■pr /y n.VEY SIC Proprietor.]
NEW SERIES,
r /weekly Democratic
paper, devoted to Pol - i.AJL.
is*.; News, the Arts J§
IV, Ip.f ri A.
fished every Wednes- J
!Uy at Tuukiiannock,
iVvoming County, Pa. /jCljn
BY HARVEY SICKLER.
Tepm* 1 cn P v 1 vear, (in advance) 81.50. If
not pain within sis months, *2.00 will bo charged
AX3VEHTISIKTG-. j
three \four two \three j six ; one
onei'iuore weeks weeks mo'lh mo'th moth year
TZZuT 2.25; 2,87; 3,00' 5,00
2*" to 2.O'J! 2.50; 3.25 3 501 4.50; 6.00
q do 3 00> 3.75' 4.75 5,50'; 7.00 9.00
i Column. 4.W 4.50; fi.so, 9,00[ 10.00; 15 00
I do 6.00 7.00 10 00 12 00; 17.00; 2n,00
I do 900 9.50 14.00 13,00 25.00 35.00
1 do. 10,00.12,00 i 17,00' 22,00.28,00 40,00
Business Cards of one square, with paper, S5.
JOI3 WORK
ef all kinds neatly executed, and at prices to suit j
the times.
-'•! - - - '- - . 1.-.H-IL ,
Busiurss flotins.
BAt ON STAN IX—Nicholson, I'a. C L
JACKSON, Propri.-tor. [\Tu49tf ]
S. (OOI'MR. PHYSICIAN A .-('KG EOS'
• Newton Centre, Luzerne County Pa.
Ci KU. S. TIITTOS, ATTORNEY AT LAW,
J Tunkhnnnock, Pa. Olucc in Stark's Biicii
Block, Tioga street.
TTT>I. M. IM \TT. ATTORNEY AT LAW, Of-
YY ficc in Siark's Brick Block, Tioga St., Tunk
hanno-k. Pa
T ITTI.E Si HEWITT, ATTORNEY'S AT ,
1 J LAW, Office on Ti.ga street, Tunkhannock, |
Pa.
tt. Tl. LITTLE- T t'VWITT.^
JV. SMITH. M. D. PHYSICIAN k SURGEON,
a Offi.-e on Rri Do Street, nest door to the Demo
crat Offi o. Tnokh miioek. Pa.
TTAIIYEY -i: KI.ER, ATTORNEY AT LAW
JlI nrol (".EN KRAL INSfRANTE AGENT Of
fi e. Bridge street, opposite Wall's Hotel, Tunkhan
nock Pa.
DR. J. U. CORSET. IIJS. HAVTXG LOCAT
ED AT Tin: FALLS. WI.L promptly att.-nl
all rails in the line of his profess 1 n inar be fonn 1
tit Beem'-r's Hotel, when not professionally absent.
Fills, Oct. 10. 1361.
~ j>u. .t. c P.r.r-K I'TI V Co.,
PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS,
Would respectfully announce to 'he . itvr-r.- r '*• y
mirg that they have located at 1 t.';h inno k wher
hey will promptly attend to all cal'- in 'oe lire oT
neir profession. M •>* be found at his Liug Sturo
when not professionally absent.
JM. CAREY", M. I>.— (Graduate of the q
• M. Institute, Cincinnati) would respectfully
announce to the citizens of Wyoming and Luzerne
Counties, thr.t ee t.tiriuc? l. : " regular prut ice in tie
various departments of his profession. May nc f uind
at h'ia office or residence, when not professionally üb
cut
Particular attention given to the trentmcnt
Chronic Discns.
ontremoretand, Wyoming Co. Pa.—vSn"!
WALL'S HOTEL,
LATE AMERICAN HOUSE,
TIIN KHAN NOCK, WYOMING CO, PA
TIIIS establishment h 'S recently been refitteil and
furnished in the latest stylo Evcrv attention
fill be given to th° comfort and couvcmence of tliose
who patronize the IIoue.
T. 15. WALL, Owner and Proprietor,
Tunkhannock, September 11, 1811.
NORTH BRANCH HOTEL,
MESIIOPPKN, WYOMING COUNTY, PA
*Vm. 11. COItTKIGHT, lrop'r
HAVING resumed the proprietorship of the above
Hotel, the undersigned will spare no effort to
reader the house an agreeable place ol sojourn for
ell who inuy favor it with their custom.
Win. H CCItTRIIIHT.
