The Liberator

COMMUNICATIONS.
To the Editor of the Liberator:
Dear Sir—The following letter on the sin of slavery
was forwarded by the stage-driver to the care of
the Post-Master of Mattapoisett, on the 17th ult., but
not having received any response, I have concluded
to forward it to you for publication, if you should
deem it worthy of an insertion, hoping that some other person of kindred views with Dr. Robbins on slavery will favor me with a reply, should he fail from
any cause to respond. With simply a little enlargement of the illustration of 'common rights,' the
letter is an exact copy of the one forwarded.
Truly yours,
C. SIMMONS.
Wareham, Nov. 10, 1840.

Letter on Slavery,
To Dr. Robbins, of Mattapoisett, (Rochester,) Mass.
Wareham, Nov. 6, 1840.
Dr. Thomas Robbins:
Rev. and Dear Sir—During the late meeting of
the Old Colony Association, I had not much opportunity to attempt an answer to your question to me—
What scripture authority have the abolitionists for
alleging that slavery is intrinsically sinful?
I will, therefore, now give you my views more at
length. I conclude your question was intended to
refer in particular to American slavery, which I understand to be, the subjecting and holding a portion
of our race to the condition of chattels personal.
1. I take this to be a violation of those divine
precepts which assert or imply an equality of human rights—and, consequently, to be an invasion of
the essential rights and privileges of our neighbor.
An apostle says, Acts 17:25, 'He hath given to all
life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of
one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the
face of the earth.' Since we are all formed 'of one
blood,' or common stock, I conclude the life,
breath, and all things' here alleged to be given 'to
all,' involves certain common rights and privileges
which our heavenly Father has kindly and freely
conferred upon our race. I conclude it will be admitted by all, that God has given certain common
rights and privileges to mankind, which are made the
ground of certain mutual duties. I will mention a
few of these, which appear to me to be the common
rights and privileges of man.
I conclude that one is, liberty to do right always,
and to enjoy the consequences which God has connected with obedience to his law. Since Christ has
commanded us to 'be perfect, as our Father in
heaven is perfect,' he has doubtless guaranteed to
all men the right of perfect obedience to God, and
also the rich and glorious consequences connected
with such obedience, as far as it shall be rendered.
I take it that another common right of mankind
is liberty to worship God according to the dictates
of conscience. This seems to me to be guaranteed
in such precepts as follow: 'Holding faith and a
good conscience.'—'Why is my liberty judged of
another man's conscience?' 'And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of
offence toward God, and toward man.' If we have
not perfect liberty to obey all the divine requirements; to worship God in the beauty of holiness,
according to the dictates of conscience; and to inherit the glorious reward which God has connected
with so doing, what right have we to do any thing?
I conclude we have a common right to examine
the evidence of revealed truth, and freely to exercise private judgment in respect to truth and duty,
agreeably to such precepts as these: 'Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good.'—'Search the
scriptures.'—'Why even of yourselves judge ye not
what is right?'—'Believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits.'
It seems to me that we have a common right to
point out and reprove each other's errors, faults, and
vices, agreeably to the following precepts:—'Thou
shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him'—'Them that sin, rebuke before
all, that others also may fear.'
We appear to have a common right to withhold
fellowship from evil doers, agreeably to the direction—'Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works
of darkness, but rather reprove them.' What can
be more evident than the common right to make
free expressions of strong disapprobation and abhorrence towards moral evil, and evil doers, according to the example and precepts of Christ, and the dictates of conscience?
Another common right of mankind seems to be,
to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom, and to
lay up a rich store of mental treasure, agreeably to
the following precepts:—'Wisdom is the principal
thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding' 'Take fast hold of instruction: let her not go: keep her, for she is thy
life' 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge'—'And this I pray, that your love may abound
yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent.' Can we conceive any right better guaranteed to mankind, than liberty to acquire this mental treasure which is free?
