xt734t6f1z8m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt734t6f1z8m/data/mets.xml Bourne, George, 1780-1845. 1834  books b923264b6672009 English E. Hunt : Middletown, Conn., Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Slavery --United States --Controversial literature --1834. Slaves --United States --Social conditions. Picture of slavery in the United States of America. text Picture of slavery in the United States of America. 1834 2009 true xt734t6f1z8m section xt734t6f1z8m 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
PICTURE

op

SLAVERY
IN T I1E

U N I T E D S T A T E S OF A M E R I C A .

Is there not some chosen curse Some h idden thunder in the stores o f heaven, R ed w ith uncommon wrath, to blast the man W ho gains his fortune from the blood o f souls 1
C OWPER.

ptfiftlctotoit, Gent;
EDWIN HUNT . 1834.

I i it)55

  
  
  
  
EXORDIUM. W H E R E i s the c harter found to sanctify D espotic, base, u nqualified control, O 'er strength and will, b y man enthroned o'er m a n ? I n R evelation's code you find i t not, N or i n Creation's multifarious laws. T he w i l l o f Heaven, when unrevealed by Christ, O r by the sacred o rgans o f his word, I s s ought a nd found in the primeval light, W h i c h N ature sheds t hrough her expanded s pheres. B ut w hen with Gospel-day this light combines, T he F OOL w ho doubts, who a sks for clearer proof M ust h ood-wink'd be indeed, and d arkness l ove. T hat such resistless evidence obtains. T o e vince Demoniac Slavery's turpitude, W i l l i a ll the powers of brightest Truth a ppears, T o the impartial mind that v iews each source, W hence the f ull s treams o f testimony flow. E a c h text o f Sacred W r i t e njoining love, A ffection, j ustice, mercy, m eekness, p eace, A n d p iety, e stablishes t his truth, T hat Slavery contravenes the law of God! P oint to me the man W h o w i l l n ot lift h is voice a gainst the t rade I n h uman souls and blood, and I pronounce, T hat he nor loves bis country nor his God. I s he a Christian, t hen, who holds iu bonds H i s b rethren; cramps the vigour of their minds; U surps e ntire d ominion o'er their w ills, B ars from their souls the light of moral day, T he image of the g reat E ternal Spirit O bliterating t hence? Before your God, W hose holy eye p ervades the secret d epths O f e very heart, do you who hold iuthrall'd Y o u r f ellow-being's liberty believe T h a t vou are guiltless of a DAMNING CRIME?

  
6

EXORDIUM.

B e u ndeceived   and cleanse f rom g uilt and b lood Y o u r c rimson'd conscience and polluted hands. Y e G ospel-Promulgalors! i vhy so dumb U p o n t his solemn theme, to w hich e ach ray O f R evelation points ? A n d has the w orld S uch f ascination, such corrupting power, A n d v ile i ntimidation's force, as t hus T o p aralyze the energies divine O f S atan's combatants, t hat t hey w i l l y ield T o h is blood-feasting hosts without one b low ?     B u t h ark ! whence r olls t hat t hundering peal, W h i c h s hakes aslonish'd M a m m o n ' s glittering mounds, A n d rouses all the fierce and clamorous ire O f h is tyrannic votaries? L o ! begirt W i t h the impervious m a i l o f martyr'd z eal, A n d g olden truth, a l ittle p halanx stands, U p o n the heaven defended batteries O f G ospel-Law, a nd aims the artillery O f h oly e loquence, against the dark, T h e m assy battlements of tyranny. T hence tis, t hat those convulsing thunders break, W h i c h fire the sons of A varice w i t h r age. ^ P ersist, y e reverend Veterans ! for the cause I n w hich y our h allow'd b anner is unfurl'd, E mbraces all that m akes exislence dear. U ndaunted band of C hristian P atriots, h a i l ! M a y V ictory's b ays your honour'd temples crown, A n d y our reward be those delights supreme W h i c h store the magazines of heavenly bliss       W h o s e m elodies d ivine, no human ear H a s k nown ; whose charms unmatch'd no earthly eye H a s seen ; and whose exhaustless excellence, T h e m ind a nd h eart o f m a n have ne'er conceived.