June, 3rd, 1P63
MAYNARD'S HOTEL,
TITN K FI A N'\ r OC K.
WYOMING COUNTY, PKNNA.
JOHN MA V N AU D , Proprietor.
HAVING taken the Hotel, in the Borough of
Tunkhannock, recently occupied by llilcv
Warner, the proprietor respectfully solicits a share ot
public patronage. The House has been thoroughly
repaired, and the comforts and accomodations of a
first class Hotel, will be found by all who mav favor
t with th.-ir custom. 11 lß'il
M. (iII.MA
DENTIST.
j\T CTLMAX. has permanently located in Tunk-
IVJL* bannock Borough, and resp etfully tenders his
professional services to the eitizeiis oi this plaje and
tirrounding country. •
ALL WORK WARRANTED, TO GIVE SATIS
FACTION.
Office over Tutlon's Law Office, near tho Pos
Office
Doc. 11, 1361.
■■■ I ' ' .~ri"rr mi~.
Blanks 2! Blanks 2 2 2
BLANK
DEEDS
SUMMONSES
SUBPCENAES
EXECUTIONS
SALES
justice's, Constable's, and legal Blanks of all
unds. Neatly and Correctly printed on good Pn\>r~.
•nd for sale Ht the OSce of the ''North Branch
democrat."
LIME FOR FARMERS, AS A FERTILIZE
for sale at VERKOY'S
Mcshotperv. Sept. 18 1861.
Fresh Ground Plaster In Quantities
and at prices to suit purchasers, now for sale a
whoppeu oy E. MOWRTJR
' flort's Corner.
From ths Luzerne Union
I.OOIvI XO 13 ACK.
BY STELLA OF LACKAWANNA
Fold'me still closer--1 am cold,
An! shivering in the grey November;
And vet, 'tis not the autumn chill.
So much as some things I rem mbor,
That I should utter this complaint,
With trembling lips, that faint and falter ;
• Hk* heart, my heart is bitter cold—
tso ember left upon its altar.
Vfyen summer dnys of faded eld,
BroopeJ nightly, folding o'er the clover,
heather wild, and garden bower,
Yith summer blooms lay tangled o'er,
:o:jp strange bright touch my being swept,
' Si every pulse was madly leaping,
An'yoy within its heart nest smiiod,
.'4t radled babo awaked from sleeping.
. teller voice stole softly through
Tistirfu! leaves, now uiuto no longer ;
%w tusic throbbed from every stem,
AiAniy late timid soul giew stronger;
A 1 %ue alo't on unseen wm^s,
Hit-shadows failed from my vision,
All Ad found at last, at lost,
.'ilicfcaiised gate-way of Elsyu in.
Sof .y lushed asl le tuc veil,
F '-w like uiist-wieath at its portal,
And. i'lfce go Is h i 1 sprca 1 a fca*t,
\!io|uests were lov-, and jouth immorlal
Nor evfbought to wear again,
The (inon robe of sorrow's weaving;
Nor tasle juiccless fruit of care ;
Nor bgied the gofs were so deceiving.
Woul 1 sjbw how long I hfng upborne,
So fii m earth—3o near to lljavcu ?
Suffi.-e— Vays as moments Were,
\\ hen ■fjwa.rd ray poor wings ware driven,
No n*e l y; ou cruel rocks,
The vejjjrtii.it whirled a ound ma—
The vetyrers, Boft-araiad before,
Idns'.leiji ;b r, s s to deepen round me
A sumtuoiiz® came tossing by,
\Y ing-la j%-itli are bU uof healing,
Tnat dro.'|p„n my broken life,
Till hop It grew, in string revealing,
An 1 the grgri,_.f ttj s'mg me so,
I.;kc 1)U is by sua'ight drivon,
Drifte i aw n 1 1 ft my s-:y
serene, t -aim twiiigat even,
I.ut, aye, tij|i so ire cari Is? tone
From ' lle ih"re of meinorics'olJen,
Stole mourning!! tbonntutnn hush,
And iiiapi(.^ s ut.dropped ami golden;
Why came tli|.f„ r t ) jjj en ~pe l l,
lhat I woii^ er j Lf ,re re meniber
It in akes myf| £( , |,j, ter cc i^
Andsbiieri the grey November
rjwtiMwuaga-. ||
8188 E A' fy o F S B A V L liY.
EV J ii. nopkixa,
Bishop of : i4tict.se <>f Vermont.
ibe word incurs but twice in our
English Bible, "servant," cctr
raonly employed >* translators, has the
meaning of slave irj Hebrew and the
Greek originals. ns|.. rd | rtFo, where it
stands alone, however, in many
places, of* hired * jL" and of "bond
men and bondm fj rst WPIV n<jt
slaves, bnt the ntlieiii. tho distinction
being precisely the f*hich exists in our
own day. Slavery, ti re , may be defin
ed a* servitude far l'< bending to the of
spring. And this Kb bondage appears
to have existed as an *shed institution
in all the ages of our tj hy t j l(J U;l i For .
sal evidence of sacred or
profane.
