that these will speedily accede likewise. We feel it to be our duty here (and a very gratifying one it is), to bear testinsony to the services of our friend, Mr. Loving, the superintendent of police, whose exertions in the performance of his duties have been unwearied, and to whose conciliatory expostulations and advice it is mainly owing that the laborers have so speedily returned to the employment of their former masters. This gentleman, since assuming office on the first, has visited almost every estate, for the purpose of explaining to the people their exact condition, duties, and interest; and his addresses have everywhere been attended with the best effects." On the 14th of August, the same paper says: "It is with the highest satisfaction we announce, that we know of, and believe there is, no gang of laborers in the island, which has not returned to its accustomed employment. Tranquillity prevails everywhere; indeed, it has never been broken; for, although many negroes held back from work for some days, in expectation of higher wages, not a single instance of riotous misconduct has occurred." The same state of things has continued, according to the journals, down to the present time. MONTSERRAT 6,000 APPRENTICES-NEVIS 9,000—TORTOLA AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 5,000-DOMINICA 15,000 "We class these four islands together, as they form a part, along with St. Christopher's (of which we shall treat separately), of one general government (that of Antigua), and also because the same general terms will nearly apply to all alike, with slight variations. The minds of the negroes, in all of them, were, to a certain degree, affected by the difference of their lot from that of the population of Antigua. They submitted to the system of apprenticeship very reluctantly indeed, but with no murmurs loud enough to cause any very serious alarm, or to indicate any purpose of combined resistance, except for a few days on the part of the slaves on some French estates in Dominica. With this slight exception, the governor represents the black population, generally, as having conducted themselves with great propriety and decorum, and states his belief, that the rumors of any failures of the crops had proceeded as much, if not more, from the vague apprehension of the planters, as from any reluctance on the part of the negroes to perform their duties. All these islands had continued, with these slight exceptions, to enjoy an undisturbed tranquillity." ST. CHRISTOPHER'S. CONTAINING ABOUT 18,000 APPRENTICES. "In this island, more than any other, was the grievance of the apprenticeship felt by the black population, as they contrasted their own situation with that of their neighbors in Antigua. They regarded their masters as depriving them of rights to which they considered themselves equally entitled by the will of their sovereign; and the sub-governor, having been himself a slave-holder, could obtain no credit for his explanations; which, on the contrary, they drowned with clamor." Notwithstanding these unfavorable circumstances, the governor thus expresses himself in a letter to the secretary of state, of the 18th Nov. 1834: "It gives me sincere pleasure in stating, that the apprenticeship system goes on far better than I believe any one anticipated. The negroes are in general very quiet, and, with a very few exceptions, work well; numerous planters say that they get as much work done under the new system, as ever they did during the existence of slavery; and some gentlemen (a good many) go so far as to say they get more."* ST. VINCENT, CONTAINING ABOUT 22,000 APPRENTICES-GRENADA, ABOUT 24,000-TOBAGO, ABOUT 13,000. From Tobago, the lieutenant-governor, General Darling, on the 31st December, 1834, addressed to the secretary of state, Mr. Spring Rice, the following satisfactory statement: "If I might venture to form an opinion on the experience of the five months that have elapsed since the extinction of slavery, I should say, there is no reason whatever to apprehend any trouble or insubordination in this island under the system of apprenticeship; which, notwithstanding occasional complaints of late turning out to work, will upon the whole prove as beneficial to the interests of the proprietor, as the former system; and this, too, without reference to the greatly improved condition of the laborer."