  
NOTICE

T H E first essay in this compend, is an amended reprint o f a w ork formerly published under the title of "the Book and Slavery irreconcilable." I t has not o nly been altered, b ut part of it has been written, since the contest w i t h the kidnappers has assumed its e xisting, d efinite and t angible f orm. T h e engravings illustrate slavery as it m ay now be seen i n its various degrees of turpitude, a mong a ll classes of A merican m an-stealers, whether they are avowed i nfidels, or nominal Christians. If, however, a ny southern preaching slave driver, or his northern c lerical a ccessory, " who when he sees the t hief c onsents w ith h i m " should exhibit s ullicient effrontery to deny the g raphical a ccuracy of the picture; they can have the n ames of their b rethren, and all the other circumstances m ore minutely detailed. I n t hat c ase, as some of the p arties are yet l iving, t hey may hear in reply, the direct a pplication o f the truth, equally appropriate as that w hich N athan enforced upon D avid, w hen the k ing h aving c ondemned the audacious c riminal w hose case was presented to his consideration, w i t h p rophetic authority the servant o f J ehovah sternly said, " T hou a rt the m a n . " T hese pages emanate not from u nchristian sensibilities. G ospel c harity requires not t hat w e should believe a lie to be truth, o r injustice to be probity, o r that he who stcaleth his brother, makes merchandise of him, sells him, or if he be found in his hand, w h o m the w ord o f God proclaims to be a thief, i s a n honest man and a Christian. S lavery is condemned; the uprightness of those pretences w hich oppressors offer, w hy t hey should be considered Christians, is the subject o f i nvestigation; and the melioration of the church and o f o ur country is the motive w hich p roduced, and the object w hich i s desired by this p ublication. T h e contest is for the sacred cause of truth: and however severe it m a y

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8

PICTURE OF S L A V E R Y .

be when individualised in its application, the sentiments a re in f ull u nison w ith the holy scriptures, and w i t h e very h onest man's unsophisticated convictions; therefore, to t emporize w ould be c riminal. " A r ough truth is b etter t han a smooth falsehood." That delinquent is peculiarly g uiltv, who calls evil good, bitter sweet, darkness light; o r who e ndeavours so to commingle them, that no difference is d iscernible b etween the requisitions of r eligion a nd the s olicitations o f v ice. N o d esire is felt to propitiate professing Christians, w hile they steal " souls and hands." Their guilt against G od a nd man who h old s laves in C olumbia, i s equal to his c riminality, w ho sails to Congo and kidnaps a cargo of A fricans ; and it is altogether a burlesque upon every thing sacred for a man-robber to pretend to Christianity; and far m ore dishonourable and injurious to the church, to permit h i m to preach, and rule in the spiritual affairs of i m mortals. M a n y persons to w h o m the severest c ensures apply as s lave-holders, possess other estimable qualities; but can t hat m an be a Christian w ho enslaves his coloured neighbour, who unmercifully whips her, although far advanced i n p regnancv, who gives her no comfort of any species for h er services, and then sells her w ith her offspring for an i ncreased price, on account of the children whom he had k idnapped ? Such men w ould i mmure their \\\Me fcllowcitizens i n bondage, and ingulph them in s imilar m isery. N o a rgument is requisite to justify a work w hich h onestly defends the rights of man, and opposes " a licensed s ystem of wholesale robbery and murder," and maintains the eternally paramount claims of equity and mercy; w hich develops the absurdity of a ll p retensions to pur" mid undejihd religion i n h i m whose whole l ife i s a ceaseless r otation of stealing and cruelty; points the path of duty to the upright inquirer; and w hich e xpostulates w i t h those w hose diurnal practice is a continual v iolation o f the spirit a nd letter of the moral law, a flagrant departure from the steps o f the Redeemer and his primitive servants, and an o pen disgrace to republicanism and Christianity.

  
INTRODUCTORY.