This understood, Issotl ot 0 p p0!e t } ie
prevalent idea that sda\^ an ( . v j| j n j tse'f
A physical evil it mayl t this does not
satisfy the judgment of rc zealous ad
versaries, since they coii] ial j t is a rnor
ill evil— a positive sin t| a human be
ing in b !id>gp, under "'circumstances
whatever, unless as a pfc jn t inflicted
on crimes, for the safety \ community.
Here, therefore, lies the'j<pec of tins
controversy. And it is el that it can
only be settled by the B% E„r every
Christian is bound to asseL the rule of
the inspired Apostle, that l \ the trans
gression of the law," natnelv law laid
down in the Scriptures by Whonty of
God—the supreme " Lawgi&ho is able
to save and to destroy." Fi his Word
there can be no appeal. No ton can be
so atrocious in his sight as tlnkhich dares
to rise against his government!) blasphe
my can be more unpar l nab\ aI i that
which imputes sin or moral evl the de
crees of the eternal Judge, who i ne per
] feet in wisdom, in knowledge, at|\ove.
With entire correctness, thok your
letter refers the question to tho <1 infalli
ble criterion—the Word of God. \it were
a matter to be determined by tnjL rs onal
sympathies, tastes, or feelings, I shj be as
ready as anv man to condemn thdLtitu
tion of slavery, for all my prejudice* edu-
cation, habit, and social position s| Cn
tirely opposed to it. Cut a? a Cnri|i, I i
am solemnly warned not to be *' wi a my
own conceit," and not to " lean to own
understanding " As a Christian, I ; coin- J
pellcd to submit my weak and erring mel
lect to the authority of the Abnt'ity.lFor
then only can Ibe safe in my Conclns,
when I know that they are in. accort\ee
with, the will of Him, beforo tnbm a l
I must render a strict account iAiho
gr eat day.
-c-
"TO SPEAK HIS THOUGHTS IS EVERY FREEMAN'S RlGHT."—Thomas Jefferson.
TUNKHANNOCK, PA., WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5 1863.
| I proßeed, accordingly, to the evidence of the
sacred Scriptures, which, long ago, produced
complete conviction in my own mind, and
must, as 1 regard it, be equally conclusive to
every candid and sincere inquirer. When the
array of posi'ive proof is exhibited, I shall
consider the objections, and examine their
validity with all the fairness in ray power.
The first appearance of slavery in the Pu
bic is the wonderful prediction of the patri
arch Noah : " Cursed be Can-tan, a servant
of servants shall he be to his brethren.
Blessed be the Lord G >d of Shorn, and Cana
an shall he his servant. God shall enlarge
Jnfshct, and he shall dwell in the tents of
Shorn, and Canaan shall be his servant.
(Gen. 9: 25.)
The heartless irreverence which Itam,
the father of Canaan, displayed toward his
eminent parent, whose piety had just saved
him from the deluge, presented the immedi
ate occasion for tins remarkable prophecv ;
but the nctual fulfilmeut was reserved for
posterity, after they had lost the knowledge
of God, and become polluted bv the abomi
nations of heathen idolatry. The Almighty,
foreseeing this total degradation of the race,
t ordains 1 them to servitude or slavery under
the descendants of Shem and Japhet, doubt
less because he jwlged it to he their fittest
condition. And aU history proves how ac
curately the srediction has been accomplish
ed, even to the present day.
We come m-xt to the proof that slavery
was sanctioned by the Deity in the case*of
Abraha m, whose three hundred and eighteen I
bond servants, born in his own house, (Gen.
II: 14.) are mentioned along with those who
were bought with lis money, as proper sub
jects for circumcision. (Gen. IT: 12.)
His wife Sarah had also an Egyptian slave,
named Ilagar, who fled from her severity.
