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Influence of Christianity in effecting the Abolition of Slavery. 886

was a very serious object of the legislative power, through more than four centuries, for we find no council of the middle age without one canon at least relative to this business.

the synod of Leptin, in the year 743, that | countries. The abolition of the slave-trade a man who sold his slave to an infidel should be infamous, and excommunicated in the same manner as a murderer, if the slave, thus sold, was intended to fall a victim to the gods: and in Norway, it was absolutely forbidden to sell a slave out of the kingdom, unless he had committed an enormous crime. With a view to promote the abolition of this savage custom, which proved to be fatal to persons of the most exquisite beauty and the most exalted character, it was enacted, that the ceremonies of emancipation among the Christians should resemble the form of the heathen sacrifices, and engage in the same way the imagination both of Christians and heathens. By this means the slaves obtained a chance of liberty; and were often brought to the church, placed on the altar, and symbolically sacrificed to the true God.

The national assemblies of the heathens commenced with the bloody worship, and the Christians passed a law, that on such occasions a slave should be made free, and the expense of the feast at which he obtained his liberty defrayed by the public. The ancient Norwegian law, before the year 1222, (part 1, c. 3,) says, "We shall manumit a slave in our annual assembly at Gula; each member shall emancipate his slave by turn, and the whole assembly shall pay six ounces of silver, in order to defray the expenses of the feast of liberty. Whoever neglects to procure a slave in his turn, shall be fined in twelve ounces of silver to the bishop, and the assembly shall be obliged to buy a slave at their own expense, for the above mentioned purpose."

The liberty of a man's selling into slavery his own children, was restrained to certain rules. They began by enacting, that the child which was sold for a slave, should recover its liberty by paying the sixth part of the purchase-money to the master. And it was further ordered, that no such slave should be exported out of his native country.

At length the duration of this kind of slavery was reduced to the certain term of seven years, or, as the Icelandic law, called Geagas, which prevailed from the year 928 till the year 1267, more equitably ordered it, till the purchase-money and expenses made on the slave were re-imbursed.

It is difficult to fix the certain æra when the emancipation of slaves was universally introduced in Europe; for though Boden points out the year 1250, in his book, De Republica, yet we know that slavery lasted much longer in some

The civil government gave every support they could afford to such pious and benevolent endeavours of the church; and both agreed, that the undertaking could only be accomplished by slow degrees. The steps adopted for this purpose were on one side to forbid the exportation of slaves, to throw the slave-trade into the hands of Christians, who ought to know their common duties, and to make some regulations concerning a humane treatment of the slaves. On the other hand, laws were passed that opposed the home-traffic, and rendered it as difficult as possible.

In the year 779, Charles the Great passed a law that no slave should be exported out of his dominions; and in the council at Rheims, it was enacted, than the slave-trade should only be carried on by Christians, and that a man who sold his slaves either to a Jew or a heathen, should be excommunicated, and that the contract should be void. Kidnapping was, however, very frequent among the Christians, particularly in Nordalbingia, (the present dukedoms of Schleswick and Holstein,) who used to force those Christians who had fled to them from their heathen neighbours, to re-enter the slavery, and suffer themselves to be re-sold to their former masters; till at length, St. Anschar, archbishop of Hamburgh, prevailed on them to abolish this disgraceful custom, and to issue a law, "that whoever should be accused of kidnapping, should clear himself by the judgment of God, (so the ordeal was then called,) and should be excluded from the rights of producing witnesses, or taking the oath prescribed by common law;" a law which bordered very near upon that of the Jews, (Exod. xxi.) "And he that stealeth a man, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death." What Charles the Great and the synods, in different parts of Germany, France, and Italy, had enacted, with respect to the slave-trade, was followed by other princes.

For Canute the Great, king of England, passed a law, "That no Christian should be sold for exportation." This same law had been enacted before, viz. in the synod of Enham, in the year 1009, "Ne Christiani et innocentes extra Patriam vendan tur."