T H E c orruption of the human h eart a nd the deceitfulness w hich a ccompanies it-are inconceivable. A m o n g t he v arious modes by w hich t hey are displayed, the detention of men in bondage indefinite, s hould receive unmitigated e xecration: and the principles upon w h i c h slave-holding i s defended, w i t h the characters.of those w ho e ngage i n its s upport, are most melancholy demonstrations of d uplicity, a nd of t hat p romptitude w ith w hich m en can be deluded to change the truth of God into a lie. I s it not a fact too a larming t o.be recorded without the utmost dread, and w i l l i t not in futurity be deemed almost incredible, t hat a s ystem w hich i ncludes horrors tenfold more than E g y p tian s ervitude is incorporated w i t h m ost of the religious! a nd c ivil i nstitutions, w hich are established in this land of b oasted freedom ? " Will subsequent ages c redit so monstrous a s tatement: t hat p reachers of the gospel, eighteen h undred years after angels had sung, on earth, peace, good will to men, w ere characterized as proverbially devoted p articipants in all the enormities and iniquity of manstealing? and nearly sixty years after the promulgation o f the Columbian Declaration of Independence, practicably r eprobated its self-evident trullis, as unsound propositions, because t heir covetousness, and their barbarous robbery of the rights of man w ould h ave been restrained. T hat any persons should have imbibed effrontery sufficient to commence and persist i n an infernal t rade w ith the bodies and souls of men, where the i llumination o f the G ospel d etermines our duties, r esponsibility, a nd destiny, is p roof m ore than ample, of the innate tendency of the hum a n race to every moral obliquity. W h a t apology shall b e patiently heard, at the p resent e ra, for upholding a traffic w hich n ecessarily includes every species of i niquity, a nd w hich i s the offspring of ac. unhallowedavprice -that c onducts to h ell ? ' '. .'    : ' . '       ' ,

  
10

P ICTURE OF S L A V E R Y .

T h e cunning and pertinacity w ith w hich m en, who h ave not the plea of ignorance to excuse their aberrations, maintain and justify their ungodly practices, is a m ost lamentable and irrefragable testimony of the vitiated p ropensities of the s oul. B ut although, it is scarcely possible to discover an i ndividual w ho w i l l c almly p alliate the e vil n ature o f those m ore flagrant transgressions of the moral law, those p lebeian violations of decency w hich are equally debasing and disgusting; yet, they who denounce these c rimes and the p erpetrators o f them i n t erms o f u nqualified reprobation, w i t h e qual zeal w i l l e xcuse m ore fashionable sins, especially i f they are menaced w ith the consequences of their guilt. T h e conduct of religious professors and rulers l oudly d emands the s everest c astigation. It requires more than C hristian c harity to a llow m any persons the characteristic o f sincerity; for the contradiction is so vast, t hat i f the h ighest interests of the human f amily w ere not connected, t heir discrepancy w ould e xcite r idicule. B ut as man's e ternal doom is indissolubly combined w ith the rectitude o f h is p resent p ractice; the heart i s filled w ith the k eenest c ompassion for t hat o bduracy w hich rejects truth, for t hat b lindness w hich t ransmutes i ts i ndividualising q ualities, a nd for that h ypocrisy, w hich, to evade scriptural censures, d istorts the book i nto a sanction of the vices that i t unequivocally c ondemns. H u m a n i nconsistency and corruption cannot be developed i n a stronger light, than by a dispassionate review of t he multifarious artifices w hich a re adopted to v eil t he h orrors of slavery, and the evasions by w hich the charge t hat they are the most enormous sinners against God and m an, is repelled. H a d this compound of all ungodliness n o connexion w ith the church of Christ, however deleterious are the effects of it in p olitical s ociety, however necessary is its immediate and total abolition, and however p regnant w ith danger to the Union i s the promulgation of t he system, to legislators the redress o f the e vil w ould h ave been committed. But slavery i s the golden calf w hich h as beeji .elevated .among the tribes, and before i t '. t he'priests, anrttlje K illers; a nd the nominal sons of Israel,

  
P I C T U R E OF S L A V E R Y .