And " the angel of the Lord," commanded
the fugitive to relum to her mistress a d>
submit herself. [Gen. 16 : 9 1 If the phil
anthropists of our ag , who profess to be-
lieve t!ie B !>!•>, had been will ng to take the
counsel of that angel for their guide, it would
have preserved the peace and welfare of the
Union.
Ilie third proof that slavery was authorized
hy the Almighty occuts in the last of the
Ten Commandments, delivered from Mount
Sinai, and universally acknowledged by Jews
and Christians as run MORAL LAW: " Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou
shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, n< r his
man so cant, nor his maid sir cant, nor his
ox, n>r his ass, nor anything that is thy
neighbor's" [Exod. 2'.): 17 ] Hore it is
evident that the principle of property —" anj*
thing that is thy neighbor's"—runs through
the whole. lam quite aware, indeed, of tne
prejudice which many good people entertain
against the idea of pr >perty in a human be
ing, and shall consider it, in due time,
amongst the objections. T am equally aware
that the wives of our day may take umbrage
at the law which places thttn In the same
sentence with the slave, and even with the
house and the cattle. But the truth is none
the less certain. The husband lias a real
properly in his wife, because she is hound,
for life, to serve and to obey him. The wife
has a real property in her husband, because
he is bound for life to cherish and maintain
her. The character of property is doubt
less modified by its design. But whatever
whether person or thing, the law appropri
ates to an infYwuluu), becomes of necessity
his property.
The fourth proof, however, is yet more
express, as it is derived from the direct rule
established by the wisdom of God for his
chosen people, Israel, on the very point in
question, namely :
" If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years, I
shall he serve, and in the Beve^fj e came in (
shall go out freq f- If
uy Himself, he shall go out by bimseii. i
he were married, then his wife shall go ou
with him. If his master have given him a
wife, and she have borne him sons or daugh
ters the wife and the children shall be her
mailer's, and he shall go out by himself.
jExod °1 1-4 ] H ( ' re we seo lhat tI,G
ration of husband and wife is positively di
! rected bv the divine command, in order to
I secure the property of the master in his
bond-maid and her offspring. But the hus
band had an alternative, if he preferred s a
very to separation. For thus the law of
God proceeds • " H the servant shall plainly
6 av 1 love my master, my wife, and my
children ; I will not go out free ; then his
master shall bring him unto the judges; lie
shall also bring him to the door or unto the
door-post ; and his master shall bore his ear
through with an awl, and he eh all serve him
forever (Ex.nl. 21: 5, G ] With this law
before his eyes, what Christian can believe
that the Almighty attached immorality or
pin to the condition of slavery ?
The treatment of slaves, especially as it
regarded the degree of correction, which the
master might administer, occurs in the same
chapter, s f*
acrrant or his nt.id with a rod, .„d he d
U n,lrr hie hand, he .hall bo ...rely pan,shod.
J!„,„„ht.ndiap, if ho continue a day or
two, he shall ml he pnmVtel, Jur he is hit
monev: 1 [Exod. 21 : 20, 21 ] And again,
If a man smi'e the eye of hi- servantt or the
pyo of his maid, that it perish, he shalll let
him go free for his eye's sake. And if he
smite out bis man servant's tooth, or his
maid-servant's tooth, he shall let him go free
for his tooth's sake." (Exod. 21: 20, 27.)
Here we see that the master was authorized
to u*c corporal correction toward his slaves,
within certain limits. When immediate
death ensued, he was to be punished as tho
judges might determine. But for all that
came short of this, tho loss of his property
was held to be a suffieientjpenalty.
The next evidence furnished by the divine
law appears in the peculiar and admirable
appointment of the Jubilee. "Ye shall hal
low the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty
throughout all the land to all the inhabit
ants thereof: it shall be a Jubilee unto you
and ye shall return every man unto his JIOS,
session, and ye shall return every man to
tiitfamiy." (Lev. 25:10) This enact
ment, however, did not affect the slaves, be
cause it only extended to the Israelites who
had " a possession and a family," according
to the orig nal distribution of the land among
the tribes. The distinction is plainly set
f.jrih in the same chapter, namely :
"If thy brother that dvvelleth by thee be
waxen poor, and be sold unto thee, thou
shalt not compel him to serve as a bond
servant, but as a hired servant and as a so
journer he shall be with thee, and shall serve
thee unto the vear of Jubilee, and then shall
he depart from thee, both he and his chil
dren with him, and of all return unto his OWD
family, and unto the possession of his fathers
sliall he return. For they arc my servants
which 1 brought forth out of the land of
shall not be sold as bondsmen.