By such means the foreign slave-trade decreased, and could only be carried on by

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fraudulent means, and by a description of persons who were carefully watched by the bishops, whom a synod had authorized to inquire throughout their respective dioceses, "whether slaves were exported; whether a Christian were ever sold to a Jew or heathen; or, whether a Jew dealt in slaves who professed to be Christians?" The famous market at Bristol, where the slaves were imported from all parts of England, and there sold to Irish merchants, who continued to buy slaves from England during the reign of King John, was much depressed and diminished by St. Wulfstan, whose example was imitated by the second synod of London, which enacted, “Nequis illud nefarium negotium, quod hactenus in Anglia solebant homines sicut bruta animalia venundari, deinceps ullatenus facere præsumat."

In Norway, few steps were taken towards the abolition of the slave-trade before the year 1270. The law, which, till that time, guided all civil business, was passed by King Hacon, who began his reign in the year 1222, and died in the year 1263. In this law much is spoken of the slaves, who seem to have been happier in Norway than in any another part of Europe; for the slave could obtain his liberty by a prescription of twenty years, and the law guarded his life against the master, who, for having killed his slave, was liable to be punished as a murderer. The slave who destroyed his infant child, was considered as one of the greatest offenders; but as they had no capital punishments in Norway at that time, the punishment was being sold for exportation. The slave had some property accruing from his own industry, when not employed in his master's service; a property which sometimes enabled a skilful slave to recover his liberty. Snorro Sturleson, in Historia Rer. Norvegicar. Havn., 1777, vol. ii. in the life of King Oluf, remarks, that, the king, dissatisfied with some great men in the county of Thundhem, which then laboured under scarcity, forbade the inhabitants of the southern parts of Norway, to give even the least relief to their brethren in the north. A near relation of the famous Einar Thambaskielfer came to him, and asked for corn; Einar, having fully explained the impropriety of complying with desires contrary to the proclamation of their royal master, said, "My slaves, for whose actions I am by no means legally bound, possess corn in plenty, it is their property, and they can dispose of it according to their own pleasure." The slaves in Denmark appear to have enjoyed the same privilege. The master of a slave

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could not refuse him his liberty, when offered the purchase-money: nay, it was sufficient if half the sum was delivered. The manumission prescribed in the same law, (Frostathing's Law of Hacon Haconson, part i.) is particularly curious :—“If a slave takes land and settles, then shall he give an entertainment, called the Feast of Liberty, the expenses of which shall be nine bushels of malt and a ram. A freeborn man shall cut off the head of the ram, and the master shall unlock the collar* surrounding the slave's neck. If the master refuses to grant the slave to give the feast of liberty, then shall the slave request it before two witnesses, and in their presence invite his master with five friends of his. The slave then shall prepare the entertainment, and let the uppermost seat be ready to receive his master and mistress. Thus the slave shall recover his liberty, which recovery he shall prove by those who were present at the feast, against all attempts which his master may pursue for the future." Such was the state of the law in Norway when it was totally abolished, in the year 1270, by King Magnus, called the "Reformer of the Law."

During the existence of slavery in Denmark, it much resembled the Roman; and it is uncertain how or when the Danish slaves were emancipated. In Sweden, the state of slavery fell and rose in the same degree as it did among her neighbours. In Upland, the servitude was abrogated by King Byrger, in the year 1295, and King Erie Magnusen spread the blessing of liberty over the rest of that kingdom in the year 1335, for the purpose, as he said, of following God, who has rescued the whole of mankind from slavery.

From these extracts and observations it appears, that slavery is an evil characterizing nations in a state of barbarism, and must serve to convince us that Europe would never have attempted, much less have effected, the happy alterations which have taken place within her own limits and dominion, had she not first received the humane doctrines of Christianity.

SLAVERY IN JAMAICA.

