,,transcriber',s ,,note ,italic text is denoted by underscores4 ,the original text used the character 7long-form s72 these have been replaced by the normal s in this etext4 ,a few obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources4 ,all misspellings in the text1 and inconsistent or archaic usage1 have been retained4 ,,examination ,,of ,the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,,harris's ,,scriptural ,,researches ,,on ,the ,licitness of the ,slave-,trade4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,ramsay4 ,,london3 ,printed by ,,james ,,phillips1 ,george-,yard1 ,lombard-,street4 ,m4,,dcc4,,lxxxviii4 ,,advertisement4 ,the following ,examination was drawn up in the country1 from a casual perusal of ,mr4 ,harris's ,scriptural ,researches1 with a view of putting them into the hands of any person1 who might be employed in answering that very extraordinary work4 ,but on coming up to town1 and understanding that ,mr4 ,harris's reasoning had produced effects on certain people1 who had not studied the scriptures1 or attended to that spirit of freedom1 which runs throughout the ,old and ,new ,testament1 and who hitherto had suffered themselves to be reluctantly dragged along by the present prevailing enthusiasm in favour of freedom1 but now eagerly seized on a pretence for abandoning the cause1 it has been judged proper to give it at once to the publick4 ,mr4 ,harris affects to proceed mathematically in the treatment of his subject1 and therefore establishes certain data4 ,i had thought it sufficient to contradict their particular application1 in my examination of the subject2 but others thinking it necessary to take more direct notice of them1 ,i have subjoined the following short observations4 ,dat4 #a1 #b4 8,the scriptures of the ,old and ,new ,testament are of equal authority1 and contain the unerring decisions of the word of ,god40 ,observation4 ,certainly3 but it will not be disputed1 that there are many things1 not indeed deserving the name of decisions1 but that pass without censure1 and are seemingly allowed there1 which we know to be forbidden to us1 and which will not apply to the improved state of mankind4 ,laws must be adapted1 not only to the state of society1 but to the present state of the improvement of the human mind1 which we know has been gradually advancing from the earliest ages4 ,dat4 #c1 #d4 8,it is criminal to refuse assent to what the scriptures decide to be intrinsically good or bad40 ,obser4 ,suppose this4 ,yet may we not inquire if a thing or practice be really so declared1 and if it concerns our salvation1 to form a decided opinion on it8 ,are we not liable to mistake practices1 arising out of circumstances connected with the first formation of society1 and therefore not positively censured1 for such decisions of intrinsical goodness8 ,thus the eating of swines flesh was allowed before the promulgation of the law of ,moses2 that law strictly forbad it2 the ,christian law allows it again as at the beginning3 or1 the ,jews were alone restrained from the use of it2 while they continued under a particular conomy1 and their transgression of this law was only a crime1 because it was enjoined them2 not because it was in itself a thing unlawful1 as murder1 adultery1 and the like4 ,dat4 #e1 #f4 8,every scriptural decision1 however incomprehensible1 must be assented to as a declaration of the word of ,god40 ,we must consider the circumstances under which that decision is made2 how far it is agreeable to our benevolent religion1 and how far it is applicable to our conduct1 before we imitate it4 ,the drunken incest of ,lot is not censured4 ,it was the means of producing two mighty nations2 from which1 according to the author's manner of reasoning1 he ought to conclude it was approved of2 yet ,i suppose he will not recommend the imitation to any person in these days4 ,dat4 #g4 8,the slave-trade must be believed to be intrinsically just and lawful1 if the scriptures give a sanction to it40 ,suppose the slave-trade to have this sanction 7which yet is not true7 unless the author can shew how it can be carried on without infringing on our ,saviour's golden rule1 of doing as we would be done by2 unless he can instruct us how we can go to the coast of ,africa1 and by every fraudulent1 violent1 oppressive method1 rob1 murder1 and enslave innocent people without a crime2 then are we to keep our practice1 if not our opinion1 suspended4 ,dat4 #h4 8,no abuse of a lawful pursuit1 can make that pursuit criminal40 ,it is lawful for a man to provide for his family2 but not to rob and murder on the highway under such a pretence4 ,whenever a man's industry is connected with such practices1 the actual exertion of it is a crime in him1 though to provide for his family in an honest way would be laudable4 ,that there is an unlawful slavery noticed in the scriptures1 is clear1 from the punishment that ,pharaoh brought on himself and gypt1 for enslaving the ,jews4 ,the author should distinguish1 and mark the difference between the slavery that 7page #da7 is almost commanded1 and that which brings down divine judgments on the oppressor1 and shew that his patrons of ,leverpool practise only the first4 ,dat4 #i4 8,no private or publick advantage will ever justify the slave-trade1 till it be proved essentially just and lawful in its nature40 ,here we are sincerely agreed2 and according to the distinction proposed for datum #h1 he has only to set heartily to work1 and prove the ,leverpool slave-trade to be that particular sort of slave-trade1 8which ,god hath commanded as being essentially just and lawful in its nature40 ,dat4 #aj4 8,no argument drawn from abuse1 can prove the intrinsic deformity of the slave-trade1 unless it