Both thy bondmen and bondmaids, which
thou shall hgvc.sftall be of the heathen that
are round about you ; of them shall ye buy
bondmen and bond maids. Moreover, of
the children of the strangers that d > sojourn
among you, of them shall ye buy, and of
their families that are with you, which they
begat in your land, and they shall be your
possession. And ye shall take them a- an
inheritance of your children after you, to
inherit them for a possession ; THEY SHALL
BE YOUR BONDMEN FOR TVKR ; but over your
brethren, the children of Israel, yc shall not
rule one over another with rigor, For unto
me the children of Israel are servan's ; they
are my servants whom I brought forth out
of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your
God." (Lev. 25 : 40-46, with v. 55 )
The distinction here made between the
temporary servitude of (he Israelite and the
perpetual bonlsg-r <>f the heathen rac •, is too
plain for controversy. And this express and
positive law furnishes tiie true meaning of
another passage which the ultra abolition
ists is very fond of repeating: "Thou shait
not deliver unto his ma ter the servant
which is escaped from his master unto thee :
ho shall dwell with thee, even among you, in
that place which he shall choose, in one of
'hy gates where it liketh him best : thou
slialt rot oppress him." (Deut 23: 15. IG.)
This evidently must be referred to the
case of a slave who had escaped from a Jor
eign heathen mutter, and can not, with any
sound reason, be applied to the slaves of the
Israelites themselves. For it is manifest that
if it wore so applied, it would nullify the
other enactments of the divine Lawgiver, and
ii would have been an absurdity to toll the
people that they should " buy bondmen and
bondmaids of the heathen and the stranger,
to be their possession and the inheritance of
their children for ever," while, nevertheless,
the slaves should be at liberty to run away
and become freemen when they pleased. It
Is the well-known maxim, in the interpreta
tion of all laws, that each sentence shall be
so construed as to give a consistent moaning
to the whole. And assuredly, if we are,
bound to follow this-rul. i—
mttto legislation of the Almighty. J he]
meaning that I have adopted is the only one
which agrees with the established principle
of construction, and it has rnvaria y
been sanctioned by the doctors of the Jew
ish law, and every respectable Christian com
mentator .
Such then, is the institution of slavery,
laid down by the Lord God of Israel for Ins
chosen people, and continued for fifteen cen
turies. until the new dispensation of the Gos-
pel. What change did this produce * i
grant, of course, that we, as Christians, are
bound by the precepts and example of the
Savior and his apostles. Let us now, there
fore proceed to the all-important inquiry,
whether we are authorized by these to pre
sume that the Mosaic system was done away
First, then, we ask what the divine Re
deemer said in reference to slavery And
the answer is perfectly undeniable : IU dip
NOT ALLUDE TO tT AT ALP. Hot 01,0 word
upon the subject is recorded by any of the
fourAangelists who gave lLs luo and doc
trinfto the world. Yet slavery was in full
existence at the time, throughout Judea
and the'lioman empire, according to the his
torian G.bbon, contained sixty million, n
•slaves on the lowest probable computation -
How prosperous and united would our glo
ous republic he at this hour, if the eloquent
and pertinacious declaimers against slavery
had been Willing to follow their Sivior a ex-
ampl®' . i.
But did not our Lord aub.tanM.Jly repeal
,|,o old law, by the mere hot that he etta -
liahed a new d.apbnaation ? Certainly "' '
unlet, they were incompatible. And that
he did not consider tbero incompatible is
clearly proved by his own express declara
tion. " Think not," saith he, " that lam
comedo destroy the law or the prophets. I
am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."—
(Matt. 5 : 17.) On that point, therefore,
this single passage is perfectly conclusive.
It is said by some, however, that the great
principle of the Gospel, loVeto God and loVe
to man, necessarily involved the condemna
tion of slavery. Yet how should it have
any such result, when we remember that
this was no new principle, but, on the con
trary. was laid down by the Deity to his
own chosen people, and was quoted from the
Old Testament by the Savior himself ? And
why should slavery be thought inconsistent
with it ? In the relation of master and slave
we are assured by our Southern brethren
that there is incomparably more mutual love
than can ever be found between the employ
er and the hireling. And I can readify be
live it, for the very reason that it is a relation
for lifo, and the parties, when rightly dispos
ed, must therefore feel a far stronger and
deeper interest in each other.
