Author: Lennox Birckhead

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-12-20

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9780484276795

Excerpt from A Voice From the South: Discussing, Among Other Subjects, Slavery, and Its Remedy So much perplexity clouds every aspect of American Slavery, it involves such serious questions affecting us in our moral, social and political relations, that there is naturally a morbid sensibility in the national mind which shrinks from all moral, philosophical or political examination but as all the great and best men of the South unbiased by the lust for wealth, or the lust for power or pride of party, have ever united with the general sentiment of mankind in its condemnation as a great moral, social and political evil, surely as patriots, as reason able men responsible to a great future tribunal, we are called upon to honestly and bravely look the momentous question in the face. Indeed the question has become so mixed up with pecuniary, party, political, and religious considerations, so long viewed through a contracted theology, or an undiscriminating false philanthropy, that we should not wonder to find the public mind confused, disgusted and disinclined patiently, calm ly, and candidly to examine the matter, neither in its abstract simplicity nor in the complications of its modified character as a political institution yet, to reconcile difficulties, relieve con science, reach just conclusions, a proper sense of duty and act Wisely, this is essential, for there is all the difference of light and darkness between abstract slavery and slavery as a politi cal institution. Injustice and Oppression constitute the one, upon the other rests the protection and safety of the African Upon the one the gross assumption, teeming with injustice, abuses and immorality, that the slave is a mere transferable chattel and also the authority, irrespective of all social neces sity, to perpetuate the institution; upon the other the only hope for a bettered condition of the negro. If the abolitionist in his blind impulsive course. Regardless of the spirit and scope of Holy Writ, or the suggestions of reason, has done mischief in their virtuous zeal to counteract the madness and wickedness of abolitionism, good men have been car ried beyond the necessities of the case, beyond the legitimate grounds of defence, have passed through the enemy to a friend ly province, have brought into conflict divine precepts and di vine teachings, have boldly assailed the inalienable rights of man, fraternized with wrong and oppression, have overlooked the origin of human and confounded natural and political rights, given man a positive absolute and inherent right of property in his fellow; thus, in their turn, have they become vulnerable to the shafts of truth and virtue, and call upon us to fall back upon first principles to counteract error. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.