be proved essentially unjust40 ,these are words without meaning4 ,we are not combating an ideal slavery2 but slavery accompanied with robbery1 oppression1 misery1 murder4 ,wherever we find slavery so attended1 it becomes a horrid crime1 be it intrinsically never so just4 ,dat4 #aa4 8,if abuses committed in the prosecution of a lawful pursuit can be prevented1 then the advantages arising from it1 ought to have a powerful influence against the abolition40 ,but if these abuses cannot possibly be prevented 7for are we to oppress and murder according to law87 then the greatest advantages attending any practice must be abandoned1 till a method shall be discovered1 of separating them from iniquity and blood-shed4 ,dat4 #ab4 8,if the slave-trade is to be abolished1 because of the abuses committed in it1 then every other branch of trade1 in which abuses are committed1 ought to share the same fate40 ,most certainly in turn1 in proportion to the atrociousness of each4 ,let us once get this staring monster subdued1 and we will be obliged to the author for pointing out any other iniquitous traffick that deserves to follow immediately in the train of the ,leverpool slave-trade4 ,the fallaciousness of this author's reasoning1 is exceedingly well exposed1 in the ,critical ,review of ,april1 #aghh1 to which ,i refer the reader4 ,from this view of the author's data1 it will appear1 that he has totally confounded times and circumstances4 ,the law of ,moses was enacted in aid of natural religion1 till the perfect religion of ,christ should be given to the world4 ,the doctrines of this last1 enjoin us to consider and treat all men as our brethren2 and its effect was gradually to take away all burthensome ceremonies1 all oppressive distinctions4 ,why are we then sent back to less perfect institutions for the rule of our practice8 ,we are to go on to perfection1 refine sentiment1 and extend benevolence4 ,what has raised ,europe above the rest of the world1 but the abolition of domestick slavery8 ,what degrees of opulence and prosperity might it acquire1 if the abominable1 contracted1 branch of trade in the bodies of our fellow creatures of ,africa1 were changed to a fair1 equitable intercourse of productions and manufactures6 ,j4 ,r4 ,,examination1 c4 ,this gentleman professes to treat the subject seriously1 and to submit his opinion to the decisions of revealed religion4 ,no man has a right to dispute his sincerity1 as far as his own way of thinking is concerned2 but few serious people will peruse his extraordinary positions1 without having their reverence for their ,creator shocked1 and their benevolence to their brother affected4 ,the ,scriptures1 from which he draws his conclusions1 we believe to teach1 that all men are equally dear to their ,creator1 and that we owe love and good offices to each other4 ,but if his deductions be fairly made1 we must no longer entertain this opinion2 for one part of mankind is to be kidnapped1 evil intreated1 oppressed1 murdered1 to indulge the avarice of another2 and1 page #gf1 ,corol4 #c;d4 8,he doth not believe the ,scriptures1 who is not persuaded that this doctrine is taught there40 ,but the author stumbles at the very threshold4 ,our ,saviour 7,john v4 #ci47 bids the ,jews to search the scriptures2 8for in them ye think ye have eternal life2 for they are they which testify of me10 the ,saviour come to free men from the bondage of sin1 into the glorious privilege of the sons of ,god4 ,but it seems something else is meant4 ,we are to search the scriptures 7see title page7 for a commission to ,leverpool captains for fitting out ships1 and loading them with powder1 shot1 and cutlasses1 to set the ,africans on to assault1 kidnap1 and enslave each other2 to be transferred over to them2 to be murdered by bad air1 thirst1 and famine1 in the passage to the ,west-,indies2 where the poor remains are to be set to hard labour1 without food1 without cloathing1 without rest1 sufficient to support nature4 ,it is true 7preface1 page #e47 he1 with all the other advocates for slavery1 declares himself 8an enemy to injustice and oppression40 ,but the design of his book is to shew1 that the ill-treatment of slaves is not an object of divine animadversion2 for 7p4 #af47 ,sarah was permitted without censure1 8to use cruel oppressive treatment to ,hagar20 and 7p4 #bf47 ,joseph is approved of by ,god for the cruel manner in which he enslaved and exchanged the abodes of the ,egyptians4 ,which of these is to be believed2 his general assertion1 or his particular application8 ,or may we conclude1 that he reserves to himself the feelings of humanity1 and sells tyranny and oppression to his friends of ,leverpool4 ,in the scriptures servants are frequently mentioned2 but1 in this dissertation1 they are transformed into 8slave trade40 ,the places1 where traffick in slaves is related1 are ,joseph's brethren 7,gen4 xxxvii47 selling him to the ,ishmaelites1 who sell him to ,potiphar2 the ,tyrians 7,ezek4 xxvii4 #ac47 who had a market for the persons of men2 and ,babylon1 the mother of abominations1 7,rev4 xviii4 #ac47 who exposed to sale1 slaves and souls of men4 ,i hope none of these instances are proposed to the imitation of the 8ancient and loyal town of ,leverpool20 for a black mark is set on them to prevent them from being followed4 ,now there is some difference between dealing in slaves as a branch of trade1 and buying the service of a domestic2 even as it is not every man who eats meat1 that is or could act the part of a butcher4 ,in the case of the ,jews there was something particular4 ,they were obliged to admit their slaves to all the national privileges1 to circumcision1 the passover1 and other solemn feasts1 and to instruct them in the true