The next evidence which proves that the
Mosaic law was not held to be inconsistent
with the Gospel occurs in the statement of
the apostles to St. Paul, made some twenty
years, at least, after the establishment of the
first Christian church in Jerusalem. "Thou
seest, brother," said they, " how many
thousands of Jews there are who believe,
and they are all zealous of the lotr." (Acts
21 : 20.) llow could this have been possi
sible, if the law was supposed to be abolish
ed by the new dispensation ?
But the precepts and the conduct of *>t.
Paul himself, the great apostle of tho Gen
tiles, are all sufficient, because he meets the
very paint, and settles the whole queition.
Thus he saith to the Ephesians : " Servants
(in the original Greek, bond servants or
slaves) "be obedient to them that are your
masters, according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling, in singleness of your hearts, as
! unto Christ. Nut with eye service, as men
! pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God f:om the heart, with good
will duing service, as to the Lord, and not
unto m?n, Vnnwinr* thnr whatsoever good
thing any inui doeth, the same shall ho re
ceive of the Lord, whether he be bond or
free. An Iye masters, do the same things
unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing
that your Master also is in heaven, neither
is there any respect of persons with him."—
(Eph. G : 5-6 )
Again, to the Collossians, St. Paul repeats
the L satne commandments. "Servants."
(that is. bondservants or slaves) "obey in
all things your .masters according to the
Hcsh, not with eye service, as men pkasers,
but in singleness of heart, fearing God."—
(Col. 3 : 22.) "Masters, give unto your
servants that which is just and equal, know
ing that ye also have & Master in heaven."
(Col. 4:1.)
Again the same inspired teacher lays down
the law in very strong terms, to Timothy, the
tirst Bishop ofEphesus : " Let as many ser
vants as are under the yoke,"(that is, the
yoke of bondage) " count their own masters
worthy of ali honor, that the name of God
and his doctrine be not blaphcmed. And
they that have believing masters, let thein
not despise them because they are brethren,
but rather do them service because they are
faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit.
These things teach and exhort, man
teach otherwise, I* . whole -
sum words, even the words of our Lord. Je
ms Christ, and'to the doctrine which, is
coriliiijto c'omctti envy strife
railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputing*
of men of corrupt minds and destiln'e of the
truth, supposing that gain is godlhms.
From such withdraw thyself. Bat godliness
with contentment isgreat gam. for we brough
nothing into this world, and it is certain we
can carr, notWng out. And h.v.rg food ."d
| raiment, tet us be therewith content. [1 Tun
5 Lastly, St Paul, in hi. Epistle toPhilomo
on, informs him that ho had sent back his
Active slave, whom the apostle had convert
ed 0 to the Christian faith during his imprison
ment, ask,ng the master to forgive and re
ceive his penitent disciple. I beseech thee
for my son Onesimus," saith he, whom I
hats begotten in my bonds, .hid. m
put was to thee unprofitable, but now profit
able to thee and to me, whom I have sent
again : thou therefore receive that is mine
own bowel., whom I would have. retained
with me, that in thy .lead lie might Intro
ministered unit, me in the bonds nf ik. !
pel But without thy mind would Ido
nothing, that thy benefit .hould not be.s it
were of ticctesity, bat will.ngly. For p.r
hap, he therefore departed for a season, that
thou shouldst receive him forever, not now
as a servant, bnt above a servant, a brother
beloved, specialty to me, bnt how much mora
to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord,
If thou countest me therefore a partner, re
ceive hi,u as myself- If lie hath wronged
thee or oweth the. aught, pnt that on mine
account. I P"l !>•"> WrHW " " "i V,
own hand. I will repay tt; albe.t I do not
.ay to thee how thou owest unto me thine
own soul beides."[Ep. to Philemon 5: 1C
19]
I TEnivrs s 81.00 rEn AixruTraat
Tho evidence of the New Testament is thus
compL-te, plainly proving that the institution
of slavery was not abolished by the gospel.
Compare now the course of the ultra aboli
tionist with that of Christ and his inspired
apostle The divine Redeemer npently re
bukes the sanctimonious Pharisees?, " who
made void the law of God by their traditions.'
lie spares not the wealthy, infidel Sadduces.
lie denounces the hypocritical Scribes, who
' loved the uppermosa rooms at feasts and to
be called of men, Rabbi Rabbi."
