PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 473 CHAPTER XIII. SLAVERY IN POLEMICS.-DIVINE REVELATION. Ir seems almost to be a work of supererogation, at the present time, to argue for or against Slavery in the United States; to attempt to resolve questions with the pen which are in process of settlement by the sword, and which, before the ink we use is dry, may be determined forever. Our plan, however, would not be complete, unless we should give some attention to the reasonings by which the modern doctrines upon slavery are defended. We shall not endeavor to emulate either the eloquence or the argument of those men of Kentucky, some of them of a former day, whose writings upon slavery we have already given; nor do we think the occasion calls for any thing to be said, or indeed that any thing can be said, against the special character and influence of the system, beyond what they have uttered. Our argument will bear chiefly upon points brought to view in the literature of the rebellion, and will aim to combat the positions taken by its instigators and abettors. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. We have given, at great length, in the chapter immediately preceding, the doctrines announced by those who defend negro slavery as it exists in the South. It will be seen that the two propositions, numerically designated, which we have there laid down, are covered in every particular, and even more than covered, by the authorities we have cited. It will be seen, moreover, that every position taken by these authorities, is made to illustrate, apply to, and justify the Southern system of negro slavery. This is the specific and sole purpose for which their works are written and their reasonings elaborated. We do not propose to exhaust the entire argument by which these extravagant positions may be met. That would require a volume instead of a chapter. So much has been written on this whole subject already, by able scholars, that it seems needless to waste many words upon it; and yet, it will scarcely do to say that at this time of day these extraordinary emanations are not worth noticing. From the sources indicated, and by the authority of great names, they are still spread before the religious public, with glowing commendation, while those who dissent from these high priests of the Southern Oracle are freely called by "religious" men "apostates," "infidels," "heretics," "French Jacobins," and the like. These authoritative responses have an influence upon many minds who draw their inspiration through the channels which convey them. They should be brought to the test of truth. We propose to notice only a few of the main points made, and to present our reasons for dissenting from them. THE SCRIPTURES GROSSLY LIBELLED. As incidental to the subsequent argument, we notice, in passing, the monstrous assumption of Dr. Robinson, editor of The True Presbyterian, that the servitude among the Jews, in the time of Abraham and Moses, is the essentia type of negro slavery in the Southern States, as the systems are judged by their respective "codes," and by the facts. He asserts this in terms, several times over; and yet, no greater libel upon the truth was ever put into human language. . Let the reader first turn to the chapter where the paper THE SCRIPTURES GROSSLY LIBELLED. 475 of the Committee of the Kentucky Synod sets forth the character of slavery in Kentucky, and notice the points made concerning the system, both as to the law and the facts, and remember. that slavery in the Border States is always seen in its milder form as compared with the States. farther South; and then let him note that it is the system as it prevails throughout the slave States, as seen under their "slave codes," which Dr. Robinson says is the counterpart of that which existed in the patriarchal and Mosaic ages, and which was sanctioned by the positive ordinances of God. Was ever a more palpable untruth uttered to deceive plain men? Whether this is so may be seen by comparison. Our own ears have been greeted with the satisfaction which certain people have expressed with their condition in holding this relation under the slave laws, from reading these very words in The True Presbyterian, and they have been led to believe that the venerated fathers of the Church who held a contrary opinion were ignorant of God's word; and we presume such unscrupulous dogmatism has beguiled and consoled many others in the same manner. There is no call for mincing words in matters of such vital moment, where the interests of the State, the honor of the Church, the truth of the Scriptures, and the personal duty of men are all concerned; and hence we call such utterances by the only word which can properly characterize them. They are deliberate and positive libels upon the word and honor of God: and this we pledge ourselves to prove. The language in which they