Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1864-04-22

on Slavery, promised some months ago, has
been in our hands for some days. We gave
quite as much attention to the Bishops
pamphlets and letters on this subject, soon
after they came out, as VIC thought them
worthy Of, and do not care to occupy our
readers time with an examination in detail
Of the present volume We have looked at
it enough TO see that 1t does not differ, es-
sentially, from his bible view OF slavery"
published in January lS6l-1t is only more
of the same sort" We shall notice only
few points, and as the fore part of the book
is only republication of the Bishops BIZ
bic View Of Slavery" sent to the New York
and PhiladeIphia politicians in 1851 and
1868, nd his letter in answer to Bishop
Potter's protest, already noticed, we will
take the book up, Hebrew-wise, at the lat
ter end. In this way We may light upon
something having the semblance Of novelty.
The Appendix concludes with an extract
from tho twenty years experience of an AZ
ricau SLAYER. Theodore Canot, published
ton years since By Appleton & Co., of New
York. The extract gives loathsome pic
ture Of the drunken and worse than brutal
ierocities which Capt. Canot says he wit
messed on an occasion when the rum"
which he had brough; on slave purchas-
ing expedition had wrought two jealous par
ties of cannibals up to pitch Of demoniac
frenzy which spent itself in atrocities too
horrible to repeat. Bishop Hopkins quotes
the extract, and says he does not see how
any Christian can seriously reflect on
these awful practices and this "degradation
Of the posterity Of Ham in their native
country, and yet denounce as a sin, the
Southern institution, which has been the
only means TO raise millions out Of that ter
rible sbyss, and endOw them with the know
ledge Of civilization, and OF morality found
ed on true religion.
Whether Canots story was literally true
or not is Of no consequence TO the case but
mad the Bishop pleased he could have quoted
from the next preceding chapter in Canot :
narrative an account Of a more hendish
transaction than that OF tine savage negroes,
one in which the actor was in no wise
akin to the " posterity of IIam''-one who
considered himself prepared to die a. good
christian by making Don Theodore Canot bls
confcssor.
But tho question s, what have the desH-
dauon and cruelties Of savages in Africa to
do in the way of justifying slavery in the
/ United States One might infer from the
drift Of what the Bishop saws, as quoted
above and from passages Of like tenor in the
I book. that he Is a full convert to the Jesuiti-
{ cal maxim the end justifes the means, -
as q rule of practice.-and furthermore,
that he believes that the overPowering mo-
tive OF slave buyers. slave sellers. and Of
slave holders in the United States, Is the
pious one OF christianIzing Africa and pro-
noting pure and undsfled religion among
the posterity Of Ham
Uuquestionably he holds that tho slavery
of the Posterity Of Ham was forst0!d, and
that therefore 1t is just to enslave them
We hold the argument as to the prophecy to
be good for nothing. and the doctrine based
on it as in direct conflict with the whole
tenor OF Gods word, as given by bis pro
phets and By Jesus Christ himself.
Passing By the Latin quotations from an
cient councils, the chapter of admonition Il
Bishop Potter that On Theo. Parker and Mr.
Emerson. that on corporal punishment anC
on the Mosaic law, we come to chapter Kill
which is made up of copious extracts from
McKay's important work on the social con
dition of the poor IN England. From thi
Bishop Hopkins concludes that the slaves il
our southern States are tar better OF, physi
cally, socially and morally, than the poor o
England Here too the question arises
what has that to do with justifyIng SLAYER.
in our country or any where elseI
Now,i the Bishop were listening TO the re
Dukes of an English dignitary of Church o
State so freely vouchsaied to our countrymei
on account OF our Southern slavery, it woul
be quite fair for the Bishop to say to hi
English friend +; "my dear sir, supposing on
sin IN this matter to be as great as you max
it Though | do not in fact admit that
would it not be as well for you to turn you
attention little to matters nearer home
Look at the destitution, ignorance and scan
dalous degradation of millions Of the Englis
poor, while the higher classes, though in th
, possession of wealth in abundance, do moth
ing worth speaking of for their comfort an
! improvement. Wherein, pray you, ar
you. with your priucsly income, doing an
: better by the laborers who huddle like Pi2
IN your paltry cottages and barely earn foo
t enough to keep soul and body together, tina
a South Carolina planter does by his slave:
who are as fat as your day-laborers an
{ whose cdolnb are lOf Tue ciitndtSs ho SOVu
your cottsrs' ten or twelve feet square room
for dozen persons male and female to e'
and sleep in7 Please take the beam out I
your own eye, or at least admit that 20
have one in it, and then we will talk o
: terms of equality"
y But, suppose the Bishop to have fallen il
e TO conversation with an English laborer, an
: after having described the couten:ed an
happy condition of the posterity Of Hans
e stated in the book before us-their christis
I privileges as slaves, &C.. we're 70 wind u
I. with saSing-"so you see ny man how muc
worse of you are here than you would be
you we're an African slave in America.
' fact YOU ore a slave as it is-a sioos Of al
o,1ussancss, as We all are, and from my so'
pity you," would not the laborer's rep
he something like this at may not be seer
; " for US to dispute with your reverence, al
it is true that we are very hardly of. and
L