Equally evident appears to be the right of mankind to exercise the gifts, and to employ the talents
which God has given us, in the instruction, warning,
and edification of others, agreeably to the precepts
—'Having then gifts, differing according to the
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us
prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or
ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that
teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation' 'The manifestation of the Spirit is
given to every man to profit withal'—'Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another.'—'Exhort one
another daily'—'The eye cannot say to the hand, I
have no need of thee: nor again the head to the
feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those
members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.' Do not these and other divine
precepts fully guarantee the liberty to employ
whatever gifts and talents we may have in the instruction, warning and edification of others, as we
can find opportunities, and the glorious rewards
connected with it, as far as any succeed, by so doing, in turning others to righteousness?
It seems very evident that we have a common
right to enjoy the fruits of our own industry, agreeably to the precepts—'It is good and comely for one
to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his
labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of
his life which God giveth him: for it is his portion'
—'There is nothing better than that a man should
rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion.'
I take it that mankind have a common right to
form conjugal relations, and to enjoy permanent
conjugal society, agreeably to the divine precepts—
'Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all
the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, for that is thy portion in this
life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the
sun'—'It is not good that man should be alone.
It seems also evident that parents have an equal
common right to train up their children for usefulness and happiness, since we read 'And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord'
—'And these words which I command thee this day
shall be in thy heart: And thou shalt teach them
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them
when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when
thou risest up'—'Ye shall command your children
to observe to do all the words of this law.'
To the above, I will only add the right of personal freedom, as being involved in all the above rights
and privileges, and which seems to be guaranteed
in the precepts—'Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature'—'He that
stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in
his hand, he shall surely be put to death.'
The above, with other kindred and involved
rights and privileges, appear to me to be the common gifts of our common Creator, whose law I take
to be the true and only charter of human rights and
privileges. This appears to have been the view of
our political fathers, who adopted the Declaration
of American Independence: 'We hold these truths
to be self-evident; that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these
rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.' This appears also to have been the view of
Dr. Richard Price, who boldly advocated the
cause of American liberty in the times that 'tried
men's souls.' He says in one of his papers: 'Nothing can be of so much consequence to us as liberty.
It is the foundation of all honor, and the chief privilege and glory of our natures. * * * As no
people can lawfully surrender their religious liberty;
so neither can any civil societies lawfully surrender
their civil liberty by giving up to any extraneous jurisdiction their power of legislating for themselves.
Such a cession being inconsistent with the inalienable rights of human nature, would either not bind
at all, or bind only the individuals who made it.
This is a blessing which no one generation of men
can give up for another; and which, when lost, a
people have always a right to reassume.'
With the above seems to accord the view of
Dr. Chandler Robbins, of Plymouth, as given in
his election sermon before the Massachusetts Legislature, 1791:
'The natural rights of men are the same under
every species of government, and do not owe their origin to the social compact. Such are the rights of
conscience.' We have the testimony of
John Wesley, to the same point, who says,
'Liberty is the right of every creature, as soon as
he breathes the vital air, and no human law can deprive him of that right, which he derives from the
law of nature.'
Dr. Emmons also affirms that
'All men have natural and inalienable rights
which ought never to be taken from them by force.
The common rights and privileges of human nature which God has freely conferred upon mankind
as a race, seem to me to be made the ground of
many divine requirements, enjoining duties towards
our Creator and fellow-creatures. The divine precepts to 'grow in knowledge and in grace,' that
our 'love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;' to 'search the scriptures'; to avoid imposition; to use the means of
grace as 'workers together with God'; and to augment and employ our influence in the service of
God and of our fellow-creatures, I conclude are
among those which are based on the common capacities, rights and privileges which God has given to
mankind.
These common rights and privileges of humanity
I have supposed lie at the foundation of civil order
and happiness, and constitute the essential dignity
and glory of the intelligent creation. Whoever infringes these rights, and makes a jar in civil society, I conclude is chargeable with the consequences.
But I need not dwell upon this point. The literature of the world,' which a Southerner has conceded is 'against slavery,' is extensively before you
in your valuable and extensive library, and you
have much better means to appreciate the importance of these rights and privileges than most men.
I take slavery to be a plain and palpable violation
of those divine statutes which are the true charter
of these common rights and privileges of humanity;
and I conclude the sin of slavery, in the sight of
God, must correspond with the known and obvious
importance of those divine statutes which are the charter of these common rights and privileges; and with the known and obvious tendency of slavery to subvert these rights. Though He, who gave these common rights and privileges to man, has an undoubted right to take them away, or to restrict them at his pleasure, I conclude men have no such right, any further than they have plain and express authority from God for so doing. I remark,
2. That I take slavery to be a plain violation of
those passages of scripture which prohibit manstealing, theft and robbery. We read, Ex. 20:16.