religion 7,gen4 xvii4 #ac4 ,exod4 xii4 #dd4 ,deut4 xvi4 #aa4 and xxxi4 #ab4 ,josh4 viii4 #ce47 ,in buying them from the ,heathen around them1 they recovered them from idolatry2 they gave them a weekly sabbath4 ,in their treatment they were commanded to remember1 that they themselves had been slaves in ,egypt4 ,when they are threatened for their sins1 the ill treatment of their slaves makes a capital part of the charge against them4 ,but modern masters think that nothing of this sort concerns them4 ,the ,jews were intended to communicate to the world the knowledge of the true religion4 ,he who brings good out of evil made use of the slavery1 in practice1 to extend this knowledge to persons1 whom it could not at that time have otherwise reached4 ,but nothing in the bible countenances a trade in slaves4 ,even the transferring them in ordinary cases is checked as in that of wives and concubines 7,exod4 xxi4 #aa47 ,their ill treatment was guarded against1 by that law which gave them freedom if their master had struck out a single tooth4 ,indeed1 among the ,jews1 the number of slaves must have been small4 ,they were numerous in a narrow territory1 and were in general husband-men1 and used ploughs and other instruments of agriculture1 and wrought in the field with their servants4 ,ziba1 who appears to have been steward to the house of ,saul1 had only twenty servants to assist him and his sons in cultivating the lands belonging to the family4 ,the ,jews on their return from captivity had only one servant to six persons1 or one in each family4 ,the remnant of the ,gibeonites1 who served the temple1 was then #cib4 ,it is not therefore fair to consider every accidental possession of a servant1 either as an instance1 or as a vindication of the ,leverpool 8slave trade20 of which no ancient nation could ever form an idea4 ,we may rather conclude1 that though the ,jews were permitted to buy slaves from the ,heathen1 they did not traffick in them2 and forcibly to enslave their brethren was death4 7,see ,exod4 xxi4 #af4 ,deut4 xxiv4 #g47 ,of ,mr4 ,harris's data as general propositions1 ,i shall say little more2 the application alone is what the present subject is concerned in4 ,i shall only suggest an additional datum1 as necessary to complete his principles of reasoning4 ,dat4 #ac4 ,if the slave trade1 though 8intrinsically licit10 cannot now be carried on1 without breaking through every human and divine law1 without cheating1 violence1 oppression1 murder1 then must it be laid aside1 till we shall have discovered a way of carrying it on1 agreeably to the doctrines of the gospel1 by which we are enjoined to consider all men as our brethren1 and to deal by them as we wish them to deal by us4 ,page #af4 ,speaking of ,abraham's possessing of servants1 he calls it1 8a positive approbation1 a sanction of divine authority in favour of the slave-trade40 ,what a change is put on the ,reader6 ,abraham possessed servants2 therefore the ,leverpool slave-trade has a divine sanction4 ,for if this be not meant1 nothing is meant4 ,his book is published to vindicate this trade2 it is dedicated to the corporation1 who must so understand it4 ,now let a man only read ,mr4 ,newton or ,mr4 ,falconbridge's1 or any other eye-witness's account of this trade1 and what horrid impiety must of necessity be understood6 ,is there 8a divine sanction0 for all the iniquity accompanying this very diabolical business1 the kidnapping1 chaining1 murdering1 suffocating of millions of unhappy fellow creatures8 ,are such things not barely permitted1 but 7p4 #db47 approved1 encouraged1 and seemingly enjoined8 ,abraham was a rich1 powerful1 prince4 ,as he travelled through various countries1 numbers must have been desirous of attaching themselves to his fortune1 and have offered themselves for his attendants4 ,his humanity might have induced him to purchase children from unnatural parents1 or captives from robbers4 ,but all in his family were in a situation very different from that of ,west ,indian slaves4 ,we learn1 that on the supposition of his dying childless1 he intended one of them for his heir2 that he intrusted a servant to chuse a wife for his son ,isaac2 that he put arms in his servants hands1 and led them out to battle4 ,there is nothing of ,west ,indian slavery in all this4 ,but a particular stress is laid on the story of ,hagar1 and ,sarah's ill treatment of her4 ,page #ai4 8,she obtained no favourable sentence from the ,divine ,tribunal for leaving her mistress1 nor was ,sarah censured for her severity40 ,sarah was not present when the angel appeared unto ,hagar1 therefore she is neither praised nor condemned4 ,but that ,hagar believed she had a favourable sentence1 and that her conduct was not condemned1 when assured that the ,lord had seen her affliction1 which is the scripture phrase for deliverance 7,gen4 xxix4 #cb4 and xxxi4 #db4 ,exod4 iii4 #g471 and that she should have a son1 and that her seed should be multiplied1 appears from her acknowledgment of the vision1 and returning to her mistress4 ,nor can we imagine in what more flattering manner her affliction could have been recompensed1 or how she could have been afflicted so as to have deserved a recompence1 and her mistress not to have been in fault4 ,it was necessary for her to return to her mistress1 that her son might partake of the sign of the covenant1 and be instructed in the true religion4 ,hagar's case 7p4 #ai47 is compared with an ,african female slave in the ,west ,indies4 ,nothing can be more opposite4 ,josephus says1 ,pharaoh made ,abraham a present of money2 and the scriptures say1 that he intreated ,abraham well for ,sarah's sake1 adding immediately1 he had cattle1 and men servants1 and maid servants1 as if ,pharaoh