make out his first source of slavery. Now it will be recollected, that it is part of the very essence of slavery, that it is perpetuated by descent. Let us suppose that one of the ancestors of our Virginia Professor had been captured by the royal but savage father of Pocahontas, and had, after the peace effected by that generous damsel, been sold as a slave to one of the Colonists. The whole transaction, according to the teacher of "Political Law" in William and Mary College, would have been strictly legal, sanctioned not only by innumerable instances in savage warfare, but by the example of Julius Cæsar, Paulus Emilius, and other great men of antiquity, and above all, by the conduct of "the children of Israel under the guidance of Jehovah." The posterity of the hapless captive, would of course through successive generations have been lawfully held in bondage, and the Professor, instead of publishing theories about slavery, would at the present day, by his own shewing, be fairly, justly and honestly experiencing in his own person the blessings of hopeless interminable servitude, with the assurance that his own fate would be the inheritance of his children after him.

The second source of slavery is "STATE OF PROPERTY AND FEEBLENESS OF GOVERNMENT." It seems that during the existence of the feudal system in Europe, property was concentrated in the hands of a few, and that government did not, and could not protect the rights of the many. "The people of those days could find no employment except on the land, and consequently were entirely dependent on the landlords, subject to their caprices and whims, paid according to their pleasure, and entirely under their control; in fine they were slaves complete." p. 21. Should some strong man armed, seize our author, and reduce him to servitude, we imagine he would be disposed to question the lawfulness of the second source of slavery.

The third source we are told is, "BARGAIN AND SALE." How far a man can lawfully sell himself and his children after him, is a question of little interest in reference to American slavery, since among the millions of slaves in our country, not an individual has probably ever been a party to such a contract.

The fourth and last source of slavery, mentioned in the work before us, is "CRIME," and under this head, is in

cluded "INSOLVENCY." It would, we suspect, be in vain for our southern planters to search the records of our criminal and insolvent courts for the judgments authorizing them to hold in servitude that vast multitude of human beings whom they call their property.

We have now considered all the modes, by which, as we are informed, the original equality of mankind may be destroyed, and a portion of the human family be converted into chattels for the use of their more fortunate brethren. We beg the reader to select the one, which in his opinion justifies the present bondage of two millions and a half of his countrymen. These slaves, with but few exceptions, were born in servitude; consequently they were not prisoners of warnor were they enslaved in consequence of the inability of the government to protect its citizens-nor did they sell themselves-nor lastly, were they made slaves on account of crime, or insolvency. But admitting these several causes of slavery to confer on the original master, his heirs and assigns, a valid title to the slave, and to his posterity, must not the present proprietor be able to trace his title in order to justify possession? Be it remembered, that these four sources have no reference to complexion, and of course justify the slavery of white men, just as much as they do that of black men; and be it also remembered, that American slavery embraces slaves of as fair complexion as that of the masters.* Now we would ask, is it not reasonable that

This assertion will probably startle many of our readers; it is however strictly true. These white slaves are indeed called negroes and mulattoes, not on account of their complexion, but merely because they are slaves. In 1834, the right to one of these slaves (10 years of age) was contested before the court of Lincoln County, Missouri. The following is extracted from the report of the trial:-"He (the slave) was examined by the jury and by two learned physicians, all of whom concurred in the opinion that very little if any trace of negro blood could be discovered by any external appearances. All the physiological marks of distinction which characterize the African descent, had disappeared. His skin was fair, his hair soft, straight, fine and white, his eyes blue, but rather disposed to the hazle-nut color; nose prominent, the lips small and completely covering the teeth; his head round and well formed, forehead high and prominent, the ears large, the tibia of the leg straight, the feet hollow. Notwithstanding these evidences of his claims, he was proven to be a descendant of a mulatto woman, and it was proved that his progenitors on his mother's side had been and still were slaves; consequently he was found to be a SLAVE.'

The last summer a slaveholder from Maryland, caused a young woman, (Mary Gilmore) to be arrested in Philadelphia, as his fugitive slave. A legal investigation ensued when it was established by the most abundant unquestionable testimony, that the alledged slave had been brought up in Philadelphia, and was the child of poor IRISH parents.

every man should be presumed to be the master of his own limbs, and of his own conscience; and ought not he who claims his fellow man as his property, to prove his title to him; we do not mean by exhibiting as some one quaintly expresses it, "a bill of sale from his maker," but by tracing the servitude of his slave, or of the slave's ancestor, to one of the four legitimate sources of slavery?

