North?" said I. "Yet it is
'slavery.' 'Auction-blocks,' 'whippings,' 'roastings,' 'separations of
families,' are not 'slavery.' They are its abuses; slavery can exist
when they cease. I pray you, is such slavery as the God of the Hebrews
appointed, in such cases as these, 'forever,' an unmitigated curse?
"Now," said I, "go through our Southern country, and you will find in
every city, town, and village just such relationships between the whites
and the blacks as must have existed where these Hebrew laws had effect.
Think of the little slave-babe, and the Southern lady's letter, which
have given occasion to all our conversation. The Gospel, as it subdues
and softens the human heart, will make the relationship of involuntary
servitude everywhere to be after this pattern. Instead of exciting
hatred and jealousy, and provoking war between the whites and blacks, I
am for bringing all the influences of the Gospel to bear upon the hearts
of the white population, to convert them into such masters as God
enjoined the Hebrews to be, and such as the Apostle to the Gentiles
enjoined upon Gentile slave-holders as their models. And I am filled
with sorrow and astonishment as I see some of the very best and most
beloved men among us at the North withholding missionaries and tracts
from the Southern country, and--as Gustavus's aunt said some of these
do--calling it 'standing up for Jesus!'
"Now," said I, "if such were the injunctions of the Most High as to the
manner in which the Hebrews should treat their Hebrew slaves, it is easy
to see that such a habit with regard to them would serve greatly to
mitigate the sorrows of bondage on the part of Gentile slaves.
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