Opposition to Slavery.

Frederick Douglass:—I have been some time a reader of your valuable paper, and wish to say through the medium of its columns that I am opposed to American Slavery; that I have no fellowship whatever with this unrighteous practice. When I call to mind its untold evils, its injustice and wrong, its violation of the Royal law, I am almost led to wonder why the people do not with universal consent immediately put away the wrong, and wipe this dark stain from our nation's honor.

In the first place, its principles are altogether unsound. They totally subvert the great law of love contained in the Savior's golden rule: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Where is the man who has once tasted the sweets of the rich boon of freedom, who has toiled for a compensation, and who has applied his hard earnings for the comfort of himself and family, that would like to have his fellow-man wrest from him this gift with its numerous blessing, and load him down with the galling chains of bondage? Where, I ask, is the man or woman that would like to be so treated? Echo asks, where? Such an one is not to be found, neither amongst them that are far off, nor them that are nigh; in vain shall we search for one. Then, why enslave a fellow, even though he has a skin which bears a different color? why aid in any way to rivet the fetters upon his hands? Why even apologize for those who would? why not rather "reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine."

The principle of property in man does not recognize as sacred the conjugal relation—a relation appointed by High Heaven in man's creation, and which is the foundation of much social happiness, peace and virtue, and the lawful perpetuity of the human race. This dearest and tenderest tie of nature is severed at the will of the master, for husband's are separated from their wives and wives from their husbands, parents from their children and children from their parents, and thus with impunity families are broken up and scattered to the four winds of heaven, perhaps never again to meet till God shall call them at the judgment bar.

Chattel slavery debars families from performing those interesting and sacred duties

that grow out of this connection, and which they would count in their highest pleasure faithfully to perform. The husband and father is deprived of the inestimable privilege of providing for the wants of his wife and children—of teaching the latter correct principles and habits, "bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;" the wife and mother is prevented from kindly administering to the necessities of her husband and the wants of her tender and beloved offspring, whether they are in sickness or in health and when age spreads over the father and mother the mantle of infirmity, the son and daughter are cut off from being as a staff on which they can lean, and from standing around their dying couch to sympathize and alleviate by acts of filial love, and to wipe from their brow the cold damps of death; and why? Because, forsooth, the master through avarice and hate has torn asunder their little community and disposed of its different parts as mere things—articles of merchandize, and put the ill-got gain into his coffer-box. O humanity! where is thy blush? O sympathy! where is thy tenderness?

This system steels the heart and shuts up bowels of mercies; for the slave, toiling for naught, and against his will, must necessarily be coerced; that native love of liberty which God has implanted in every breast, and that knows no difference because of color, till overcome, must be overcome by power. The power of the law, avarice and her love of ease, combined, are like a coat of mail; they harden the master's heart and deaden all the finer feelings of man, for mercy weeps when she sees stripes inflicted even on a beast. The compassionate heart bleeds when it sees a beast of burden overburdened, pushed onward by the sharpness of the cutting lash, and involutarily exclaims, spare the road; but dealers in human flesh are less sensible, have less feeling as is manifest in the perfect ease with which they sever the dearest ties, and the freedom with which they apply the lash, paddle and strap, to the tasked, overtasked, ill-fed and weary bondmen! The eloquence of tears, the cry of distress, the mourn and sigh of a broken spirit, sweat and blood, all plead in vain; they find no avenue to the tender sympathies of the heart; they reach not its tender cord, for the slave is the master's property.

Again, it is contrary to all scripture; it contradicts the sacred word which cannot lie, for [its] written: "The laborer is worthy of his hire." "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the open." "The hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which of you is kept back by fraud, crieth." Slavery practically says, The work man is not worthy of his reward; it is not fraud to keep back his wages; the master has a right to do so, and to muzzle even the mouth, not of that noble animal, the ox, but of that more noble being, MAN, especially so far as to give him rather sparingly of coarse, ordinary food—so far as it will be for the master's interest to do so.

It is further written: "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him." "Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbors service without wages, and giveth him not for his work." But American Slavery says, There is no harm in building dwellings by unrighteousness; we may build chambers by wrong. If a neighbor is black, or has African blood in his veins, we may rob him—rob him of his liberty, his right, his conscience, his happiness, his hard-earnings, his talents—rob him of his bosom companion, his tender offspring, his blood, and in extreme cases, rob him of his life, all that he holds dear and sacred on earth.

It is also written. "Deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, the widow." But this unholy system says we may do wrong and violence to the African; we may shut him out from the Bible, from the means of obtaining knowledge, and keep him in the greatest ignorance possible; we may by oppression, reduce him to a level with the brutes, notwithstanding he is made in the image of God, and is possessed of all the finer feelings of our nature; notwithstanding he can feel, love, sympathise, think, reason, be kind, tender and humane: we may manacle, and drive him from place to place, as the hore is driven to market; notwithstanding he is a moral agent, and under the same obligation to love, serve, and obey his Creator, as is every other accountable being; yet we may buy, sell, and control him

as we do sheep and [oxen]. It says, [...] blushingly, "Deliver not the slave out of the hand of his master," and if the slave exert his God-given rights, and employ his strength to maintain it, slavery says, subdue him by physical force; chastise him with the rod; tie him to the ring, and compel him to submission by the smart of the whip, as we do the wilful and stubborn [ox].

If the bondman sigh and pant for liberty, if he chance flee to where he can breathe free air, and enjoy all the privileges and immunities of a man and citizen, it says, return him to the hand of his master, give him not an asylum in the land of the free; hunt him with the baying hound, with powder and ball, or some other instrument of death, as you would the wild deer that roams at lecture over the forest dense, or as you would hunt the lawful prisoner who had escaped from confinement, that had been guilty of some flagrant crime, and had thereby forfeited his right, and whose liberty would be exceedingly dangerous to community. Such is the language of this system, and its opposition to Scripture. Well may we say, in the language of another, "It is the sum of all villanies
."—These are some of the reasons why I am opposed to the chattel principle, why it can find no place in my breast; and I must acknowledge that I am little at a loss to conceive how any one who fears and loves God, can have any relish for it. I should think they would rather feel called upon by every consideration that is sacred and lovely, to employ faithfully all lawful means for its removal.—"God hath made of one blood, all nations for to dwell upon the earth," and commanded men to love one another as they love themselves; and this, without regard to any external circumstance whatever—without regard to form, color, strength, physical or mental.—In obeying this command, we fulfil the law.

Now it must be obvious to every reflecting mind, that the principle of property in man falls far short of love to him; as we love ourselves; and that the treatment which the bondman receives in the exercise of this principle, is not that which would spring from pure and unadulterated love to him and a regard for his rights.

I rejoice, however, that some, yea many, are waking up to this subject, and who are possessed of sufficient moral courage to do all they can consistently and lawfully for its removal; who are not afraid to pray, speak, write, print and vote against it. I rejoice also, that amongst them are found some who have worn the chain, and bear in their bodies the marks of the lash, and who are hereby better prepared to enter into the feelings of the oppressed, and to expose the corruptions and abominations of this foul system.

I would to God that the number might increase ten hundred fold, until opposition shall become so strong as to push this wicked inhuman practice entirely from our borders, and that our favored land may indeed be ALL that its name purports—a land of FREEDOM—a land of impartial LIBERTY.

Nelson Star.

Copenhagen, Dec. 16th, 1851.