He that stealeth a man, or selleth him, or if he be
found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
And an apostle adds, I Tim. 1:9. 'The law is not
made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and
disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers, for man-slayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons.'
Do not these passages imply that mankind have a
common right to their own persons and liberty; and,
on this principle, do they not condemn those who
forcibly and by stealth take them away? And do
they not pointedly condemn American slavery,
which originated in man-stealing, and which the
lapse of a few years or generations, if I mistake not,
cannot transform into lawful dominion, either in the
sight of God, or of man? We further read, Isaiah
10:1, Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and which write grievousness which they
have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of
my people, that widows may be their prey, and that
they may rob the fatherless.' I conclude this passage applies with peculiar force to slavery, which
takes away the dearest rights of humanity from the
slave, that not only widows and the fatherless,
but husbands, and wives, and their children, and all
they have and are, become a prey for life. It is written Lev. 19:13. 'Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him.' Prov. 21:7. The robbery of
the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse
to do judgment.' These and other divine prohibitions of theft, robbery, and man-stealing, seem to
me to apply in all their force to slavery, which originated in kidnapping, and robs many of life; and
forcibly takes away the dearest common rights and
privileges of humanity. Hence.
3. I view slavery to be a violation of those divine
precepts which require justice between man and man.
We read Col. 4:1. 'Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye
also have a Master in heaven.' Micah 6:8. What
doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God?' James 5:4. 'Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of
you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of
them which have reaped are entered into the ears of
the Lord of Sabaoth.' Jer. 22:13. 'Wo unto him
that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his
chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work.'
But slavery first reduces its victims to chattels personal, and then refuses to give them a fair equivalent for their services. And if there is any such
thing as injustice and unrighteousness between man
and man, I conclude that slavery must be the essence of these sins.
4. Slavery appears to me obnoxious to the divine
prohibitions and threatenings against cruelty, oppression, overreaching and grinding the face of the poor.
We read, Deut. 24:14. Thou shalt not oppress a
hired servant that is poor and needy.' Mal. 3:5
'I will come near to you in judgment, and I will be
a swift witness against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and
that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear
not me, saith the Lord of hosts.' 1 Thes. 4:6. That
no man go beyond and defraud his neighbor, in any
matter; for the Lord is the avenger of all such.'
Job 20:19. 'Because he hath oppressed, and hath
forsaken the poor, because he hath violently taken
away a house that he builded not—God shall cast
the fury of his wrath upon him.' 27:13. This is
the heritage of oppressors which they shall receive
of the Almighty. If his children be multiplied, it
shall be for the sword: and his offspring shall not
be satisfied with bread.' Prov. 22:16. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that
giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.' Ps.
72:4. He shall judge the poor of the people, he
shall save the children of the needy, and shall break
in pieces the oppressor.' Mat. 23:25. Wo unto
you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make
clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but
within they are full of extortion and excess.' Ezra
22:12. Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors
by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord
God. Behold, therefore, I have smitten my hand at
thy dishonest gain, and at thy blood which hath
been in the midst of thee. Can thy heart endure,
or can thy hands be strong, in the day that I shall
deal with thee? Her princes in the midst of thee
are like wolves, ravening the prey, to shed blood.
and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. The
people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy:
yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
Therefore have I poured out mine indignation.'
These and other prohibitions and denunciations
against cruelty, oppression, overreaching and grinding the face of the poor, seem to me to apply with
pre-eminent force to slavery, which crushes both
body and soul into degradation, suffering and death.
If the knowledge of revealed truth is the divinely
appointed means of holiness, and if the possession of the common rights and privileges of humanity is the means of happiness, how forcibly does the above
passage respecting destroying souls apply to slavery!