We have many times had occasion to notice the Anti-Slavery Reporter, as uni

In the museum of the Antiquarian Society at Edinburgh, is a metal collar, constructed with a ring for receiving a padlock, with the following inscription:" Alexander Stewart found guilty of death, for theft at Perth, the 5th of December, 1701, and gifted by the Justiciary as a perpetual servant to Sir John Erskine, of Alva."-This collar was found in the grave of the deceased, in the burial ground at Alva.

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Slavery in Jamaica.

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formly espousing the cause of the injured | having summoned the whole gang before Africans, inveighing against oppression, him, threatened them with severe punishand advocating the dictates of humanity. ment if they went again to the chapel. On Many instances have occurred, in which this, a female slave, a sister of Henry Wilwe might have quoted a variety of interest-liams, happened to heave a deep sigh. ing passages from its pages, but hitherto The attorney said, "Who is that groaning?' our observations have been confined to a and, perceiving who it was, ordered her to general delineation of its character. The be laid down on her stomach on the two following facts, which we copy from ground, and caused to be inflicted upon her No. 65 of this work, for August, 1830, will a severe flogging. tend to place slavery in Jamaica, and the Anti-Slavery Reporter in England, in their proper light.

The

"The first of these two cases is that of a slave, named Henry Williams, belonging to an estate called the Rural Retreat. owner of the estate is a lady residing in Scotland, to whom it has lately descended by inheritance. Her attorney is a magistrate of Jamaica. The late owner of this estate had placed unlimited confidence in Henry Williams, and had been in the habit of employing him under his own direction, as sole manager of the property. Having thus been a favourite with his deceased master, he was in very respectable circumstances, and his conduct is said to have uniformly been such, that he had never, during that master's lifetime, been subjected to corporal punishment. He had for years been a member of the Methodist Society, and had given such evidence both of intelligence and piety, that in March, 1829, he was appointed the leader of a class. The attorney hearing of this appointment, expressed his displeasure. I hear,' he said, 'you are become a great preacher at the Methodist chapel, but if ever you go there again, I will send you to Rodney Hall workhouse."* Henry replied, that he was no preacher, but that he had attended the chapel for years, and had received much good there, and had there learned his duty to God and to his master. The attorney charged him also with the crime of drawing his fellow-slaves to the chapel, and thus ruining both them and himself. Henry admitted the fact of his trying to induce others to go thither. He had himself, he said, been benefited by his attendance, and he thought he could not do better than advise his fellow-slaves to attend too; and, but for that, he felt confident that they would not have minded their business as they were now doing. On the following day the attorney visited the estate, and

This workhouse is situated in St. Thomas in the Vale, and is a sort of receptacle for notorious delinquents. Slaves deemed deserving of extraordinary punishment, are said to be often sent to this seat of darkness and misery, because of the peculiar severity with which they are there treated.

"From the estate the attorney went to the house of the Rev. G. W. Bridges, which is near it, probably to consult with his Rector on the means of checking this unhappy tendency to frequent the Methodist chapel. The next day, Henry Williams having to pass that way, Mr. Bridges called him, and inquired his reasons for preferring the Methodist chapel to the church. Henry frankly told him his reasons. They were, generally, that he derived more spiritual benefit from going to the chapel than to the church. Mr. Bridges then told them, that unless he came to church himself, and brought his fellowslaves with him, he was assured by the attorney that he must prepare for the consequences with which he had been threatened. On the succeeding Sunday, Henry Williams, having received the orders of the attorney to attend at church with all the people, was himself present during the service. After service, the attorney asked him where the rest of the people were. Henry replied, that the people had told him, that Sunday was their own, and that some of them had gone to the Methodist chapel, and others had gone in other directions, (probably to their grounds or to market,) but that he himself, though resolved not to relinquish the chapel, had come to church, to shew how desirous he was to obey the orders that had been given him. The attorney then told him he should be sent to Rodney Hall workhouse. Thither, in a day or two, he was accordingly sent, and though perfectly ready to go without constraint, he was lashed round like a felon, his arms being fastened with ropes. This took place about the beginning of July, 1829. In the workhouse at Rodney Hall, he was put in chains, and repeatedly flogged, and so severe was the punishment inflicted upon him, that, after a time, he became so ill, that the superintendent deemed it necessary to remove from him the chains with which he was loaded, and to place him in the hospital, where his death was expected. The attorney, it seems, was much displeased with this lenity, alleging, that the sickness of Henry Williams was feigned, and signified his intert

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On the Female Character.

