William Thomas Hamilton

“ That law requires the master, not to set his slaves free, (which would, in many instances, be the greatest unkindness he could show them,) but to treat them humanely and considerately; to treat them as he, if himself a slave, could reasonably desire to be treated while he was such. If I see a poor man suffering from want, the law of love requires me, not to strip myself of just one half my substance, and confer it upon him, but to extend to him assistance suited to his wants as a poor man, and to my ability in view of my position in society and the other claims upon me. ”

“ And yet, because, to convey clearly the idea of my conviction that to such purchase no sin appertains, I happened to select an object for comparison not perhaps in the most refined taste, I am denounced and extensively published as a hard-hearted, unfeeling monster; just as though I had said that a fellow-man, even if a true Christian, when held in bondage, is no better than a horse, and may lawfully be treated like a beast! ”

“ Were the question now to be agitated, Shall we suffer the introduction of slavery among us? and more emphatically still, Shall we take measures to furnish ourselves with domestic servants, by reducing to slavery some of our fellow-men, now free as ourselves? the great law of love, and sound policy no less, would return a prompt refusal. ”

“ Thus to hold slaves was, therefore, not equivalent to man-stealing, in the days of the Apostles: if not then, neither is it now. To be a slaveholder, as slavery exists in these Southern States, is not, therefore, at all inconsistent with Christian character, if only the duties of a master be rightly performed on Christian principles.
A parent has almost unlimited power over his children. He has power to bring them up well or ill, to train them up virtuously or viciously, to make them happy or miserable. The mere possession of this power does not make him a tyrant, or a bad man. ”

“ The prudence of some and the follies of others would have already wrought changes ominous of a speedy return to the ordinary condition of society, with all its diversity of ranks and conditions. The bold would overawe, the cunning would outwit their neighbours, the sagacious and energetic would accumulate property, and with it power. ”

“ I minister to a church most of whose members hold slaves;—and instead of teaching my flock that in so doing they are guilty of grievous sin and must be all damned for ever unless they, at once, set all their slaves free, I am supposed to be myself a slaveholder, and as such, a partner and abettor of their crime. ”

“ Our laws are defective in omitting to sanction the marriage of slaves, so that the marriage tie among them may be deemed equally sacred with that among freemen. The omission is of injurious tendency; and I am persuaded that a large proportion of our respectable slaveholders so regard it, and they would gladly sanction the amendment of the law, if any one would but have the firmness to step forward and propose it in due place and form. The man who shall do this—and carry it through successfully—will entitle himself to the veneration and gratitude of generations yet unborn. ”

“ And yet, both in the Old and the New Testament, God does condemn man-stealing as a crime fatal to all profession of piety. Unless then we choose to charge God with injustice and inconsistency both, we must admit that slaveholding does not necessarily involve guilt of any kind; that a man may lawfully hold his fellow man in involuntary bondage, without being thereby stained with guilt of robbery, oppression, or injustice, and the title to property in slaves may be held and conveyed to others, without the attendance or conveyance of the guilt of any crime. ”

“ Assuming, without proof or reason, that slavery is evil, and contrary to the dictates of reason and the law of love, they proceed to carry out this assured principle, utterly reckless of consequences. When pressed by arguments drawn from the Bible, they attempt to evade them, by shamelessly perverting Scripture, and making it bend to their views by a forced interpretation. ”

“ Not one word of condemnation is here found, not a hint of its being wrong to be a master, or of its being an intolerable oppression to be a servant; but it is emphatically said, "Masters ought to treat their servants so and so." The inference is plain: slaveholding is not in itself sinful; since, if a master treat his slaves as herein required, he discharges his whole duty as a master; he may continue a master, continue to hold slaves so treated, and yet be a good man, and a worthy member of the church of Christ: which could not be, were slave-holding sinful in the sight of God. ”

“ Could you, to-morrow, reduce all men to one uniform and perfect level, in condition, in property, and in privileges, not a week would pass away without producing changes utterly destructive of perfect equality. ”

“ Wicked men, who are reckless in their own conduct, may be expected to neglect the moral instruction of their slaves, for they neglect the instruction of their own children. But a Christian master is bound to regard his slaves as moral agents, whose well being depends on their own conduct, and whose conduct will flow from the principles he instils into them, or allows them to imbibe. Servants, just as regularly and as faithfully as our children, ought to be instructed in all moral duties, such as honesty, truth, industry, temperance, chastity, and self government in all respects. ”

“ But wo to the selfish and unthinking master, who, (however liberal the provision he makes for the present comfort of his slaves,) puts it out of their power to learn how they may become reconciled to God and save their souls. The man who wantonly kills a servant, is a murderer. He who shuts out his servants from a knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ, is a murderer of souls, and he must meet a dread responsibility at the bar of God; whose high command is, Masters give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. ”

“ But the abuse of a thing is no part of the thing itself. The more extensively true religion prevails in Southern society, the more will masters use their power for the good of their slaves; and inasmuch as power (in the hands of beings so imperfect as men are) is always liable to abuse, true benevolence would lead masters to employ every safe and practicable means for improving the condition and elevating the character of servants, with a view to their complete emancipation, whenever that can be effected without detriment to them, and with safety to the community. ”