5. Slavery seems to me a violation of that class
of divine precepts, which require us to espouse the
cause of suffering humanity, and to relieve the suffering and oppressed. Deut. 23:15. Thou shalt not
deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee: he shall dwell
with thee, in that place which he shall choose, thou
shalt not oppress him.' Zec. 7:9. 'Show mercy
and compassion, every man to his brother.' Jer. 20:
12. Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver
him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor:
and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the
fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent
blood in this place.' Isaiah 1:17. Seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
the widow.' Isaiah 58:6. Is not this the fast that
I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to
undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go
free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy
bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor
that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest
the naked, that thou cover him: and that thou hide
not thyself from thine own flesh?' Prov. 31:8.
'Open thy mouth for the dumb, in the cause of all
such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy
mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the
poor and needy.' Heb. 13:3. Remember them
that are in bonds as bound with them: and them
which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in
the body.' Ps. 82:3. Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver
the poor and needy; rid them out of the hand of the
wicked.' Prov. 24:11. If thou forbear to deliver
them that are drawn unto death, and those that are
ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew
it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know
it? and shall he not render to every man according
to his works?' Jer. 34:17. 'Ye have not hearkened
unto me, in proclaiming liberty every one to his
brother, and every one to his neighbor; behold, I
proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the
sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I
will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms
of the earth.' James 2:13. 'Ye shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy.'
Does not slavery 'spoil' the American bondmen,
and is there any system of oppression in the land to
be compared with this? Instead of obeying the
above commands, do not slaveholders and their allies, in 'framing mischief by a law,' or in using the
legislative and executive powers of the country to
enforce slavery, and to sustain the oppressor from
generation to generation? Do they not violate them
in arresting and returning the bleeding, suffering
abused captive to his cruel oppressor—in exciting
a general and strong prejudice against the 'spoiled
bondman—in interdicting them from the civil courts of the country for a redress of grievances—in freely using the products of slave labor, thereby increasing the demand for it—in augmenting slaveholding influence in Congress by adopting a rule of representation to increase their power to oppress—and in various ways, taking the side of cruelty, blood and
oppression? [Vide, Stroud's 'Sketch of the laws
relating to slavery'—Wm. Jay's 'Views of the action of the federal government in behalf of slavery
—and the history of our general government
throughout.]
6. Slavery appears to me to be a violation of
another class of precepts, which enjoin disinterested love, good will and kindness. It is written, James
2:8. If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the
scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
ye do well; but if ye have respect of persons, ye
commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.' Lev. 19:34. 'The stranger that dwelleth
with you, shall be unto you as one born among you,
and thou shalt love him as thyself, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'
Matt. 22:37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'
1 John, 4:10. Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one another.' Gal.
5:13. By love, serve one another. For all the law
is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour
one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one
of another.' 1 John, 4:7. Beloved, let us love one
another. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for
God is love.' 20. 'If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth
not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love
God whom he hath not seen? 1 Cor. 10:24. Let
no man seek his own, but every man another's
wealth.' Matt. 7:12. Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.'
These passages appear to require us to love and
regard the interests and happiness of each one of
our brethren of the human family within our knowledge, as if they were our own—to be as desirous of
their promotion as of our own—and to be as willing to have our interests sacrificed, as those of our
neighbor. There is a foundation for this mutual
love, good will and sympathy in that noblest gift of
God—the capacity for universal benevolence and enjoyment. That slavery tramples this class of precepts under foot, seems evident to me from this plain
fact. No slaveholder, or apologist for slavery
is willing to exchange places with the slave. Should
the tables be turned, and the masters, their wives
and children, be subjected to slavery, they would be
loud in their complaints. They would by no means
cheerfully submit to such an invasion of their common rights and privileges, for a single week, much
less from generation to generation, until slavery
should degrade them and their offspring to the level
of American slaves.
7. Slavery appears to me to be obnoxious to the
divine prohibitions and denunciations against partiality, prejudice, scorn and contempt, towards the
poor and degraded. James 2:1. 'My brethren,
have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord
of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come
into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in good
ly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in
vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that wears the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here
in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou
there, or sit here under my footstool; are ye not partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, has not
God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom, which he has prepared
for them that love him? (1 Cor. 1:26-29. Luke 10:
21 and 14:21 and 1:52, Matt. 20:16.) If ye have
respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.' Prov. 14:21. 'He
that despises his neighbor, sins: but he that
has mercy on the poor, happy is he.' Matt. 18:10.