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eat, drink, rise up to play, worship, and sacrifice   there are Balaams a mong us, who prophesy i n the name of the L o r d , b ut covet the p resents o f B a l a k     w e have an Aclian i n the camp, whose unsanctified love of money troubles u s   this is Delilah, w hose fascinations have bewitched C hristians, u ntil they are i nvolved i n impurity and murder   this is the idol which the children of Israel have set up in their hearts: the stumbling-block of iniquity which the house of Judah have placed before their faces   this covetousness r ecoins the thirty pieces of s ilver for w hich J udas betrayed his Lord   and this is that love of the present world, for w hich D emas forsook the Apostles' doctrine and f ellowship. T h e M osaic l a w declares every slaveholder a T H I E F ; P aul the Apostle classes them among the vilest c r i m i n a l s ; the Presbyterian confession of faith asserts, t hat he is the m ost g uilty o f all thieves; the Methodist book of d iscipline a vows, t hat no man can have a sincere desire to "flee from tlie wrath to come," u nless he refuses to enslave, buy, and s ell h uman flesh; " the supreme l a w of the l a n d " f ormally p ronounces that h is practice is totally irreconcilable w i t h the principles of justice and h u m a n i t y ; " and the b ills o f r ights promulge, t hat the immunities of man, w hich are i ndispensable to the possession of l ife, the acquisition of p roperty, and the enjoyment of happiness, are natural, i n herent, and inalienable. Therefore, every man who holds s laves, a nd who pretends to be a C hristian or a Republican, i s e ither an incurable i diot, w ho cannot distinguish good from e vil, or an obdurate sinner, who resolutely defies every social., m oral, and divine requisition. T he d enunciations of the sacred volume must not be m itigated. T h e predominance of v icious t empers, and the consequent e xhibition o f unholy conduct, are totally i ncompatible w ith the instructions and the example of Jesus of N azareth a nd his Apostles. A direct and incessant v iolation o f the eighth commandment, cannot be compounded w ith the rectitude w hich C hristianity enjoins. T h e worst o f a ll t hieves, is not the most devout believer. That internal c hemistry, w hich e xtracts the essential qualities of g enuine r eligion, a nd then combines the caput mortuum

  
12

P I C T U R E OP S L A V E R Y .

w i t h c onstant crime, t hat i t m a y b e palatable to an ignorant o r c areless conscience, must be opposed. T h e complicated e normity of kidnapping, and the hypocrisy w hich h e displays, w ho while he is a perpetual thief, wishes to be h onoured as a Christian ; who, while he p reaches a nd rules i n the church, s teals h is neighbour, and dooms his brother to wretched and endless servitude, must be, i n p lain s criptural l anguage, reprobated. T h e most obdurate a dherents o f slavery, are preachers o f t he gospel, and officers and members of the church. A s on of B elial i s easy convinced. H e offers no palliative. H e d enounces, although he p erpetuates the e v i l ; b ut conceiving h imself absolved from all moral obligation, he i s d esirous to participate in the gain, as long as it can be g rasped. Christians defend man-stealing. T h e y marshal t he examples of men, who l ived n ot under the moral code d ispensed by Moses. They misinterpret varied regulations o f h is law, and thereby transform truth into error, and the d ictates of justice into the vilest improbity. They c laim the silence of our L o r d a nd bis apostles and evangelists, as a p roof t hat s lave holders then were innocent; a nd they a ffirm, t hat no N e w Testament command or denunciation i s d irected against involuntary servitude. These wrest the scriptures unto their own destruction ; being led away with the error of the loicked. T o tolerate slavery, or to j oin i n its p ractice is an insufferable crime, w hich t arnishes every o ther good quality. F o r whosoever shall keep the law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. I t is duplicate m alignity. T h e word of G o d , is transmuted into i ndulgence for sin. Infidels and worldlings are encouraged to b elieve t hat C hristianity is a mere deception, when its e xpositors and disciples contend for " injustice and inhumanity" by the gospel; what blasphemy ! and slavery, w i t h i ts abettors, i s " a mill-stone hanged about the neck" o f the church, from w hich she must be loosened, or she w i l l " be drowned in the depth of the sea." T h e flagitious acts, concerning slaves, w hich C hristians d aily a nd p ublicly p erpetrate w ithout remorse, are a just s ubject of animadversion. Repentance, reformation, and r estitution, are much more suitable for a slave-driver, t han

  
P I C T U R E OF S L A V E R Y .

