Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1864-08-24


J ssntient beings, but amoug things as an
article Of property, a chattle personal" F"
. Judge Rufin of North Carolina, said:
"The power of the master must be ab-
solute to render the obedience of the
T slave perfect" A decision of Virginia
Court reads thus: alt is the policy of
the law to protect the master from pros
ecution, even if the whipping and pnnish-
ment be malicious, cruel and excessive
Now from the above laws and judicial
decisions the following must be the nat
ural result:
l. The institutions of marriage, which
forms the basis of civilization, must be
entirely disregarded; and thus was told
by an old STAKEHOLDER at Murfreesboro,
that the laws of Tennessee did uot recog-
nized the marriage of slaves, and this is
essential to the institution, and not an
abuse of it as some affirm; and where
such a state of society exists, the finer
sympathies must be entirely abandoned
and destroyed, and the brute spirit de-
veloped to its highest power.
2. 1t abrogates the parental relation.
Our Father in heaven has made the pa
rent the natural protector and educator
of his children. The tender sympathies
flowing from a mothers love, is deeply
implanted in the bosom of her child, but
this law that makes the slave-child a
chattle, teaches both the master and
slave to disregard those tender sympa-
thies, and reduces both to state of bar
barism.
3. 1t closes the gates of knowledge
from the soul of its victim. Animals
must not learn their power or worth, or
TO the owner they would become worth
less. Teach slave to read, and he would
soon learn his own manhood, and revolt
against the claim of his oppressor, and
thus he must be kept as near the brute
standard as possible to make him con-
tented with his situation. But who does
not see that such system would brutal
ize all? Having first learned to disregard
the claims of the soul for light and kuowl-
edge, and to supplant. the claims of the
Creator, they can soon disdain the claims
of any who may ask for their sympathy,
as an act Of justice. or on the grounds of
civilization.
4. 1t takes all the toll of its victims
and appropriates it to their own use and
aggrandizement. Here we see the soul
first robbed of its claims, and the labor
and earnings taken away tofgratify the
pride or lusts of the oppressor.
TIE EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM ON SOCIETY.
The following advertisements shows
how it demoralizes the master. The
Georgia Messenger contains this notice:
Ran away, my man F. He has holes
in his ears, scar on the right side of his
| forehead, has been shot in the back part
of his legs, and has whip marks on his
back.
The cruelty is made to boast openly of
its own brutality. What else but whole
sale 5utchery of prisoners, or starving
them to death by thousands, could we
expect from men thus educated? Need
we stop to ask who slew all these? Slav-
ery-the law of slavery, has been the ed
ucator, and has prepared the hearts of
our enemies for such cruelty. Slavery
debases the understanding and corrupts
the hearts of both the slave and master;
it tempts and corrodes every fountain of
the heart; it hardens the heart to all
those tender sympathies which form the
most lovely part of human character, by
degrading into brutes, beings whom the
lord of heaven and earth has endowed
with rational souls; it makes itself utter
ly repugnant to every principal of reason,
religion, humanity and conscience; it is i'm
possible for considerate mind to think
of slavery without horror. Look how it
has corrupted society of the south. The
Governor of Kentucky, in his annual mes
sage in 1887. says: We long to see the day
when the law will assert its majesty any
stop the wanton destruction of life which
daily occurs in this commonwealth. Men
slaughter one another with perfect i'm
punity, and there are but few convictions
and still fewer executions" The Governor
of Alabama says: We hear of homicide
in this State continually, and yet but few
are convicted of their crimes. Why do
we hear of stabbings and shootiDgs in one
part or other of our State, A Missis sippi
paper says: 1.-THE moral atmosphere of
our State appears to be in a sanguinary
condition. Every exchange paper brings
some inhuman case of murder or death
by violence. We have frightfnl deluge
of blood flowing through our Streets" &c.
Such is the fearful result of trampling
one of the most sacred laws of our being,
in the dust.
have been often asked what is this
war for? answer, it was begun and is
continued by those wine are seeking to
blot out the hope of liberty, to perpetu-
ate slavery, TO drive back civilization to
the barbarism of the dark ages. 1t is
this that has armed our foes and causes
them to treat, with the basest cruelty,
our sons and brothers who may by chance
fall into their hands. Slavery is the con-
spirator against our liberties, and would
raise the assassin's arm to blot out our
nationality to destroy this Government
which has been the hope of the oppress-
ed of all nations.
To the Christian, war is always, and at
best abhorrent, and in a war either for