had presented them2 among whom ,hagar might have been one2 or1 as it appears she was a worshipper of the true ,god1 she might voluntarily have entered into ,sarah's service4 ,certainly she had never been cooped up in a ,guinea trader1 nor set to plant the sugar-cane2 nor was she ordered to return and submit herself for her mistress's profit1 but for her own and her son's sake2 and when that purpose was answered she was dismissed4 ,there is therefore no foundation for the author's deduction1 p4 #bj4 that 8a divine voice declares her to be her master's indisputable property1 and the original bargain to be just and lawful in its nature2 and that the 7,leverpool7 slave-trade1 even attended with circumstances not conformable to the feelings of humanity1 is essentially confident with the rights of justice1 and has the positive sanction of ,god for its support1 however displeasing these circumstances may be to his fatherly providence40 ,let any man make sense of this who can4 ,i understand only the extreme boldness of the expression4 ,here is a right to enslave and an approbation1 and also a censure of the exercise of this right4 ,here our natural notions of benevolence are set in opposition to revelation1 p4 #db4 ,revelation commands us to enslave our brethren1 even against the suggestions of the feelings of humanity4 ,surely the writer should shew the high purposes answered by slavery1 to gain which it is an act of piety to violate our benevolent feelings4 ,we come now to the story of ,joseph1 which1 p4 #bc1 8ascertains the inherent lawfulness of the0 7,leverpool7 8slave-trade40 ,the first thing that strikes us in his account is1 his illustrating his doctrine by ,joseph's political arrangements of the kingdom of ,egypt1 rather than by ,joseph's own story2 which1 except in the horrid circumstances of the middle passage1 agrees entirely with the ,leverpool slave-trade4 ,joseph is found at a distance from protection4 ,his enemies kidnap him and sell him to slave-brokers1 who carry him into ,egypt1 and dispose of him as an article of commerce to ,potiphar4 ,his kidnappers saw1 and like ,guinea captains disregarded1 the anguish of his soul4 ,it is true1 afterwards1 when they believed themselves in danger of being enslaved in turn1 they upbraid each other with their unfeeling cruelty1 and charge their distress to its account4 ,but this was only because ,scriptural ,researches had not then been published3 for they1 p4 #bj1 would have proved1 that 8though the action was not altogether conformable to the feelings of humanity1 and was even displeasing to his ,fatherly ,providence2 and though doubtless ,god would see1 and of consequence recompense1 ,joseph for his affliction as he had ,hagar2 yet this stroke in the slave-trade is essentially consistent with the unalienable rights of justice2 has the positive sanction of ,god in its support1 nay1 his approbation1 p4 #af1 and p4 #db1 even his command40 ,but let us examine ,joseph's management of the ,egyptians1 not as this author1 but as the scriptures represent it4 ,in the years of plenty ,joseph stored the extraordinary produce of each district in the neighbouring cities4 ,one tenth part belonged of right to the king2 the rest he purchased at a low price with the king's treasures4 ,in the years of famine he sold the corn out to the inhabitants of the districts nearest to his respective store-houses at an advanced price1 and accumulated the money1 cattle1 and moveables of the whole kingdom1 and at last made a bargain for their lands and persons4 ,it is not to be supposed that any property1 except money1 was taken out of the original possessors hands2 for this would have answered no purpose1 but to distress the people and embarrass government4 ,indeed1 where could the whole cattle and moveables of the kingdom have been stored8 ,when the seven years of famine were ended1 ,pharaoh was the sole proprietor4 ,joseph then gives the inhabitants a charter1 restores them their lands and cattle1 on condition of paying to ,pharaoh a second tenth of the produce of the land1 which made their contributions to the revenue a fifth part of their crops4 ,it appears no other badge or burden of slavery was imposed1 except this rent1 which was a tenth part more than they had formerly paid4 ,the common rent of the bare land in ,england is estimated at one-third of the produce1 and the farmer must supply himself with stock1 except perhaps buildings1 and also contribute largely in a variety of ways to the publick revenues3 but by ,joseph's regulation the ,egyptian farmer paid only a fifth part for the use of his stock and land1 and for the support of government4 ,after having transferred themselves and property to ,pharaoh1 they could not have been freed on easier terms3 and as we often see1 that he who hires a farm1 grows rich on a possession on which the owner had been ruined1 probably the ,egyptians became as happy under their new tenure as they had been under their old4 ,in the most unfavourable light1 it may be compared with the change that took place at the conquest1 when free tenures became feudal1 charged with certain services4 ,our translation1 ,gen4 xlvii4 #bj1 #ba4 says1 8,so the land became ,pharaoh's2 and as for the people1 he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of ,egypt1 even to the other end thereof40 ,in the ,septuagint it is1 8and the land became ,pharaoh's1 and he subjected the people to be servants to him from one end of ,egypt to the other40 ,it is to the same purport in the ,samaritan copy4 ,this reads better1 and is more probable1 than that ,joseph should have made the whole nation1 as ,mr4 ,harris affirms1 change settlements in such a manner as if the people of ,kent were sent to the ,orkneys1 and those of the ,orkneys were brought to ,kent4 ,this would be such a trifling with peoples lives and feelings1 such a waste of property1 such a perversion of all experience1 and particular knowledge of the agriculture proper in each district1 as is only applicable to the ,leverpool slave-trade2 but cannot1 on such slight grounds as this general expression is1 be imagined in a man of ,joseph's character1 with a pretended view to prevent rebellion4 ,or the expression in our translation may bear1 that the people were distributed so as to be near the respective store-houses1 on which their maintenance was assigned4 ,therefore 8the change made1 p4 #be1 #bf1 in the happy condition of the gyptians1 the transportation of #g or #h millions of every age1 sex1 condition1 rank2 infants1 children1 decrepit1 infirm1 delicate1 through the scorching sands of a parched up country10 is the mere fiction of imagination1 to palliate the still more shocking conduct of the writer's patrons of ,leverpool4 ,the gyptians offered themselves for servants1 to save themselves from starving4 ,his patrons force the ,africans to be slaves1 not as he says1 from 8a state of absolute indigence10 but reduced from plenty and ease to famine1 nakedness1 and want1 by stripes1 fetters1 cruelty and oppression4 ,page #bh4 ,it is said1 8,joseph1 when able to relieve them1 took advantage of the extreme indigence of the gyptians1 to reduce them into the condition of slaves1 and in this acted by the immediate direction of ,god1 who made this work to prosper40 ,supposing all this true1 yet there is nothing common between this transaction and the ,leverpool ,african commerce2 but the author's having given them one common name1 8slave-trade40 ,the gyptians1 after a fair transfer of themselves and goods1 are left in full possession of their lands and property1 on paying such a rent as would act as a spur to industry1 while it checked that luxury which the author describes1 p4 #be1 as prevailing in gypt4 ,the ,leverpool slaves are reduced from freedom to a base1 helpless1 unprofitable1 wretched state4 ,when this writer1 p4 #bg1 considers the four-fifths of the produce left with the gyptian farmer1 as only equivalent to the keep of a ,west-,indian slave1 he must raise a blush on the sugar planter's cheek2 who willingly would leave but one fifth1 7the rum7 both to support his plantation stock1 and maintain his slaves4 ,but let ,joseph's conduct be what the writer pleases to describe it4 ,he was not the legislator of gypt1 but the minister of ,pharaoh1 and obliged to govern himself by the prevailing customs of the kingdom4 ,it appears1 he extended only the king's revenues1 and gave him such a command over the property of the people1 as might enable him to arrange the management of it to the best general advantage4 ,this might be peculiarly proper in gypt1 though not necessary to be imitated here4 ,its fertility depended on the equal distribution of the waters of the ,nile4 ,it was necessary for the general benefit1 that there should be an indisputed power to direct the course of the various canals1 which communicated the water to each district4 ,while the king had an equal interest in all1 no particular part would be neglected4 ,joseph gives four-fifths of the produce1 8for feed of the field1 and for your food1 and for them of your housholds1 and for food for your little ones40 ,this confines the peoples share to their own maintenance1 and the supply of seed4 ,we are left to conclude1 that every expense attending the distribution of the river1 except perhaps manual labour1 was paid out of the king's fifth part3 and as in all good governments1 the interest of the king and the people is one1 ,joseph1 by his nominal purchase of the people and their lands1 might probably have in view such an accession of power1 as might enable him to direct the whole to general advantage4 ,after the charter was confirmed1 no ill use could be made of the power1 and an ,english farmer would gladly pay one-fifth of his produce to him who should stock his farm1 and pay his rent1 and all his publick and parish taxes4 ,page #ch4 8,the ,jews are not restrained from purchasing their own brethren40 ,the ,jews were commanded to treat their brethren1 when reduced to a six years servitude1 with lenity1 as hired or free servants1 and to send them out in the sabbatical year free1 and not let them go away empty4 ,the only cases in which we can suppose ,jews could be made to serve1 are their being sold for debt1 or their preferring the service of a master to labour on their own account4 ,in these cases1 the laws of ,moses take care of them1 that they be not oppressed1 and1 besides the original purchase-money of their services1 to have a recompence when the period is finished4 ,it is in this case of an ,hebrew servant1 that we are to look for the genuine ,mosaic principles of slavery4 ,even here the law expresses a jealousy of the master's conduct1 and guards against the abuse of his authority1 restricting it to six years1 and prescribing the manner of exercising it4 ,therefore when the ,jews are allowed to make perpetual slaves of the ,heathen1 we are to consider it as a particular dispensation respecting their situation among idolaters1 by which1 in every slave1 they made a proselyte to the true religion2 or like divorces1 an indulgence to their hardness of heart1 which was not then capable of the purity and benevolence of the gospel1 by which1 marriage was made perpetual1 and all men were to be treated as brethren4 ,we can infer the doctrine of perpetual slavery as little from its permission to the ,jews1 as we can the keeping of concubines from the practice of ,abraham1 or ,david4 ,divorces are permitted to the ,jews in