, 1874-04-18
STEALING,
Is It Always Wrong to stealP
The Great Nowspapcr.Dlscusslon of
Thirty Years Ago.
How Escaping Slaves Brought tho
Eighth Commandment into
Popular Notice.

IIkfnUNE; OeuoFo LILO PIoGesh tAIuu1 4cu " Cuo
conclusion chat thoro was groat variety In atylo
md grade Of character in hunting,-somo Of 1t
worry entertaining, somo instructive, somo funny,
somo cruel and degrading, and aomo vory
strange, and of mixed moral character; md
klnt tho hunting Of men waa not profession
that could bo relied upon always nj profitable.
now propose to take up tho subject Of
STEALING.
It Is generally admitted tint tte Bible Is tho
standard Of moral conduct TINT what tho Bible
approves Is right what tho Bible forbids is
wrong and NO should not, In fact, know much
nhout either right or wrong, good or owl, II 1t
wcre not tnught In tho Biblo. start out on tho
bold assertion, that tho Diblo forbida stoaling,
and TINT to steal Is noithor right nor good. See
Exodus, Xxx, IL.
Now, rs thoro wore various things to hunt,
such as 1loas, pigeons, rabbits, deer, buffalo,
bearu elephants lions, aud men,-the sca!e go
lug up in dignity lilio tho eight notes on the
ga1n,,t,-so thoro aro things to bo Btolen tho
stealing of which is forbidden, aud thoro-
fore wroug,--snch, as pins, pennies, nigs,
of f property, aud money, monkeys ii tamotl),
md men and thcao 60 up in criminal atrocity
according to tho character of tho articles, aR
hunting goes up In dguty. Ny authority for
this last unthcoogIcnl assertion il this
(sEE EXODUS, XXI, 10):
"And he that stealeM a man and se!'eta him,
nut to deaih." "
can we'll perceive how it is possible for some
people TO got n little confused NJ to what they
NAV rot or cnnnot steal. We know from tho
Police Justices reports, that, In the minds Of q
groat rnany people, tllero is grent confusion as
to tho rights Of property; sono think their
sympathy when ho said. after Ills Christian Bank
Bi,bsicd that he owned all the ships in the ilar-
Dor, because ho could enjoy their sight and pos
session without. tho trouble Of taking caro-
p4sn p1 ssn low not soP''is TS stea that
aomowhat difficult to know how to stoal
Romo Of tho things hunted; for instance, how
to steal q buGalo,- ,-whio 1t ia easy to steal tho
ing-house, or oycn q skunk,-and, above. ALL
how to steal man.. That was tho conundrum
of the past goneretion.
These points Of morality and legality hare to
guided by wisdom. That was done somewhat III
ii tho Stato Of Vermont, moro than half con-
tury ago. A youth wns prosecuted there for
stea!ing dog, and tho case WAS carried to q
worry high colllt, md the Judge decided that
NO THEFT HAD BEEN CoMsnrTED,
bccauEo, rs tho dog was good for nothing, IT waa
not stealing to take him without leave; III other
words, TINT tho dog was not property, and,
therefore, could not bo stolen, And also again
behold tho wisdom OF verrnont,-for there
waB yast doal OF wisdom In that State aa long
ago Us whom Stephen A. Douglas resided thcro,
and there WAS considerable left, too, nftor lo de-
parted; and this ancient wisdom WAS manifested
in this wiso:. slave had escaped from New
York, when TINT Slate was Blavo Stale, into
Vermont, when that State was not 4 slayo State.
mover had beon and never would bo; and his
master hunted him oven to tho bordorA Of the
Groon Mountains, and ho caught him but how
to get AWAY with lin was as difficult aa to got
away from tic Tartar aud su the master md
the alavo got ontangled in Vermont court, and
the Judge demanded to know tho right OF tho
master to tho man. Tho master affirmed his
right to he by purchase. The bill Of sale was
demanded, produced, and examined; but tho
Judge detected flaw. "It III not sufficient" !"
eaid he; "you must proaont bill Of aalo
FROM THE ALMIGHTY.
This is high authority in Vermont, and it fH the
Hamo by which Ethan Allen demanded tho Sur
render OF TconderoSn. SO legal authority has
1nado it plain that you cannot Htoa1 q dog or d
nlan iu Vermont, because the right OF property
does not stick to either. In tho dignity Of tho
language Of tho Law. natural and constitutional,
Man cannot hold property in Man.
But, it this matter Of stealing be such mud
alo, What you may steal Or what you may not,
Rstray,-I giyo the simple rule: Take to
your own llse only tiao things you know
arc your own, and be not anxious to find an own
er for thingB TINT lie around loose. Hands off.
All things will come to tho!r oWncrs nB the OK
to tho STALL aud the ass eyen to his masters
CRIB.
Who would have Thought that the Anti-Slagery
agitation, Which was reilly for the rights Of the
person. should have evolved such a discussion as
this pertaining to rights OF property
IL IT WRONG TO sTEAL?
You would have Eeon in almost al of the news
papers Of tho day, thirty years ago and little
less, discussions uador this head. The political
aud religious newspapers wore alike engaged in
tho discussion and they took both sideB Of
the question. Most OF tho political nows-
papers affirmed that it was not right to
steal. Two should judge, from the way aomo Of
tho Congressional questions .aro trcatod in 1874,
that they arc not quite 10 clear on that subject
now.) Tho religious newspapers were more in
clincd to 80 in for tho justification Of stoang
under certain circumstances. 10 got right down
to the logic Of the tak some said that it was
not wrong for tho alave to run awny with him
self, and so steal hiB masters property; aud to
talso. or help himself away, lis masters boots,
Which ho may happon to have oil; or an extra
pair, if he should start on long journey; or his
masters Int OIL his own head; or his maatcr'a
pants, Oh hiH own legs or his ulaatcr's horse II
lo should find It safor TO tleo with one from his
masters bloodAouudB; or his masters boat, II
Ae should mood to cross river; or a. ham from
bis nastor'H stnoke-AouHo, or 0 chicken or two
from lliH roost should it possibly happen that lie
would need food: Or that he might tnko these
things from any person not his master, should
ho lnd them necosBary to lia escape. And thus
by euch n discussion. Garritt Smith cano OUT
boldly for the right to do these things by the
slave escaping from hin master. Ho declared
TINT
IT wAs NOT STEALING.
to take property in TINT way: Newspapers
turned tlioir batterios upon him; tho piout
journals of Now York lot of their gnt!s double
shottod and 1t would Beom. from all tho hub
bub made about it, that all dIstinotlon hetwceI
right and wrong was about to bo abolished in ths
land, Gerrit Smith received moro robuke
from prcsa and pulpit ton TO one, than arc nov
launched out upon sanborn, Jnyne, aud Dutle
combined.
And the occasion Of it was this: The under
ground railroads had got into operation. The.
go1 into operation for very much the aamo roa
Hon TINT uppor-ground railroads now 60 intt
operation because there was btlsineea for tbon
to do. And there was business for thom to d
because s!apeH would run away from their mas
terH, in MI tho Hordor States, and Hume State
not 10 horderouH. And they would run ava
beeAtEe thoy woro getting tho notion that the.
could do better to run than to stay. And tue
got that notion because thoir masters kept On
DAMN1Nd THE DAMNED AAoL1T1oN1sTs
moro than there was any pcel OF thoir doing