s when we please; nor, if
slavery exists, are we commanded to adopt the rules and regulations of
Hebrew slavery.

"But we do learn from the Bible that property in man is not in itself
sinful,--not even to say of a man, 'He is my money.'

"Were it intrinsically wrong, God would not have legislated about it in
such ways; for granting, if you please, the untenable distinction about
his 'not appointing' slavery, but 'finding it in existence' and
legislating for it, what necessity could there have been for making such
a law as that relating to the boring of the ear, rather than giving the
slave his wife and children and suffering them all to go free?

"No, Mr. North," said I, continuing our conversation, "I cannot oppose
the relation of master and slave as in itself sinful; for then I become
more righteous than God. But I must inquire whether it is right, in each
given case, to reduce men to bondage: shall that be, for example, the
mode in which prisoners of war shall be disposed of? or a subjugated
people? or criminals? or, in certain cases, debtors? In doing so, there
is no intrinsic sin; the act itself, under the circumstances, may be
exceedingly sinful; but the relation of ownership is not necessarily a
sin. This, I hold, is all that can be deduced from the Bible in favor of
slavery: The relation is not in itself sinful."

"But," said Mr. North, "we sinned in stealing these people from Africa;
all sin should be immediately forsaken; therefore, set the slaves free
at once."

I replied, "Let us apply that principle. You and I, and a large company
of passengers, are in a British ship, approaching our coast. We find
out, all at once, that the crew and half of the passengers stole the
ship. We gain the ascendency; we can do as we please. Now, as all sin
must be repented of at once, it is the duty of the passengers and crew
to put the ship about, and deliver it to the owners in Glasgow! Perhaps
we should not think it best to put in force the '_ruat coelum_'
doctrine, especially if we had had some '_ruat coelum_' storms, and it
was late in the season. But then we should actually be enjoying the
stolen property--the ship and its comforts--for several days, with the
belief that benevolence and justice to all concerned required us to
reach the end of the voyage before we took measures to perform that
justice, which, before, would have been practical folly.

"Now, please, do not require this illustration to go on all fours. A