similar expressions with the permission to hold slaves2 yet our ,saviour tells us1 it was not so from the beginning4 ,moses 7,deut4 xvii4 #ad47 gives directions for the choice and duty of a king1 yet ,samuel tells the ,jews1 they had offended ,god in asking for a king4 ,and though ,god condescended to give them a king in a manner which more unequivocally shewed his assent1 than that approbation1 sanction and command1 which the author incautiously affirms to be given to the 8slave-trade20 yet ,samuel concludes them to be not the less guilty1 for persevering in the request4 ,we should be more careful than this author shews himself1 how we apply our ignorant conjectures to the divine conduct2 as p4 #af1 8,without allowing the licitness of the slave-trade1 it is impossible to reconcile the justice of ,god with his own scriptural decisions concerning its nature20 that 7p4 #cb7 8,god1 without a glaring opposition to the rights of his justice1 could not have approved the conduct of ,joseph in enslaving the gyptians1 and inflicted a lasting punishment on ,reuben for his incest1 if his enslaving of the gyptians had been a crime40 ,these expressions would be shocking from an infidel2 in what an horrid cause doth a clergyman use them8 ,the minds of the ,jews had been broken and debased by the ,egyptian bondage2 the law was given them as a school-master to train them up for the perfect religion of the gospel4 ,their conduct in the wilderness1 their frequent rebellions amidst miracles1 and in the immediate presence of their ,divine ,deliverer1 can only be imagined by those who have had opportunities of seeing how man is shorn of his worth by slavery4 ,only two men of all who were grown up when they came out of ,egypt1 were thought deserving to enter into ,canaan4 ,that whole generation must be worn out in the wilderness2 and their children must be trained for #dj years before they are permitted to take possession4 ,their laws therefore respected the hardness of their hearts1 though founded on principles which led insensibly to perfection4 ,thus while the perpetuity of the servitude of the ,heathens condescended to the hardness of their hearts1 the easy temporary service of their brethren looked forward to the gospel times1 not differing1 but in being for a fixed period1 from modern servitude for wages in free states4 ,therefore when this writer1 p4 #ci4 calls this latter service1 8,a ,slave ,trade20 the meaning of the terms is perverted4 ,or let him reduce his ,leverpool slave trade to the circumstances of a ,jew serving his brother for six years1 and we shall have few objections to bring against it4 ,what he calls there 8selling him again10 was transferring his service to another brother 7not an ,heathen7 for the remainder of the term1 as an apprentice is turned over to a second master4 ,page #dj4 8,if a ,hebrew servant had married a wife with consent of his master1 she and her child became her master's property for ever40 ,this seems not to be candidly expressed4 ,this wife must have been an ,heathen slave1 for ,hebrew women had the privilege of the ,sabbatical year2 but if he chose to continue with his wife1 he had only to renew his contract with his master4 ,indeed the regulation appears to have been intended as a check to the connection with slaves in the poor reduced ,hebrews4 ,page #da1 #db4 ,when he speaks of the 7,leverpool7 8slave trade having the sanction of being encouraged1 almost commanded1 and even enjoined1 to be prosecuted by the ,supreme ,legislator10 he puts opposition to silence4 ,but when1 p4 #dc4 he talks of 8the ,almighty's forgetting himself1 when he encouraged the slave trade1 if it be a crime10 ,i am happy for his sake to recollect1 that the author tells us1 till he was #bg years old1 he knew not the value of an ,english expression4 ,page #dc4 ,the slavery of the ,gibeonites4 ,the land of ,canaan was allotted to the ,jews for an inheritance4 ,the former inhabitants1 for their sins1 were to be extirpated1 or expelled4 ,the ,gibeonites preferred slavery to this4 ,their services were allotted first to the tabernacle1 then to the temple4 ,it appears from ,david's application to them1 on account of the famine brought on the land for ,saul's massacre of them1 that they were kept distinct as a people4 ,we may suppose that they continued to occupy part of their ancient possessions 7for we find in ,david's time that even ,araunah a ,jebusite was a proprietor of land7 and that they were in their turn draughted off for the service of religion2 those who occupied the lands maintaining those who served4 ,there is not one common circumstance between the manner of their becoming servants1 and the present ,leverpool slave trade1 and hardly any more in their treatment4 ,page #ej4 ,on the supposition of the iniquity of the 7,leverpool7 8slave trade10 he speaks of the ,almighty disturbing the course of nature1 when the sun stood still at ,joshua's command1 to make it subservient to injustice and oppression1 in vindication of ill-gotten property4 ,here he may be assured the horror of the expression will secure him from contradiction4 ,page #ed4 8,the slave trade10 7still ,leverpool slave trade7 8is in perfect harmony with the principles of the word of ,god respecting justice40 ,p4 #eh4 8,the inspired writers of the ,new ,testament did not consider it as an infraction of the principles of the gospel40 ,nor did these declare their own persecution for righteousness sake1 to be an infraction of the principles of the gospel4 ,the keeping of slaves1 which the author constantly calls 8the slave trade10 was a custom then generally prevalent over the world4 ,neither were masters or slaves prepared for a general manumission4 ,the spirit of ,christianity