13

the p alliation o f his g uilt, o r excuses for his enormous c r i m e ; a nd it is the height of delusion, to suppose h i m an " acceptable" believer, who detains his fellow-man i n the most dreadful v assalage. But the most g uilty a nd daring transgressor is a gospel minister, who steals, buys, sells, and k eeps his brethren in slavery, or supports by his taciturnity, or h is smooth prophesying, or his direct defence, the C hristian professor who unites in the kidnapping trade. T r u t h forces the declaration, t hat e very church officer o rmember, w ho i s a slave-holder, records himself, by his o w n creed, a h ypocrite. W h a t s hall a n expositor of the truth do ? dare he connive a t e vils w hich obstruct the prosperity of the church ? T hough c onvinced of the absolute i mpossibility to reconcile the bondage and traffic of men w i t h e vangelical philanthrophy ; s hall he hold his peace, a nd refuse to combat the i njustice, a nd to expunge the inconsistency of professing C hristians, w ho are participants in " a system of incurable i njustice, the complication of every species ot i niquity, t he g reatest p ractical e vil t hat h as ever a fflicted the human r ace, and the severest and most extensive calamity recorded i n the history of the w o r l d . " B ut h ow s hall a n earnest c ontender for the Faith, which was once delivered to the saints, a ct ? d are he cry P E A C E , w hen G od declares there i s no peace? d are h e deliver s mooth things, when God urges penitence and reform? c an h e scrutinize this mass of corruption, and not warn h is f ellow C hristians to touch not, t aste n ot, handle not ? dare he, from dread o f o ffending, d isobey the books of w hich h e professed bis belief, and to w hich h e promised a conscientious practical conformity ? A n d w i l l h e burden his s houlders w ith the curse of handling the word o f G o d d eceitfully ? w i l l h e l oad h is conscience w ith the c onviction, that, w hile m en are deceiving themselves, he uses n o m eans to remove their destructive delusions ? w i l l he conceal the truth, w hich unfolds the endless evasions and artifices o f sin and Satan, to insnare the soul in perdition e verlasting ? a nd dare he deny the evident, undeniably c orrect interpretation of the word of G od, to teach the per-

  
II

P I C T U R E OP S L A V E R Y .

v erse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and d estitute o. the truth, t hat g ain is godliness. T he B ible, the unbiassed convictions of every man's c onscience, a nd the natural s ensibilities o f the heart, establish t his doctrine : hut officers and members of the church e ndeavour to intimidate and silence the promulgers of t ruth : w hile the shameless a ttempts w hich h ave latterly b een made, to sustain a system of merciless horrors upon e vangelical p rinciples, and by men whose authority w i l l be adduced, and whose example w i l l be imitated by the t houghtless and the covetous, imperiously require the exertions of those w ho w ould preserve the character of s incere Christians. T hat so monstrous an anomaly as A merican m an-stealing s hould ever have existed, almost surpasses c redibility: b ut t hat M essiah's d isciples s hould be g uilty o f this highest t ransgression against human nature, and defend its abominations, never c ould h ave been believed, were not the awful fact indisputably v erified. T he u niform conduct of slave-holders who profess C hristianity, i s denied as " misrepresentation." Notorious facts are contradicted, upon the plea of " exaggeration." A n a version to detaining men in the basest, i rretrievable d egradation, is reprobated as " the offspring of a turbulent a nd factious spirit." Attempts to extirpate black slavery are denounced as the " fanaticism of reckless maniacs," a nd the " firebrands of enlhusiastical incendiaries." A s olicitude to terminate the agonies of violated females, and the tortures o f two m illions o f A merican c itizens is l a m pooned as " the poetry o f p hilanthropy." A n d even C hristian efforts to meliorate the mental, moral, and religious c ondition o f our coloured people, are not o nlv r eviled, b ut a uthoritatively a ttempted to be n ullified by legislators and j udges, who, l ike t heir prototype characterized by C hrist the L o r d o f a ll, n either fear God nor regard man. A l l t his s hameless complication of i niquity i s boastfully perpetrated by men who have the impudence to a ssume the stations of gospel ministers, and officers in the C hristian c hurch. Y e s ! I t is the misrejn-csentalion w ith w hich they charged

  
P I C T U R E OP S L A V E R Y .

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E lijah, w hen, on M ount C armel, h e denounced the priests o f B a a l as the soul-destroyers of the Israelites. It is the exaggeration w ith w hich the Jews calumniated Jeremiah, w hen h e delivered the tremendous information, t hat, for e nslaving t heir brethren, the L o r d proclaimed liberty to the sword, the pestilence, and the famine. I t is the turbulence w hich c haracterized Peter, when he avowed before the S anhedrin, that he would obey God rather than man. I t is t he factious spirit w hich w as imputed to Stephen, when he d eclared the truth to the J e w i s h c o u n c i l ; Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and cars, who do always resist the H o l y G host, as your Fathers did, so do ye. I t is the worldupside-down-turning d isposition, w hich e mboldened P aul t o preach repentance a nd the resurrection of the dead to the A reopagiteS. I t is the turbulence for w hich t hey r eviled M a r t i n L uther, when he dared to defend the truth, t hough R o m e a nd her imps had determined to destroy h i m . It is the factious spirit, by the influence of w hich, J ohn K n o x s ilenced M a r y o f Scotland, when he assured her, t hat h er j udgment, being unenlightened, conducted her into the p aths of error and i rreligion. A n d it is that misrepresenting, exaggerating, turbulent and factious spirit, w hich p eopled t he C olumbian w ilds, r ather than surrender to any tyranny, the rights of man, and the i llumination o f the B ook. 0 for more " misrepresents " w ho have the boldness to d isplay the abominations of American citizen tanners ! O for m ore " exaggcrators" w ho w i l l h eap ceafusion upon pretended C hristians, by l ucidly d eveloping their constant v iolations o f the eighth commandment! 0 for more turbulent a nd factious souls, w ho w i l l n ot connive at officers and m embers of the church, stealing men, w ith i mpunity, and w ithout c ensure! 0 G od, grant us all the exuberance of t hat s pirit w hich i mpelled the reformers, the martyrs, the prophets, and the a postles of Jesus C hrist! A m e n . T herefore, b eing decided against any compromise between justice and injustice, gospel sincerity and human d issimulation, a nd to combat this G oliah o f i niquity, the sling and the stone are taken. " Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God ?"