Now there is not an American slaveholder, who according to the principles laid down by our author can shew a good title to a single slave! Of what avail then, is this labored inquiry into the four sources of slavery? The sources when discovered, in no degree reconcile the institution with the precepts of christianity, and if they did, it is impossible to shew that any slave now in the country, owes his servitude to either of them.* The truth is, the Professor has left this part of his task incomplete. He did not find it convenient to examine all the sources of slavery. We will take the liberty to continue his catalogue, and proceed to the

Fifth source of slavery-ROBBERY BY VIOLENCE. The African slave trade has been from the first, a system of robbery, and is now acknowledged by our national legislature, to be PIRACY. Yet this trade is the original source of ninety-nine hundredths of American slavery. The Professor himself admits, in reference to this trade, that "countries have been overrun, and cities pillaged, mainly with a view of procuring slaves for the slave-dealer." p. 40. This fact is most abundantly established by the testimony taken by order of the British Parliament, pending the discussion of the abolition of the traffic. It cannot be questioned, that the great mass of slaves transported to this country, were violently robbed of their liberty by their stronger neighbors in Africa, for the express purpose of supplying the trade. It is equally certain, that the traders knew how the supply was generally obtained, and that the American purchasers were well aware, that they were dealing in the spoils of robbery. It is a maxim of our law, that possession originating in fraud or injustice, no matter how long it may have continued, can never give a title. And will it be maintained, that although it may be unlawful to hold a

We except from this remark, those blacks who have been made slaves for pretended crimes, under the iniquitous laws in relation to free negroes.

stolen man as property, yet if we do hold him till he has children, our title to the children and to their posterity is indefeasible?

But there are many who have in our own country been violently robbed of their liberty. Could the number of free negroes who have been kidnapped and sold into slavery, be ascertained, the community would be appalled by the disclosure. Soon after the revolution, societies were formed in New-York and Philadelphia, having among their objects the protection of this class of our citizens. The instances are not few, in which whole families have been forcibly abducted, and carried to the south. Indeed the practice of kidnapping is a matter of such public notoriety, that it would be a waste of time to attempt to prove its existence. When we recollect that a robust man with a black skin, will sell in the market for eight hundred or a thousand dollars— that slavery is declared by many northern divines, not to be forbidden in the Bible, that it is extolled as a blessing by southern statesmen; and that free negroes are denounced by multitudes of all classes as "nuisances," and great efforts made to send them to another continent; it is not wonderful that men should be found, quite willing to convert nuisances into blessings, by transmuting free negroes into slaves, especially when they can fill their pockets by the process.

Sixth source of slavery-ROBBERY BY VIRTUE OF LAW. In every slave state, we believe without one exception, there are laws for the manufacture of slaves. Thus, if a black citizen of New-York enters the state of Georgia, as by the Federal Constitution, he has a right to do, the law imposes on him a heavy fine, which it knows beforehand, he will probably be unable to pay, and in default of payment, he is robbed of his liberty, being sold as a slave for life, under pretence of raising money to pay the fine. So in other states, free negrocs, for acts which involve no moral guilt, but which in some instances "lean to virtue's side," are doomed to slavery, and their children after them. Thus, for example, a free colored woman and three children were sold in South Carolina in 1827, as a punishment for concealing two fugitive slave children. Here were four persons robbed of their liberty by a single judgment. But such robbery is righteousness itself, compared with that which is perpetrated BY THE AUTHORITY, AND WITHIN

THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In the CITY OF WASHINGTON, in the capital of the greatest and proudest Republic in the world, a municipal officer, may without oath, without complaint, without the allegation of crime, seize a free citizen, and deliver him to the UNITED STATES' Marshall, who may consign him to a dungeon in the UNITED STATES' prison. After the door of the dungeon has been made fast, this officer of the FEDERAL UNION is required by law to announce in some newspaper that a prisoner of such a name and appearance, is confined on SUSPICION of being a fugitive slave, and that his MASTER is desired to come and take him out. But being a free citizen, he has no master, and of course no master can take him out. And what then? Why then, by the authority of the CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, he is sold at auction to the highest bidder, as a slave for life, to raise money to pay his "JAIL FEES," that is, to raise money to pay THE UNITED STATES' MARSHALL for his trouble in keeping this free and innocent citizen in prison. This same Congress which thus robs a guiltless citizen of his liberty, and reduces him and his posterity to bondage, consigns to the hangman the robber who seizes and sells an African savage!!

-We

Having completed our inquiry into the "sources," we now proceed with Mr. Dew, to consider the "advantages" of slavery. After expatiating on the goodness of the Deity, he exclaims "Well might we have concluded from the fact, that slavery was the necessary result of the laws of mind and matter, that it marked some benevolent design, and was intended by our Creator for some useful purpose.have no hesitation in affirming, that slavery has been perhaps the principal means for impelling forward the civilization of mankind-without its agency, society must have remained sunk in that deplorable state of barbarism and wretchedness, which characterized the inhabitants of the western world, when first discovered by Columbus." p. 28.

Did we err in saying, that the Professor is a bold champion? Not contented with this general statement of the blessings of slavery, he goes on to enumerate them. The first on the list, after the mitigation of the horrors of savage warfare, already mentioned, is "its tendency to check the frequency of war, and to destroy that migratory spirit in