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little
ones: for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father. For the
Son of man is come to save that which is lost.'
Prov. 19:29. Judgments are prepared for scorners.
Prov. 3:34. Surely he scorns the scorners: but
he gives grace to the lowly.' Ps. 12:5. For the
oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in
safety from him that puffs at him.' Isaiah 58:9.
'If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in
obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noon day.
Slavery appears to me to violate these and similar
divine precepts, in creating a cruel prejudice against the color of the bondmen—against the condition and menial service of the bondmen, and the race to which they belong—a prejudice which holds them in great contempt, degradation and misery.
I have now gone as far in showing the scripture
authority of abolitionists for alleging that slavery is
inherently and intrinsically sinful, or a malum in se,
as I have time to write, and perhaps as far as you
will have time to read. These arguments led me to
conclude some years since, that the abolitionists are
right in alleging that American slavery is a system
of wrong and outrage—is inherently sinful—and,
consequently, that it ought to be immediately abolished.' And I have noticed that others—eminent
statesmen, philanthropists and divines, have also
pronounced slavery to be intrinsically and pre-eminently sinful. I will now briefly advert to some of
their opinions, giving the reference where I happen
to have it.
Gov. Everett, in his inaugural address before the
Massachusetts Legislature, Jan. 1836, says, 'In this
State, and in several of our sister States, slavery has
long been held in public estimation as an evil of the
first magnitude.'
Bolivar says, 'Slavery is an infringement of all
laws.'
John Jay, of revolutionary memory, in his address
before the Convention of New-York, called Dec.
1776, to adopt a State Constitution, says, 'We have
the highest reason to believe that the Almighty will
not suffer slavery and the gospel to go hand in hand.
It cannot, will not be.'
Burke says, 'Slavery is a state so improper, so degrading, so ruinous to the feelings and capacities of
human nature, that it ought not to be suffered to
exist.'
Dr. Johnson says, 'No man is by nature the property of another. The rights of nature must be some
way forfeited, before they can be justly taken away.'
Montesquieu says, sarcastically, 'It is impossible
that we should suppose the slaves to be men; because if they are men, it would begin to be believed
that we are not christians'—[a prophesy now fulfilling.]
Jefferson, in his notes on Virginia, says, 'What
an incomprehensible machine is man! who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment and death itself, in vindication of his own liberty, and the next
moment be deaf to all those motives whose power
supported him in his trial, and inflict on his fellowmen a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with
more misery than ages of that he rose in rebellion
to oppose.'
He further says, 'The whole commerce between
master and slave, is a perpetual exercise of the most
boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on one part, and degrading submission on the other.
* * * The parent storms, the child looks on, catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on the same airs in
circles of smaller slaves, gives a loose to his worst
of passions, and thus nursed, educated, and daily exercised in tyranny, cannot but be stamped by it with
odious peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy,
who can retain his manners and morals undepraved
by such circumstances.'
DR. ADAM CLARKE says, Those who carry on
the traffic in human flesh and blood; those who
steal a person in order to sell him into bondage; or
those who buy such stolen men or women, no matter of what color, or of what country: or the nations who legalize or connive at such traffic; all these
are men-stealers, and God classes them with the
most flagitious of mortals. * * * In heathen countries, slavery was in some sort excusable; but among
Christians, it is an enormity and a crime, for which
perdition has scarce an adequate place of punishment.'
John WESLEY. Man-stealers! The worst of
all thieves. in comparison with whom, high-way
robbery and house-breakers are innocent—and menbuyers are exactly on a level with men-stealers.
That execrable sum of all villanies, commonly called the slave trade—I read of nothing like it in the
heathen world, either ancient or modern. And it
infinitely exceeds, in every instance of barbarity,
whatever Christian slaves suffer in Mohammedan
countries.'
Dr. Thomas SCOTT. Men-stealers are inserted
among these daring criminals, (1 Tim. 1:9, 10.)
against whom the law of God directed its awful
curses. These kidnapped men, in order to sell them
for slaves; and this practice seems inseparable from
other iniquities and oppressions of slavery; nor can
a slave-dealer keep free from this criminality, if
' the receiver is as bad as the thief.'