† TRINIDAD. THE NUMBER OF APPRENTICES ABOUT 23,000 On the 22d of May, 1835, Sir G. Hill, the governor, thus writes: "The sugar crop is now more than three-fourths finished; it will produce (I expect) as much revenue as last year, and with general contentedness on the part of the apprentices. "I delight to remark, that punishments have materially decreased on some estates, none have been inflicted since October last; and Í entertain a strong belief, that there is an advance towards a moral improvement, which, if carefully promoted, will realize the most sanguine hopes of the promoters of the important change effected on the first of August last." ST. LUCIA. CONTAINING ABOUT 13,000 APPRENTICES. In this island, the great change has been effected without the slightest disorder or disturbance. On the 12th of July, 1834, the new governor, Sir Dudley St. Leger Hill, issued a proclamation, announcing the approaching emancipation of the slaves on the first of August next, a day which he appointed to be observed in all churches and chapels as a day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God, for having in his infinite wisdom visited the people of this land with so gracious * Parliamentary papers, sess. 1835, No. 278-II, p. 94. + Ibid. p. 181. + Ibid. p. 212. a dispensation of his good providence; and likewise, of humble intercession and fervent prayer, that he may be pleased mercifully to further this important change to a peaceful and happy end. The governor reports in his letter of the third November, 1834, as follows: "It is with no ordinary satisfaction that I profit by this opportunity to inform you, that the tranquil and orderly conduct of the apprenticed laborers fully justifies my giving you an assurance, which cannot fail to be gratifying to his Majesty's government; and that is, that the abolition of slavery has not, up to this period, interrupted the industry which was customary previously to that happy event."* HONDURAS. THE NUMBER OF APPRENTICES IS ABOUT 2,500. The governo, Colonel Cockburn, on the 15th of December, 1834, wrote as follows: "The apprenticed laborers are going on well; and though nearly the whole of them will be assembled here at the ensuing Christmas, I do not anticipate any disturbance, complaint, or difficulty."t BAHAMAS. THE NUMBER OF APPRENTICES ABOUT 9,000. In these scattered islands, some acts of insubordination occurred in the first instance, but unattended with violence of any kind. On the 5th of March, 1835, the acting governor reports: "I am happy in being able to report to your lordship, that tranquillity prevails throughout these islands, and the inhabitants appear to look forward to an improvement in their circumstances, which will contribute to the general contentment." GRAND CAYMANAS. CONTAINING ABOUT 1,000 NEGROES, FORMERLY SLAVES. These small islands seem hitherto to have been almost excluded from the pale of society, though not very distant from Jamaica. The slaves in the Caymanas had never been registered. The Abolition Act declared all unregistered slaves to be free from the 1st of August, 1834. After some delay, the secretary of state ordered them to be declared free; and Lord Sligo prepared to issue a proclamation to that effect, which was accompanied with an address. On the 3d of May, Lord Sligo himself visited these islands with the proclamation and address, in order to sooth the proprietors, and to calm and instruct the slaves, who were mutually thunderstruck by the unexpected proceeding, which took place on the morning of his arrival. The whole affair appears to have passed over very quietly. Parliamentary papers, sess 1835, No. 278-II, p. 225. BERMUDA FORMERLY THERE WERE ABOUT 5,000 SLAVES. The legislature of this island declined, as is well known, to subject their slaves to the apprenticeship, and declared them entirely free from the 1st of August, 1834. The law admits to the elective franchise all the free who are duly qualified. Not the slightest symptom of disaffection or disturbance appears to have at any time occurred in this island. