Year: 1861

weary, but with the light of the north
star in his eye, md the light Of the hope of
liberty in his heart, from the prison
house of bondage, may be pursued by
the hounds of the law, seized by the
strong ann of the civil power, and
thrust back into that hell of toll, suf.
fering, and woe, from which he is at
tempting to escape! Would you do it?
Not one of you! Would 1? Not
though opposed, as Luther said, by as
many devils as there are tiles on the
roofs of the house! Would Mr.. Van
Dyke? No; do him the honor to be-
lieve that he would not; that his words
belle his heart. Try him with the case
mentioned the other evening by our
eloquent young friend, Mr.. Titon."
A mother, whose hour is near, hasten
ing by fight to a land of liberty, in or
der that her child may be born not n
slave but freel No imaginary case!
Just such one occurred under my
own root, although, unfortunately, |
was absent at the time. There were
those there, however, who knew how
to give protection and sympathy. When
pressed to stay until her trial should be
over, she replied in words which so far
surpass the noblest utterance of Roman
mothers in pathos and sublimity, that
| would scorn to place them in compar-
ison-"I can not stay; l want my first
child to be born in free landl'' God
bless her, it was born in free land!-
Mr.. Van Dyke could not stand and
say, looking into the eyes of those
mothers to whom he ministers from
Sabbath to Sabbath, ~ would have
sent her back" IF he should say it,
who would believe him? IF he should
have done it, who would not despise
him? Yet, what an account that man
will have 70 render who breaches such
doctrines in the abstract, or advises
that others shall do that which is so
contrary to all principles of natural
kindness, to say nothing of justice, and
so directly in the very teeth of Gods
express command!-"Inasmuch as ye
did it not to one of the least of these
ye did it not to me-"


In the fifth place, the law ofthe Jubi-
lee rendered slavery impossible AMONG
the chosen people-"And ye shall hal
low the fittieth year, and proclaim lib
erty throughout all the land unto all
the inhabitants thereof" No limita-
ton, no restriction; the Jubilee was
glorious, because it was proclamation
OF liberty to all without distinction; but
if it had no reference to the foreign
born servant, it would have been a
farce, a mockery, for all Hebrew SER
wants went out at any rate by the law
of their service. Mr. Van Dyke af-
firms that there was no jubilee for the
heathen servant, nor for the Hebrew
whose ear was bored The idea, as it
relates to the latter, is too absurd to
be tolerated for moment. Is it to be
supposed that any man who possessed
common sense would, merely because
he loved his master, consign himself,
wife, children, and children's children,
to the latest generation, to a hopeless
bondage?-or that God would have.
enacted law which would have per-
mtted such injustice to arise from such
folly? The truth is, that the term for
ever, in this connection, is indiomatic,
and means only to the year Of jubilee.
The very nature of the regulations as
to land and property make this certain,
The argument is fully elaborated in
the larger works upon this subject. If
any thing can be made clear, this has
been, that the jubilee was a proclama-
ton throughout all the land to all the
inhabitants thereof; and that the first
notes which pealed from every hilltop
Of Judea, on the first morning of this
auspicious year, proclaimed to all ser
wants the termination of their seryi-
tude. What a moral obliquity dees it
argue to find a man desirous to CON
strue every passage in which there is
room for doubt, in favor ofthis afro
city! / do not wonder that q dis
tinguished man said of such characters,
that their god was his devil.


In the sixth place, the whole nature of the GOV.
enant which God made with Israel was for the Sc
curity of freedom and justice to all, not for the
establishment of hateful tyranny. Mr.. Van
Dyke says, and says truly, "There was not one
slavs in all that mighty host who gathered around
Mount Sinai, to receive the law by which their fu-





mission is important; it shows, at least, that if
that vast multitude of SLAVES which Abraham pos
sessod descended to his sons, the stock had by
this time ran out But observe what view this
presents of the justice of God. He did not simply
permit, did not merely "wink at" this system,
but actually ordained it, established it by positive
law where it did not exist-established o trade in
slaves in the wilderness, between Israel and the
heather nations! The absurdities start up before
this assertion like the men of Rhoderick Dhu in
tha nr nf Ity half nasth
q stranger, nor oppress HIM, for ye were stran
gers in the land of Egypt" "Aso thou shalt not
oppress a stranger, for We know the heart Of
stranger seeing ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt" Thou shalt not CLEAN thy vineyard,
neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vine
yard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and
stranger. For am the Lord thy Cod "And if
stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ge shall
not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with
you shall be unto you one born among you,
thou shalt love him as thyself, for We were stran
gers in the land of Egypt" We can expan the
avowal and advocacy Of such sentiments as Mr.
Van Dykes only by reference to the binding
nature of a monster iniquity. Such men have
been so long accustomed to plead and apologize
for slavery, that they at legth absolutely inca
pable of distinguishing right from wrong, dark
ness from light, sweet from bitter.


''Vice is a monster of so fi'ightful mieu


That to be hated needs but to be seen.


But seen too oft, familiar with her face,


We first endure, then pity, then embrace"


In the seventh place. | do assert notwithstand-
ing Mr.. Van Dykes disclaimer, that the argument
for poygamy, the twin sister of slavery, is stron-
ger than for slavery. | can essure him that the
day is not far distant when his arguments for op-
preston will be as abhorrent to all right thinking
men, as those of Brigham Young for the accursed
system which he has established in Utah. Polyg-
amy was tolerated, slavery was not.


In the eighth place, were we to grant all that
these men claim for the system which prevailed
in the Jewish Commonwealth, they would be as
far from having found any justification of Ameri-
can slavery ever. They must needs show the
same divine warrant as they suppose the Jews to
have possessed, They must take all the laws aud
regulations with IT. for in cases Of divine authori-
ty it win not do to select; all must 60 together
IL Il L.. -