MACKNIGHT. They who make war, for the purpose of selling the vanquished as slaves, are menstealers. And they who encourage that unchristian traffic, by purchasing the slaves thus acquired, are
partakers in their crime.'
PRESBYTERIAN CONFESSION OF FAITH. Stealers of men are all those who bring off slaves or
freemen, and keep, sell, or buy them. To steal a
freeman is the highest, kind of theft. The word
used here, (1 Tim. 1:10,) in its original import, comprehends all who are concerned in bringing any of
the human race into slavery, or in detaining them in
it.'
The original draft of the Declaration of American
Independence, is said to have contained the following paragraph, erased by slaveholding influence. He
[king George] has waged cruel war against human
ature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life
and liberty, in the persons of a distant people who
never offended him, capturing and carrying them
into slavery into another hemisphere, or to incur
miserable death in their transportation thither. That
piratical warfare. the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of a Christian king of Britain. Determined to keep an open market where MEN should
be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative
for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit
or to restrain that execrable commerce. And that
this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of
distinguished dye, he is now exciting those very
people to rise in arms against us, and to purchase
that liberty of which he has deprived them, by
murdering the people, upon whom he has obtruded
them, thus paying off former crimes committed
against the liberties of one people with the crimes
which he urges them to commit against the lives of
another.
Dr. Channing, in his treatise on 'slavery,' says,
We can apply to slavery no worse name than its
own. Men have always shrunk instinctively from
this state, as the most degraded. No punishment,
save death, has been more dreaded, and to avoid it,
death has often been endured, * * * * Whips
imprisonments, and even the horrors of the middle
passage, are not to be named, in comparison with
the extinction of the proper consciousness of a human being —with the degradation of a man into a
brute. * * * * Slavery and knowledge cannot live
together. To enlighten the slave is to break his
chain. To make him harmless, he must be kept
blind. * * * Slavery compels the master to degrade systematically the mind of the slave; to
war against human intelligence; to resist that improvement which is the end of the Creator. * * *
The domestic relations precede, and in our present
existence, are worth more than all our other social
ties. They give the first throb to the heart, and
unseal the deep fountains of its love. Home is the
chief school of human virtue. Its responsibilities,
joys, sorrows, smiles, tears, hopes, and solicitudes,
form the chief interests of human life. But slavery
virtually dissolves the domestic relations. It ruptures the most sacred ties on earth. It violates
home. It lacerates the best affections. The slave's
home does not merit the name. * * * Slavery produces and gives license to cruelty. Millions may
rise up and tell me that the slave suffers little from
cruelty. I know too much of human nature, human
history, human passion, to believe them.
To the above, I will only add the testimony of
Geo. M. Stroud, Esq. The cardinal principle of
slavery—that the slave is not to be ranked among
sentient beings, but among things—an article of
property—a chattel personal—obtains as undoubted law in all the slave States. In South Carolina, it is
thus expressed: "Slaves shall be deemed, sold, taken, reputed and adjudged in law, to be chattels
personal in the hands of their owners and possessors, to all intents, constructions, and purposes
whatsoever." Absolute despotism needs not a more
comprehensive power than that which is here conferred.'
In addition to the above testimony of God, and
testimony of distinguished men against slavery, I
enclose a pamphlet entitled 'American Slavery as
it is,' that you may at your leisure examine the testimony of slaveholders themselves, to the shocking
cruelties and horrid abominations of their own
darling Domestic institution,' as they have spread
them out before the world, over their own names
in their advertisements for their missing, maimed,
peeled, spoiled and abused chattels. The pamphlet
also contains many statements from eye-witnesses
of the cruelties and abominations of slavery. But
how faint and feeble is this picture, when compared
with the testimony of the sufferers in bondage themselves, as we shall one day hear it, to the terror and
confusion of all who have inflicted these woes, or have not washed their hands from the blood of these helpless children of our common Father.
In reference to your complaint against the abolitionists, that they presume to call some of the leading members of your (Old Colony) Association,
'pro-slavery ministers,' I shall say but little, as I have no wish to defend any class of men in the gross.
Says our Saviour, in reference to his design in the
gospel, 'He that is not with me, is against me; and
he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.'