was suffered gradually to undermine this mass of oppression1 and wherever the gospel has prevailed1 it has in fact abolished it4 ,we have a similar instance of this management1 in the abolition of the ceremonial law of ,moses4 ,the first disciples1 and even the apostles1 conformed to it1 though they had declared it to be an unnecessary yoke1 and they suffered it to wear out gradually4 ,that slavery was an evil1 and therefore a sin in all those who inflicted it on others1 in such a degree as to become an evil1 is plainly declared in the gospel4 ,our ,saviour tells the believing ,jews1 ,if ye continue in my word1 ye shall know the truth1 and the truth shall make you free2 or shall confer new privileges on you4 ,if freedom be a privilege or an advantage1 slavery is a degradation and a disadvantage4 ,but if a man be degraded or injured for the caprice or profit of another1 that other1 under whom he suffers such injury1 is guilty of a sin4 ,again1 ,st4 ,paul1 #a ,cor4 viii4 #ba41 says1 8,art thou called being a servant1 care not for it2 but if thou mayest be made free1 use it rather40 ,here is plainly a direction to the disciples to submit to their situation1 but to prefer freedom when fairly offered2 which in this case was its being purchased for them by the ,christian congregation4 ,this is explained1 ver4 #bc4 8,ye are bought with a price1 be not 7,greek become not7 ye the servants of men40 ,avoid a situation which must debase your mind4 ,in the ,revelations1 xviii4 #ac4 slaves and souls of men are said to be articles of traffick in ,babylon1 the ,mother of ,abominations4 ,this supposeth nothing very excellent in slavery1 to make it be approved of1 and commanded to be prosecuted by ,god4 ,we may now account for the manner in which ,st4 ,paul applies to ,philemon in behalf of his servant ,onesimus4 ,he desires him to receive him back into his family1 not now as a servant1 but above a servant2 a profitable inmate1 a brother beloved4 ,he would not take advantage of the privilege of an apostle1 to withhold ,onesimus from his service1 or consider his conversion as a bar to it1 and therefore endeavours to effect a reconciliation between them4 ,but from the manner in which the apostle solicits this favour1 it is clear the situation of ,onesimus in the family was desirable2 for he requests it as a favour to ,onesimus1 and considers not his interposition1 as the conferring of an obligation on ,philemon4 ,all this is very opposite to that ,west-,indian slavery with which this of ,onesimus1 p4 #fe4 is compared4 ,for the master only is considered here2 neither the feelings nor profit of the slave is taken into account4 ,page #gb1 #gc4 ,i shall not dispute his exposition of doing as we wish to be done by1 as far as it goes1 of 8a slave's serving his master1 as he if a master would wish to be served40 ,but ,i would carry it a step farther4 ,as ,i1 a free man1 settled with my family and friends about me in my native country1 would not wish to be kidnapped1 or to have my family enslaved1 separated1 and carried bound neck and heel1 and stifled in the foul air of a ship's hold1 all to be sold in a distant country1 to toil incessantly for a man we never knew1 without food or raiment1 except such scraps as we may procure by breaking the sabbath2 under the lash of any unfeeling boy1 who may be set over us with a whip in his hand2 so would not ,i be concerned in any such cruel oppressive inhuman treatment of others4 ,when this author publishes his ,second ,part1 it is to be hoped1 this will be pressed home on his ,leverpool patrons4 ,it is curious to remark1 that in these researches1 in which the wisdom and goodness of ,god is so freely applied to the ,leverpool slave trade1 there is not even a distant hint given of the purpose which is to be served by slavery1 to shew it to be worthy 8of this divine approbation1 the almost divine commands40 ,when ,god commands us to love our neighbour1 our heart goes along with the precept4 ,but if1 as this author incautiously affirms1 we be commanded to exercise the slave trade1 bow down our brother's body in bondage1 and treat him ill1 as ,sarah did ,hagar with impunity1 we have no clue to trace out the agreement of the doctrine with divine goodness4 ,if commanded or enjoined to use the slave trade as it is now carried on1 we are commanded1 7horrid even in the supposition7 to commit murder1 to starve1 oppress1 suffocate1 and lead into exile1 our brother1 who never offended us4 ,suppose slavery approved of in revelation1 yet surely robbery1 murder1 and oppression1 are not approved there3 and yet no man is originally reduced into a state of slavery but by such methods3--at least1 when the advocates for slavery plead for a divine sanction to it1 they should be able to lay down a method of making slaves of others1 which shall be innocent1 and may deserve that sanction4 ,the ,jews1 for their sins1 were given up to captivity4 ,their cities were to be destroyed1 their princes murdered1 and their people carried to ,babylon4 ,the prophets invited the surrounding nations to come to the slaughter1 and to the spoil4 ,here is a divine command in stronger terms than can be shewn for the ,leverpool slave trade1 or any other slave trade or holding of slaves4 ,yet what follows4 ,these very nations thus invited1 and even commanded to execute the divine judgments on the ,jews1 are destined to destruction1 are made to cease as nations1 for having obeyed the call to vengeance4 ,edom was amongst the first in this field of blood1 and slavery1 and plunder4 ,hear the prophet ,obadiah address him3--8,thou shouldest not have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity3 thou shouldest not have stood in the cross-way to cut off those of his that