“ Just so far as true religion, which teaches us 'to do unto others as we would they should do unto us', shall prevail among men, must the abuses of this institution become manifest, and lead to its extirpation. It follows, therefore, that no good man can be a friend to slavery; and the church is bound to attempt the removal of it at once, just as certainly as benevolence is a Christian duty. ”

“ Are we to believe that the Apostles, the founders of the Christian church, the very men who counted not their lives dear "for the sake of truth and righteousness," suffered themselves to be deterred from a plain duty by fear of consequences? ”

“ Yes, true it is, we may be legally entitled to certain services from those whose masters we are, but we too have a Master in heaven, who claims our service, in the use of every talent we possess in compliance with his will. For all, we must render to Him a strict account, and for the manner in which we have treated our servants, no less than for the manner in which we have personally improved or abused our own religious privileges. Happy and blessed is the man, who like the holy patriarch of old, trains his entire household, servants no less than children, in the fear of God. ”

“ Masters and servants would, in some form, speedily be found in society as before.
In very early times, when society began to increase in numbers, the turbulent passions of men plunged them into conflicts one with another, and the successful parties compelled the vanquished to submit to their control. When wars at length arose, those who fell into the power of the victors were put to death. ”

“ If to hold slaves be a sin, ministers of the gospel ought to know it; and knowing it, they ought to teach it, no matter what might be the legal penalties, or the personal hazard, of so doing. Your laws can never render murder, adultery, theft, or Sabbath-breaking right, because God's word forbids these crimes: and God's authority is paramount. Before Heaven's decisions mere human law must bow. ”

“ If honest men, the Apostles would not thus directly sanction what they believed to be wrong. If, in writing their epistles to the churches, the Apostles were inspired of God, then it is plain, that not only did they honestly deem that the master of slaves might be a true Christian, but their decision is a sound one; and they who now assert that slaveholding is in itself wrong, are assuming to be wiser than inspired Apostles, and more benevolent than God himself. ”

“ Careful instruction in every moral duty, and the employment of all suitable influences to induce him to be moral, the master owes to his servants. One of the surest means to promote this great object would be found, I am persuaded, in the legalization of marriage among them. The mercenary creditor, the hardened trafficker in human sinews, and the devotee of a loathsome licentiousness, might clamour in opposition, but not, I should suppose, the intelligent, the upright, the generous-spirited master, who has the best interests of his servants at heart. ”

“ It has already given birth to a political party, which is daily increasing in strength and influence, — and whose spirit is such as to show that they will never rest, and will leave no stone unturned, until, for the accomplishment of their purpose, they have convulsed the whole country. ”

“ But these rabid advocates of universal equality and of immediate emancipation are but a very insignificant portion of that great body of American citizens, who look upon slavery with disapprobation and abhorrence. ”

“ In the case of polygamy, God has withdrawn that sanction, and declared it to be adultery for a man to have more than one wife at the same time. In the case of slaveholding, God has not withdrawn his sanction under the gospel. On the contrary, he has renewed that sanction, by prescribing, through his inspired Apostles, the rules by which masters and servants, even when members of the church of Christ, are to regulate their intercourse one with another. ”

“ The direct tendency of religion is to eradicate vice and to correct all abodes; and so far as true religion prevails will men discern the abuses attendant on slavery—and abhor them, and attempt their removal. ”

“ And to this affectionate obedience an upright and intelligent master is fully entitled. He is the best and nearest friend to his servants: he stands to them, in many important respects, in the place of a father: and they owe to him fidelity, honesty, cheerful obedience, and firm attachment, not purloining, not answering again!" An ungrateful, idle, or sullen servant is not a Christian. A rebellious, plotting, mischief-making servant is not, and cannot be a Christian, however loud his professions of piety. ”

“ A master is entitled to claim from his servants, 2, Fidelity to his interests. The servant belongs to his master, and is identified with his master's interests. If the master prosper, the servant is benefited: if the master suffer loss, the servant's interests will be affected by that loss. A right view of his relations would teach a servant, that he cannot sunder his interests from those of his master; and that he is bound by the command of God himself, to serve his master with all fidelity, and to labour for the advancement of his master's interests, as he would for his own. ”

“ The existence of slavery in society under certain circumstances, like that of poverty and pain and all the diversities of condition now found among men, may, in the view of Infinite Wisdom, be indispensable to the attainment of the greatest possible good. ”

“ If, then, God's holy word condemns slavery, the minister of God is bound to condemn it, and to call on his hearers to clear themselves of all participation in it, whatever be the risk attendant on so doing: for what God condemns, human law can never make right. ”

“ They deny revelation, they desecrate the Sabbath, they repudiate the church and the Christian ministry; nay, they would for ever blast the chief charm of woman, her retiring modesty, by teaching her to leave her proper sphere, refuse obedience, and demand equality with man, openly standing forth in large public assemblies, to speak, and argue as does man. Their fundamental position, that "all persons are on an entire equality; that no one person can rightfully exercise authority over another, except so far as that other may he pleased to allow it;" ”