Slavery, being a system of radicalism, which cannot be viewed with neutrality, the above remark of
our Saviour is, perhaps, applicable to that also: and I conclude every professed minister and follower of
Christ must, in his views, feelings and conduct be
either for it, or decidedly, openly, and with all his
heart and soul against it. And whether the invidious appellation, 'pro-slavery,' which you affirm is
applied
by
abolitionists
some
venerable members of the Old Colony Association
is a just or an unjust one, I conclude depends upon
their private and official course in reference to this
'moral and political evil' of 'the first magnitude.'
From the nature of your question, 'What scripture authority have abolitionists for alleging that
slavery is always and intrinsically sinful;' from the
train of your conversation on the subject during the
session of the Association; and from the hope that
you expressed to me during our first interview at
your place, (June 17,) that I would not broach the
subject of abolition to the people of my charge at
Wareham, I conclude that you believe there is
scriptural authority for the other side of the subject.
If so, and if you view me and other abolitionists to
be in error in believing that American slavery is
intrinsically and exceedingly sinful, or malum in se,
and ought to be immediately and totally abolished,
you will greatly oblige me, by forwarding me, as
soon as practicable, a few of the reasons which have
led you to conclude we are in error on this subject.
I greatly desire to have my faith on this point in
strict conformity to the law and to the testimony,
for if we do not speak and think according to this,
it is because there is no light in us.
Yours in the bonds of the gospel,
CHARLES SIMMONS.

APPENDIX.
Since I forwarded the above letter to Dr. Robbins.
I have had occasion to prepare a thanksgiving discourse; and as the Governor, in his proclamation,
was pleased to direct our attention to the blessings
of 'civil and religious liberty, and to the 'hope
that freedom will continue to make progress, until
the bonds of oppression shall every where be broken,
and the equal rights of man be established among
all who have received from the Father of spirits the
gift of reason and affections,' I concluded to make
this subject the theme of discourse; and I will here
append an abstract of two or three of the inferences.
1. If we are under such great obligations to be
thankful to God for the common rights and privileges of humanity, as we have contemplated, then
we may justly infer that American slavery, which is
subversive of these rights and privileges, is a very
heinous sin against God, and against our fellow-creatures. The object of slavery is to obtain the services of others, without rendering them a fair equivalent.
In order to attain this end, the slave is subjected by
law, to the condition of chattels personal, and then
the desired service is enforced by pains and penalties. To confirm this view of slavery, I will here
refer to some remarks of Judge Ruffin of North Carolina in 1829, as given in the report of a suit at law
between the State and Mr. Mann, who had shot a female slave, while endeavoring to escape from chastisement. The lower court had convicted him of an
assault, on the ground that he did not own the slave.
In the upper court, the judgment was reversed. In
pronouncing his decision, the judge remarks: 'The
established habits and uniform practice of the country is the best evidence of the portion of power
deemed requisite to the preservation of the master's
dominion. * * * The end of slavery is the
profit of the master, his security, and the public
safety
the subject of slavery is one doomed
in his own person, and his posterity, to live without
knowledge. and without the capacity to make any
thing his own, and to toil that another may reap the
fruits.
* * Such service can be expected,
only from one who has no will of his own; who surrenders his will in implicit obedience to that of
another. Such obedience is the consequence only
of uncontrolled authority over the body. There is
nothing else can operate to produce the effect. The
power of the master must be absolute, to render the
submission of the slave perfect. I most freely confess my sense of the harshness of this proposition.
I feel it as deeply as any man can. And as a
principle of moral right, every person in his retirement must repudiate it. But in the actual
condition of things, it must be so. There is no
remedy. This discipline belongs to the state of
slavery. They cannot be disunited, without abrogating at once the rights of the master, and absolving the slave from his subjection. It constitutes
the curse of slavery to the bond and the free. But
it is inherent in the relation of master and slave. *
* * The slave. to remain a slave, must be made
sensible that there is no appeal from his master
that his person is in no instance usurped; but is
conferred by the laws of man at least, if not by the
law of God.'
The above is a very candid and ingenuous admission, and a very honest and intelligent statement
of what slavery is and must be in principle and
practice, and affords materials for much comment.