He calls the royal Herod " that fox," entire
ly regardless of the king's displeasure. He cen
sures severely the Jewish practice of divorc
ing their wives for the slightest cause, and
vindicates the original sanctity of marriage.
He tells the deluded crowd of his enemies
that they are '' the children of the devil, and
that the lusts of their fathers they woul do.''
He makes a scourge of small cords, and
drives the buyers and sellers out of the tem
ple. And while lie thus rebukes the sins of
ail around him, and speaks with divine au
thority, he proclaims himself the special
friend and patron of the poor—preaches to
them his bl-ssed doctrine, on the inountain j
by the seaside, or in the public streets, under
the open canopy of heaven—heals their dis
eases, partakes of their humble fare, and pass
ing by the rich and great, e hooses his apos
tles from the ranks of the publicans and tho
fishermen of Galilee. Yet lie lived in the
midst of slavery, maintained over the old
heathen races, in accordance with the Mosaic
law, and uttered not one word against it •
What proof can be stronger than this, that
he did not regard it as a sin or a mora! evil ?
And what contrast can be more manifest than
this example of Christ on the one hand, and
the loud and bitter denunciations of pur anti
slavery preachers and politicians, colling
lliemselccs Christians, cn the other 1 For
they not only set themselves against tho
Word of God in this matter, condemning
slavery as the " monster sin," the " sum of
all villanies," but—strange to say they do it
in the very name of that Saviour whose
whole line of conduct was the very opposite
of their own !
Look next at the contrast afforded Ul °
inspired Apostle of the Gentiles. lie preach
es to the slave, and tells him to be obedient
to his Master for Christ's sake, faithful and
submissive, as a main branch of religious
duty. He preaches to the master and tells
him to be just and equal to his slave, know
ing that ins Master is in heaven. He finds a
fugitive slave, and converts him to the Gos
pel, and then sends him back again to his
old home, with a letter of kind recommenda
tion. Why does St. Paul act thus ? why
does he not counsel the fugitive to claim his
right to freedom and defend that right, if
necessary bv the strong hand of violence,
even unto death ? Why does ho not write to
his disciple, Philemon and rebuke him for
the awful sin of holding a fellow-man in
bondage, and charge it upon him, as a solemn
duty, to emancipate his slaves, at the peril o
his soul.
The answer is very plain. S£. Paul was
inspired, and knew the will of the Lord Je
sus Christ, and was only intent on obeying it.
Anil who are we, that in our modern wisdom
presume to set aside the Word of God, and
scorn the example of the divine Redeemer,
and spurn the preaching and the conduct of
the apostles, and invent for ourselves a
"higher law " than those holy Scriptures
which are givrn to us as " a light to our feet
and a lamp to our paths," in the darknes of a
sinful and p illntri] | ?| || I li nnrl r~
prard"as"duty ? Who are we, that are ready
to trample on the doctrine of the Bible, and
tear to shreds the Constitution of our country
ind even plunge the land into the untold hoe
rors of civil war, and yet boldly pray to the
God of Israel to bless our very acts of rebcll
against his own sovereign authority ? AV oe
to our Union when the blind become the
leaders of the blind! Woe to the man who
dares to " strive against his Maker . (
Yet I do not mean to charge the numerous
and respectable friends of this popular delu
sion with a willful or conscious opposition to
the truth. They are seduced, doubtless, in
the great majority of cases, by the feeling, of
a false philanthropy, which palliates, it U can
not excuse, their dangerous error. Lwing
far away from the Southern States, with no
practical experience of the institution,*nt
accustomed, from their childhood, to attach an
an inordinate value to their personal liberty,
they are naturally disposed to compassionate
the negro race, and to believe that the slave
must be supremely wretched m his bondage.
Thevare under no special inducement to
to " search the Scriptures on this-particu
lar subject, nor are they in general, T am sot
rv to say, accustomed to study the Bibl
half as much as they read the newspapers,
the novel and the magazine T.iere they find
manv revolting pictures of slavery, and they
l not pause to ask the question whether
toe v are Just and faithful. Perhaps a iugi
livV comes along who h.sfledfromh.smas
i tor and who in justification of himself, will
usual to trive a very distorted statement of the
fits eve.i if he does not invent them alto
gether. And these good and kind hear V**
neonle believe it all implicitly, without ewet
remembering the rule about
sides before we form our opinion. f
f< o nch'ded next week.\
VOL. 2, NO. .51.