  
1G

P I C T U R E OF S L A V E R Y .

SLAVERY OPPOSED TO T H E L A WOF G O D AND MAN. S o a bhorrent f rom o ur natural sensations is the system o f s tealing, b uying, s elling, a nd enslaving i mmortal c reatures, t hat i t is difficultaecurately to delineate this wretched d egradation of m a n . A slave is a rational, responsible being, ivith an abject mind and broken heart; without any will: all whose rights arc robbed; whose liberty is despoiled, mid whose life is prolonged at the No difference i s perceptible between the traffic i n human flesh o n the coast of A frica o r in the interior of A m e r i c a . E v e r y s lave i n these s tates i s as notoriously kidnapped, as i f they h ad b een p urloined f rom G u i n e a : a nd he w h o c laims a c oloured c hild a s his property, and nurtures and detains it i n s lavery, is equally a man-thief w ith the nrgro-stcaler o n the G old C oast. T hose p ersons who denounce the A frican jlcsh-mcrchant, a nd w ho scon to admit, that the imported souls c ould n ot h ave been j ustifiably c aptivated, deny t hat t hey unrighteously g rasp their brethren, and denominate themselves " innocent slave holders:" b ut this is self-confutation. C a n that be innocence i n the temperate zone, w hich i s the acme of all guilt n ear the equator? can t hat be honesty i n one m eridian o f l ongitude, w hich a t one hundred degrees e ast, i s the c limax o f injustice ? and w ould n ot he who appropriates to h imself a ll the c hildren b orn around h i m , i m mediately a s they enter the w orld, u pon the same p rinciples, m ake a descent upon C ongo, a nd kidnap a ship l oad ? N o r eal d istinction e xists between h i m , who steals the w oman from h er husband, the c hild f rom i ts parent, or the w hole f amily, o n the eastern or the western shores of the A tlantic, w hether for exportation or domestic vassalage. T hese i dentical i ndividuals w ould r age, i f it were attempted thus to exculpate any other f elon. I nnocent horsethief i s more consistent language than innocent s lave-holder; for the crime of the latter exceeds that o f the former, a s much as the l imited a nd temporary powers of the a nim a l a re surpassed by the extensive capacities and never-

  
P I C T U R E OP S L A V E R Y .