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. THE NUMBER OF APPRENTICES ABOUT 35,000. The governor of this colony, in his despatch to the secretary of state, dated 6th December, 1833, writes thus: "From the reports of the public functionaries, from the communications I have received from many other individuals who have the best opportunities of ascertaining the state of the public mind, and from my own personal observations, I feel that I may venture to assure you, that there is no cause to apprehend, on the part of the slave proprietors in this colony, any openly avowed hostility to the bill; still less any thing partaking of systematic resistance to it, or that the measure will be here productive of any collision between the different classes of society." On the 1st of April, 1834, the governor, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, wrote that he had granted permission to the inhabitants of the colony to hold a public meeting, to consider and suggest the measures that might be requisite in this crisis of their affairs. Among these mea→ sures was a proposition to abridge the period of the apprenticeship by two years, so that all slavery should terminate in this colony on the 1st December, 1838, instead of the 1st December, 1840; the majority of their slaves being domestic, and not predial. RECEIPTS. Into the Treasury of the American A. | Quarterly Collections received by the S. Society, from September 25th to Publishing Agent, during the month of September, 1836. October 17th, 1836. Andover, Mass., Thomas Duglass, Bridgeport, Con., W. R. Bunnells, 3.00 Granville, Ohio, E. C. Wright, Billerica, Mass., a friend, 5.00 New York, H. Owen, Cortlandt, N. Y., a friend, 1.00 J. Usmar, $5.00 38 00 25 25 Glastenbury, Con., a colored girl, 1 00 from friends, Genesee co., N. Y., A. S. Society, by J. B Oneida Institute, N. Y., per W. J. Savage, 17 50 Syracuse, N. Y., per S. Conklin, 20 00 Received for the Emancipator, Hampshire co., Mass., by P. Field, 20 00 Human Rights, 10 00 3 00 263 15 64 44 Munroe, Ohio, by Col. W. Lewis, A. S. Record, 5 00 New York city, Juvenile A. S. Society at Quarterly Magazine, 47 83 Chatham street chapel, Publications, 288 17 " Juvenile A. S. Society, 2 38 Philadelphia, Miss R. Buffum, Peterboro', N. Y., Gerritt Smith, Esq., 1,000 00 Sandy Hill, N. Y., little girls, 25 friend, ticulars hereafter) A stranger, From H. B. Stanton, financial agent (par LEWIS TAPPAN, Assistant Treasurer, 75 1.00 R. G. WILLIAMS, Publishing Agent, corner of Nassau and Spruce Streets, (No. 3 Spruce) Total Receipts, $2313-04 $1570 45 No. 3, Spruce St. New York, October 17, 1836. THE ANTI-SLAVERY RECORD. VOL. II. No. XII. DECEMBER, 1836. WHOLE NO. 24. DOES THE BIBLE SANCTION SLAVERY? We must first settle the meaning of the term slavery. “A slave," says the law of Louisiana, "is one who is in the power of the 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." "He is a chattel personal," says the law of South Carolina, "to all intents, constructions, and purposes, whatsoever." It may be added, that he came into this relation (the relation of a thing to an owner) without any fault or consent of his own. This definition of slavery, furnished by law, is a true description of it in fact. This, then, is what we mean by slavery, the being held in the relation of a mere thing to some man. This is the American meaning of the word. And it is in regard to this meaning that we inquire whether the Bible sanctions it. In that comprehensive summary of Bible doctrine called the Ten Commandments, the right of property is recognised and guarded by the prohibition, "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL." This prohibition is of universal application, meaning thou shalt not steal from any body therefore it presupposes in every man a right to use the products of his own labor, and much more the limbs with which he labors, as he pleases. No man is allowed to take from another his property without his consent. The word steal covers the whole ground of fraud, whether secret or open. Now, it is no matter whether you call slaveholding, as above defined, stealing, or not. It is at war with the doctrine of the eighth commandment, because it destroys in the slave the right of property, which the commandment sacredly guards. It does, by one comprehensive and perpetual process, all which that commandment solemnly prohibits. There is no doubt that I violate the eighth commandment, if, meeting a man upon the highway, I order him to stand and deliver, if I take his watch and his purse. But those things are perhaps the avails, over and above his food and clothing, of a year's labor. Should I have done less violence to the commandment, if I had met the same man a year sooner, and compelled him to work a year on my farm, feeding and clothing him, to be sure, but taking all the profits? Should I have done less, if I had compelled him to work for life? Should I have done less, if, instead of seizing the man, I had seized his mother before his birth, compelled her to work for me, and laid the claim of absolute ownership to her child as 1 |