him. ! he wife has real property
, in her husband, because he is bound fol
life 10 cherish and maintain her. Tht
f character Of property is doubtless modified
by its design. But whatever, whether
r person or thing, the law appropriates to al
C individual, becomes Of necessity his prop
erty, 4.
C The fourth proof, however is yet NOR
express, as it is derived from the dlrec
rule established by the wisdom Of God 70
4 his chosen people, lslael ON the very pom
0 in question, namely;
t elf thou buy Hebrew servant, 81!
years shall be serve, and in the seventh
year he shall 60 out free for nothing l
r he came in by himself, he shall 60 out b,
with him. If his master have given hin
wife, and she have borne him sons o
daughters, lie '0jie and Tie chtidre" sha'
r be hcr maSter'S and he Sh1H go Om By him
sdC' (Exod. 81 2-4.) Here We Sc
t that the separation of husband and wife i
? positively directed by the divine command
| in order to secure the property of the mas
4 Ter bond-maid and offspring, But tn
f.. husband had an alternative, il he prefer
X. red slavery to separation. For thus tn
IT II