are uttered by Dr. Robinson is as follows: "It will not do to attempt to parry the force of this reductio ad absurdum, by saying that slavery under Abraham was not THE SAME THING as by the SLAVE CODE OF THE SOUTH, for we shall see a little farther on, that the ancient slavery was, IN PRINCIPLE, JUST SUCH AS THAT ENACTED BY THE SLAVE CODE OF THE SOUTH NOW." Of Abrahamic times, he says: "The language of that era was as THOROUGHLY PER MITTED BY THE INFLUENCE OF SLAVERY, as that of the Southern States now." Again: "The civil code of Moses permitted and regulated slavery, in the main recognizing THE SAME PRINCIPLES as the modern slave codes of the Southern States." Again: "The LAW OF SLAVERY in the Mosaic code, contemplates the slave as BOTH A PERSON AND A CHATTEL, JUST AS THE SOUTHERN SLAVE CODE DOES. These declarations have one merit; they are direct, clear, and unmistakable. Their demerit is, their total want of truth. POINTS OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JEWISH AND SOUTHERN SYSTEMS. If any persons are so poorly acquainted with their Bibles and with the system of Southern slavery as to believe that the laws of the Jewish servitude and the "slave codes" of the Southern States are of "the same principles," we will point out to them a few characteristics of difference. We are not, at this point, to deal with the argument by which the writer attempts to prop up his assumption; we are only concerned with the assumption itself. It is a simple question of fact; a matter of truth or falsehood as to the agreement or disagreement of these systems. And it will be borne in mind, that, in order to sustain the position which Dr. Robinson takes, it is necessary to show, that in regard to each and every one of the essential characteristics of the Southern "slave codes," there is an exact and full correspondency in the laws of the Jewish system. If there is a failure to make out this complete correspondency in any one particular his assumption falls to the ground. Among the radical principles in which the two systems differ are these. 1. By Southern law, slaves are "chattels personal." This is the legal definition in terms. The code of South JEWISH AND SOUTHERN SYSTEMS. 477 Carolina says: "Slaves shall be deemed chattels personal, in the hands of their owners and possessors, and their executors, administrators, and assigns, to all intents, constructions, and purposes, whatsoever.”* The Jewish system does not in this manner completely divest the bondman of his manhood. There is no statute in the Mosaic code so utterly dehumanizing as this, or which bears any correspondency with it. If so, let it be shown. We challenge its production.t 2. By Southern law, a slave can own no property; cannot control any of the avails of his own labor. This is expressly denied him. The civil code of Louisiana says: "A slave is one who is in the power of a master to whom he belongs. The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry, and his labor. He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire any thing, but what must belong to his master." In the Jewish system, no statute thus prevented those * The most elaborate and authoritative work on slavery, recognized as setting forth the law, is that of General Thomas R. R. Cobb, of Georgia, published in 1858, entitled "The Law of Negro Slavery in the United States." In defining slavery, he says: "Slavery, in its more usual and limited signification, is applied to all involuntary servitude, which is not inflicted as a punishment for crime. ** It has, at some time, been incorporated into the social system of every nation whose history has been deemed worthy of record. In the former condition the slave loses all personality: in the latter, while treated under the general class of things, he possesses various rights as a person, and is treated as such by the law." General Cobb was a lawyer of eminence, a brother of Howell Cobb; was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and a member of its General Assembly at New Orleans, in 1858; and was killed in battle at Fredericksburg, Va., in December, 1862. ↑ Dr. Miclziner, of Copenhagen, is spoken of as "the learned Jew," and as one of "the ablest writers upon the Hebrew economy;" Heinrich Ewald, of Göttingen, as "a great authority in Hebrew Antiquities;" Prof. Saalschütz, of Königsberg, as one "whose works on the Mosaic Polity are of the highest standing;" and Joseph Salvador, "the Rabbinical scholar of Paris;" all "men versed in the Hebrew language and in Jewish customs." These eminent Hebraists agree in this-that "the laws of Moses nowhere recognize the right of property in man, nor concede to the master an absolute proprietorship over the person of his servant." General Cobb says: "Of the other great absolute right of a freeman, viz., the right of private property, the slave is entirely deprived. His person and his time |