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e nding e xistence of m a n . " W e k n o w men to w h o m the t ruth is hecome u nintelligible, i n consequence of the disguise in w hich they have taken the pains to clothe i t ; and w ho h ave accustomed themselves to palliate v ice, t ill t hey are incapable of perceiving its turpitude." H e that s tealeth a man, and selleth h i m , or i f he be found i n his hand, he s hall s urely be put to death. E x o dus, x x i . 1 6. B y this law, every man-stealer, and every r eceiver o f the stolen person, lost his l ife : w hether the latter stole the man himself, or gave money to a slave-captain or negro-dealer to steal for h i m . A l l k idnapping and s lave d ealing are prohibited, whether practised by i ndividuals o r the state.   Adam Clarltc. I f a m an be found stealing any of his brethren of the c hildren o f Israel, and makelh merchandise of h i m , o r s elleth him, then that t hief s hall d ie. Deuteronomy x x i v . 7 . C hristianity h as annihilated t hat d istinction of nations w hich w as once established ; every m a n is now our brother, whatever be his nation, complexion, or creed. H o w t hen can the merchandise of men and women be carried o n, w ithout transgressing this commandment, or abetting those who do 1 I f a m a n steal a horse or sheep, he is condemned ; but i f he steal, or purchase of those who steal, h undreds of men and women, he not o nly escapes w ith i mpunity, b ut grows g reat b y this unnatural commerce! A ccording to the l a w of G od, w hoever stole cattle restored four or five fold ; w hoever stole one human being though a n i diot or an infant, must die. H e who stole any one of t he human species, in order to make a slave of him, or to s ell h im for a slave, whether the t hief h ad actually s old h im, or whether he continued in his possession, was punished w ith d eath: but i f we are true C hristians, we s hall h ave no occasion for penal s tatutes to restrain us f rom s teali n g or enslaving our brethren of the human species, and t rading the bodies of men.    Scotl. T hou s halt not deliver unto his master, the servant who i s escaped f rom h is master unto t hee: H e s hall d well w i t h thee, even among you, in that p lace w hich h e s hall c hoose, i n one of thy gates w here it l iketh h i m b est; t hou shalt n ot oppress h i m .     D a v i d s aid to the E g v p t i a n , canst thou 2*

  
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b ring m e down to i bis c ompany ? and he said, swear unto m e by God, t hat t hou w ilt n either k i l l m e, nor deliver me i nto the hands of my master, and I w i l l b ring thee d own t o this company.   Take counsel, execute judgment; make t hy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon-day: h ide the outcasts, bewray not h i m who wandereth.   Thou s houldst not have stood i n the cross-way, to cut off those w ho d id escape; neither shouldst thou have delivered u p those who did remain i n the day of distress. A s thou h ast done, it s hall be done unto t hee: t hy reward s hall return upon thine own head. T hese scriptures proclaim that s lave-holding is an abomination i n the sight of G o d : for it justifies the slave in a bsconding from h is tyrant, and enjoins upon every m a n to facilitate his escape, and to secure his freedom. Does t his injunction comport w ith a C hristian's advertising as a f ugitive c riminal, a m an who has merely fled from h is cruel c aptivity, or w ith b is aiding to trace and seize h i m who h ad t hus b urst f rom " d urance v ile ? " It is a reiteration of the theft: yet he professes to be influenced by the G o s p e l ! B u t the man-stealer states, t hat t his is injustice, as it destroys his property; and t hat it is b ase to aid a slave to fly f rom h is chains, or not to assist in recapturing h i m . W e r e the master placed in s imilar m isery w ith the v ictim 01 h is cruel avarice, and he should escape, rather than be s eized, he w ould s lay the assailant. H i s heroism w ould h e honoured, and his contest for freedom being righteous, h e w ould he exonerated : but i f a coloured person wounds a k idnapper, he is ignominiously executed, and almost w ithout f orm : for the t rial o f negroes is the highest burlcsquevpon t he administration of justice, that d espotism ever devised. " For 'tis established by your partial laws, N o slave bears witness rri a white man's cause. Beings you deem them of inferior k ind, D enied a human or a thinking mind. Happy for your slaves, were this doctrine true, W ero feelings lost to them, or given to y o u ! " A m an cannot assist in seizing a slave, and robbing h i m a gain o f his liberty or l ife, w hen he is inculpable before

  
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Id

s ociety, w ithout v iolating the l a w of l ove, a nd the c omm a n d of G o d . " S lavery! virtue dreads it as her grave Patience i tself i s meanness i n a slave. Y e t i f the w ill and sov'reignty of G od, B id suffer it awhile, and kiss the rod, W ait for the dawning of a brighter day, A nd snap the chain the moment when you may!" T he p rophecies are f illed w i t h d ivine denunciations a gainst Judah and Israel, for their oppression, fraud, rapine,    cruelty, a nd the varied enormities w hich o riginated in their c ovetousness ; and T y r e was destroyed for having traded t he persons of men. T he g ospel censures these s inners w ith c elestial authority. P aul c haracterises the Romans who were slave-holders, as inventors of e vil t hings without natural affection, i mplacable, a nd unmerciful. A m o n g the most corrupt transgressors, he classes manstcalers. T h i s c rime among the Jews exposed the perpetrators o f it to capital punishment; and the apostle classes t hem w ith s inners of the first rank. T h e word he uses, i n i ts o riginal i mport, comprehends all who are concerned i n b ringi