did escape3 thou shouldest not have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress4 ,for the day of the ,lord is near on all the heathen2--as thou hast done1 it shall be done unto thee40 ,the reason is plain1 though instruments in ,god's hands to punish a wicked people2 yet in the execution of his justice1 they only satiated their own hatred1 cruelty1 and avarice4 ,let therefore the ,leverpool slave trade be not only approved of1 but even1 as he says1 commanded by ,god2 yet if the corporation1 in prosecuting the infernal business1 be actuated by avarice1 or any other unworthy motive1 and use cruelty1 oppression1 and inhumanity in the course of it1 7and let those who use the trade lay their hands on their hearts1 and let them1 if they dare1 deny the charge71 then1 sooner or later1 divine vengeance will find them out1 and plunge them into ruin with all those who encourage or abet them in it4 ,page #ge4 ,corol4 #ast4 8,the ,scriptures declare the slave trade to be intrinsically good and licit40 ,not in any other manner than ,jewish arbitrary divorces1 plurality of wives1 or their original desire of a king2 all of which we know to have been wrong from the beginning4 ,corol4 #b;d4 8,he is highly criminal who refuses assent to the intrinsick licitness of the slave trade1 declared in the ,scriptures40 ,i hope not1 if he cannot find it there1 and resolves not to meddle with it1 till he has discovered it4 ,corol4 #c;d4 8,he who acquiesces not in the licitness of the slave trade1 disbelieves the ,scriptures40 ,answered in ,corol4 #b4 ,corol4 #fth4 8,the abuses of the slave trade not an inducement to the ,legislature to abolish it40 ,if the slave trade be1 as it certainly is1 inseparably connected with murder1 oppression1 and every iniquity that has from time to time drawn down divine vengeance on guilty nations2 and if the ,legislature be instructed in the nature of it1 and be called on to put a stop to this murder and oppression1 and cannot possibly do it but by the abolition of the slave trade1 7were the slave trade even commanded in the clearest terms1 which is not the case1 but the contrary7 then is the ,legislature obliged1 and called on by every motive of religion and prudence1 to put an immediate stop to it1 that it may not bring ruin on the state4 ,,finis4 ,books by ,j4 ,ramsay4 ,an ,,essay on the ,treatment and ,conversion of ,african ,slaves in the ,british ,sugar ,colonies4 #ds4 ,boards4 ,a ,,reply to the ,personal ,invectives and ,objections contained in two ,answers1 published by certain anonymous ,persons1 to an ,essay on the ,treatment and ,conversion of ,african ,slaves1 in the ,british ,colonies4 #bs4 ,an ,,inquiry into the ,effects of putting a ,stop to the ,african ,slave ,trade1 and of granting ,liberty to the ,slaves in the ,british ,sugar ,colonies4 #f;d4 ,a ,,letter to ,james ,tobin1 ,esq4 late ,member of ,his ,majesty's ,council in the ,island of ,nevis4 #f;d4 ,a ,,manual for ,african ,slaves4 #b;d4 ,,objections to the ,abolition of the ,slave ,trade1 with ,answers4 ,second ,edit4 enlarged4 #i;d4 ,also lately published by the same ,author1 ,a ,,volume of ,,sea ,,sermons2 sold by ,rivingtons1 ,st4 ,paul's ,church-yard4 ,,essay on a ,,sea ,,officer's ,,duty2 sold by ,robinsons1 ,paternoster-,row4 ,,tracts ,,on ,,the ,,slave ,,trade1 ,published by ,j4 ,,phillips1 ,george-,yard1 ,lombard-,street4 ,an ,,essay on the ,impolicy of the ,african ,slave ,trade1 by ,t4 ,clarkson4 ,in ,two ,parts4 #bs4 #f;d4 boards4 ,an ,,essay on the ,slavery and ,commerce of the ,human ,species1 particularly the ,african1 translated from a ,latin ,dissertation1 which was honoured with the ,first ,prize in the ,university of ,cambridge1 for the ,year #aghe4 ,second ,addition1 with ,additions1 by ,t4 ,clarkson4 #cs4 boards4 ,a ,,description of ,guinea1 its ,situation1 ,produce1 and the general ,disposition of its ,inhabitants2 with an ,inquiry into the ,rise and ,progress of the ,slave ,trade1 c4 ,by ,anthony ,benezet4 ,a new ,edition4 #bs4 boards4 ,an ,,account of the ,slave ,trade on the ,coast of ,africa1 by ,alexander ,falconbridge1 late ,surgeon in the ,african ,trade4 #i;d4 ,,observations on a ,guinea ,voyage2 in a ,series of ,letters1 addressed to the ,rev4 ,j4 ,clarkson1 by ,james ,field ,stanfield1 late a ,mariner in the ,african ,slave ,trade4 #d;d4 ,a ,,letter to the ,treasurer of the ,society instituted for the ,purpose of effecting the ,abolition of the ,slave ,trade4 ,from the ,rev4 ,robert ,boucher ,nickolls1 ,dean of ,middleham4 ,a new ,edition enlarged4 #d;d4 ,,remarks on the ,slave ,trade1 and the ,slavery of the ,negroes1 in a ,series of ,letters1 by ,africanus4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,west ,,indian ,,eclogues1 dedicated to the late ,lord ,bishop of ,chester1 by a ,person who resided several ,years in the ,west-,indies4 #bs4 ,a ,,summary ,,view of the ,slave ,trade1 and of the probable ,consequences of its ,abolition4 #b;d4 ,a ,,letter from ,capt4 ,j4 ,s4 ,smith1 to the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,hill1 on the ,state of the ,negroe ,slaves4 ,to which are added an ,introduction1 and ,remarks on ,free ,negroes4 ,by the ,editor4 #f;d4 ,a ,,caution to ,great ,britain and her ,colonies1 in a short ,representation of the calamitous ,state of the enslaved ,negroes in the ,british ,dominions4 ,by ,anthony ,benezet4 #f;d4 ,,thoughts on the ,slavery of the ,negroes4 #d;d4 ,a ,,serious ,,address to the ,rulers of ,america1 on the ,inconsistency of their ,conduct respecting ,slavery4 #c;d4 ,the ,,case of our ,fellow-,creatures1 the ,oppressed ,africans1 respectfully recommended to the serious ,consideration of the ,legislature of ,great-,britain1 by the ,people called ,quakers4 #b;d4