Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-06-05

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vided the moral sentiment against
itself, and finally threatened to spill
the nation il two. But did the spfri
of the Hebrew lawgiyer justify thi,
quarrel. l very mreh doubt if it did
His int ntiOn may have b. en-, and
am persuaded was, not to establish OF
institute or perpetuate slavery, but tC
disestablish, weaken and limit it,
Slavery existed everywhere; it was
everywhere unehalleDged; It was
everywhere protected by legislation
To eXtirpate it was beyond the power
of even tie most despOtie lawgiver.-
Moses therefore allowed it to stand,
but by enactments too numerous and
detailed to mention here, he showed
his disposition to mitigate its more
barbarOus features. revere punish
ment was provided for the killing OF
Hebrew slave. He that MANNED his
Hebrew slave must emancipate him.
When the slave went free, his wife
and children went free also. It was
decreed that every seventh year should
be sabbath year, on which all He
brew masters must give liberty to the
slaves Of their own race. Henry
Ewald, a prime authority on the sub
jeet, says: ''No ancient religion was,
"by reason ofits origin and its radical
tendencies, so decidedly hostile to
slavery, at least to its inhumanities,
'nO religian tended so much to the
extinction of slavery as that of Je-
"hOvah." This is the spirit behind
the letter. Had the spirit, mot the
letter, been consulted thirty years ago,
how different would the recent history
of our country have been! What a
frightful amount of killing that letter
did !-killing of men by the hundred
thousand; previous to that killing OF
domestic peace, Of family affection, OF
moral conviction, of religious broth
erhood, of civil intercourse, of nation
al harmony. All-Of which deathful-
ness might have been spared by a
timely reference to the spirit, which
so hard as it did in Judea,
four thousand years ago, would, If al
lowed, have so edueat, d and inspired,
since, the best sentiment of mankind,
that slavery never could have been
planted in America at all but must, a
century and more ago, have pelished
utterly.
Once more, a battle is still raging
between some modern reformers and
the letter, of the old Bible on the Qu. s.
ton of the death code. The death
code of Israel was very cruel ; it was
written in blood. The punishment OF
death was inflicted in numerous cases
for small offences and with frightful
severity. The statute reads, "WhOso
sheddeth mans blood, by man shall
his blood he shed.u There is no dis
erin mating, no explanatory clause.
The various kinds of homicide are not,
as with US, distinguished. "Whoso-
ever" be he brute, idiot, insane, be
he vengeful, malicious, delibei ate or
incOnsiderate, passionate, be
the act planned or accidental, gloated
over or repented of, his doom is the
same. by man shall mot may, but
shalD his blood be she'd" There is
no escape. Our whole criminal legis
latiOn abhors the code; not the OppO-
Dent of capital punishment only. but
the public opinion of all civilized men
rejects il. But here, too, il is pOssi-
BILE to detect a spirit that long ago
cast that old letter aside. Moses was
legislating for a turbulent people IL a
age-a people violent, con-
vengeful, passionate, harIl
TO curb, over whom civil and moral
eXerted no controlling
power. There was no moral sense,
no public opinion, TO social authority.
His object was to reduce anarchy TO
like order, to rspress vio-
onrA 81 ,4A H.
lice that mems terrOTs would compel
them to respect. The only adeuuate
power was the fear of dtath.
tens of centuries pass; the
world changes. Mankind becomes
anne, society is organized, public SEN
lment is formed, a thousand prOtee-
i've bonds knit people together; the
Oree of self-interest augments social
lgencies, and the legislator who de-
Tres to repress violence and render
human life secure, finds q better way
han the ancient brutality suggested.
de more and more restricts the death
revises his codes, washes the
,Ore from his statutes, appeals TO a
vOrthier sentiment than fear, and is
disposed to try the effect Of education
nd general social restraint. The
anne spirit that wrUie the horrid SEN
ence in the old book would now ex-
lunge il; the same temper that set up
he gallOws would pull it down the |
anne purpose that deereed the she'd |
ing of blood would save it.
A distinguished preacher is repOr- /
Ell to have declared himself CaIvi-
list because he believed as he believed |
hat Calvin would believe if he were |
Ow living. How he was to ascertain
that Calvin would believe were be 1
wing now, this divine did not say to
be reporter. 1t is clear, however,
-om his own expressed opinions that
e believed Calvin would not believe
) he believed once, that the spirit
-hieh wrought in him was presumed
, be capable of development into very
lueh more beautiful forms of doe
-ine than il produced at first; that
le institutes" were supposed to be
ing among the rOttinP leaves out OF
hich finer things grow, and that
le famous Five Points, had gone
le way Of other needles that are no
lore to be used. This faith in the
)irit of a great man, though not alto
ether intelligent, is so much better
an faith in great mems fossil
loughts that we feel impelled to ad-
ire it. A little more faith of that
md would give many things, forms,
eeds, bibles, a resurrection in a
,irifual hnnu (IoTdo71 1ng I