But I have quoted the Carolina judge, simply to illustrate the nature of slavery. And when viewed in
connection with the common rights and privileges
which God has granted our race, it is easy to see
that slavery is exceeding sinful. In all its forms as
it now prevails in the American slave States, it is a
flagrant outrage upon the divine prerogatives; a palpable transgression of the divine law; and a most cruel and barbarous invasion of human rights. I will
first notice its invasion of human rights.
Slavery presumes to give supreme law to the slave,
and, in so doing, takes away the right of slaves to
walk in all the commandments and ordinances of
God. It takes away their right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. It subverts
their right freely to examine the evidence of revealed truth and duty; to judge for themselves in view
of such examination, and to act accordingly. It forbids the right of the bondmen to point out and reprove the errors and vices of the master, and others:
or to use the necessary means to obtain a redress of
grievances. It forbids them to make any expressions of disapprobation and abhorrence towards the
greatest sins and vices. It takes away their right
to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom, and
dooms them 'to live without knowledge,' though
true knowledge is the divinely appointed means of
grace and salvation. It forbids the right of the
bondmen to exercise their gifts, and employ their
talents in the instruction, warning, and edification of
others, as laborers together with God. It subverts
their right to possess and enjoy the fruits of their
own industry. So says Judge Ruffin. 'The slave
is doomed in his person, and his posterity, to live
without the capacity to make any thing his own,
and to toil that another may reap the fruits.' Very
honestly expressed. Slavery takes away the right
of bondmen to form and enjoy permanent conjugal
relations; to train up their offspring in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord, for usefulness, happiness and heaven; and in its practice, takes away
the right of females to personal chastity, carrying a
long train of domestic woes and degradation to
slaves. All the personal freedom, liberties, and essential rights and privileges of humanity, which
God has freely given to the race of mankind; which
he has guaranteed by his law; and which are the basis of human knowledge, holiness, order, usefulness and happiness, find a common grave in slavery. Is
not this a sin against our neighbor—against humanity—of the first magnitude? Can we conceive a
greater outrage upon human rights? A greater insult to human nature? Verily, as Dr. Channing
says, We can apply to slavery no worse name than
its own.
Slavery is an outrage upon the prerogatives of
Jehovah. It assumes his absolute, inherent right of
property in his creatures, and places them under the
supreme jurisdiction of a tyrant. God says, 'All
souls are mine.' And as our Creator and Preserver,
he has an underived and complete right to all their
services. By subjecting some of the creatures of
God, formed in his image, for his glory and service,
to the condition of chattels personal, for the sole
use of a human tyrant, slavery boldly and impiously tramples upon the prerogatives of Jehovah. in thus
doing, it not only casts his law behind its back, and
insults his most sacred prerogatives, but it mars the
work of his hands, and thus tarnishes his glory.
Can we conceive any thing more impious, more
heaven-daring and defying, more provoking to the
Lord of lords and King of kings?
2. If we are under such weighty obligations to be
thankful to God for the common and equal rights of
humanity, for the reasons contemplated, then those
who cast off these obligations, who deny or explain
them away, and practise or apologize for slavery,
where the true and clear light of the gospel shines upon these subjects, we may justly conclude, are not the truly righteous, but are essentially unrighteous and unjust. "If friendship to the common rights and privileges of humanity is not a true and proper test of
godliness, who can tell what is or can be such a test?
Says an apostle, If any man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth
not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love
God whom he hath not seen?
3. In view of this subject, we may infer that
those states and nations which take away the essential rights and privileges of humanity. by law. from
the poor and dependent, and crush them under the
foot of slavery and oppression, will meet with an
awful overthrow. The ancient slaveholding, and
oppressive nations, have all been swept by the
besom of destruction. And modern slaveholding
nations are declining to the same gulf of perdition.
The vices which always grow up with slavery, tend
powerfully to national overthrow. And indignant
humanity will not bear slavery forever, but sooner
or later will vindicate her essential rights, in the
overthrow of slaveholding communities. Besides,
an incensed God has threatened and predicted the
swift destruction of such states and nations, if they
do not thoroughly repent and reform.
This nation has been fairly warned of its danger,
and admonished of its guilt in reference to slavery,
but our leading political parties and ecclesiastical
associations remain impenitent, and wedded to slavery and oppression. We have therefore solid reasons to fear and conclude, that this nation will ere
long be swept with the besom of destruction.