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ON THE FEMALE CHARACTER, WITH ESPE-
CIAL REFERENCE TO THE POWERS OF
THE MIND.

"The superior advantages of boys' education are, perhaps, the sole reason of their superiority. valuable, for the satisfaction arising from it, to a Learning is equally attainable, and, I think, equally

of removing him to a still more distant | ed not long before the period when the workhouse. His poor wife endeavoured same rev. gentleman was cited, as stated to induce a gentleman to intercede for her in our last number, p. 326, before a spenearly murdered husband, who had been cial vestry, for cruelly maltreating one of thus literally brought to death's door for no his female slaves, a mulatto." other offence than that of attending the Methodist chapel; but in vain. At length, however, the circumstances of the case were brought to the knowledge of the Editor of the newspaper called the Watchman and Jamaica Free Press,' who animadverted upon it in an able article with such just and pointed severity, that the guilty party appears to have caught the alarm, and Henry Williams was soon after released from the workhouse, and reconveyed to the Rural Retreat. By this time, however, he had been so cut up with the severe floggings he had received, that his life was despaired of; and the last account of him, dated in November last, was, that for several weeks he had been confined to his bed, and obliged to lie on his stomach, day and night, his back being a mass of corruption.' Whether he has survived this atrocious act of barbarity, is still a matter of uncertainty.

6

woman as a man." KNOX.

WHEN we contemplate the history of the female character, we cannot avoid being struck with the fact, that it has been its lot to have met with a very uncertain reception from the other sex. We find from classical authority, that even among the nations of civilized Greece and Rome, the female was far from receiving that meed of estimation which she might justly claim; and however superior may have been her station and rank in society, the unhappy female who dwells in savage and uncivilized countries, is still far below her just and merited grade: and in no point is this degradation more re

the mind. To a certain extent, the female
has been ever valued; but that extent has
always been made subservient to the will
and pleasure of the other sex.
As a crea-
ture conducive to the temporal advantage,
or necessary to gratify the pleasure, of man,
the female has been generally regarded; but
viewed as a being pre-eminently calculated
as a companion, to cheer, to solace, to en-
liven, and to advise as the possessor of a
mind to edify and delight by her intellec-
tual treasures-how has the female character
been neglected, despised, and undervalued !

The second case will occupy a shorter space. "A slave of the name of George, be-markable than as it respects the powers of longing to a lady in Jamaica, who is favourable to missionary exertions, and who herself occasionally attends the Methodist chapel, had been for several years distinguished as a person of excellent character, even among white persons in the neighbourhood. He was guilty, however, of the same crime with Henry Williams. He was a zealous and regular attendant on the ministrations of the Methodists. Shortly before the time that Henry Williams was sent to Rodney Hall workhouse, this slave had also become obnoxious to the Rev. G. W. Bridges, and in passing that gentleman's residence, was stopped by him, and ordered to be laid down and flogged. The order was executed, and George was flogged with such severity, that it was with difficulty that he afterwards walked to his home, which was about a mile distant. The mistress of George, indignant at this treatment, sent him, as soon as he was sufficiently recovered to leave home, to the custos, with a letter complaining of the conduct of Mr. Bridges: on this the custos wrote to Mr. Bridges, and appointed a day for inquiring into his conduct. But before the appointed day arrived, a friend of the Rev. gentleman succeeded in compromising the matter with George, by paying him a small sum of money, as a satisfaction for the injury he had received. This happen

Yet, how variously soever the female character may have been estimated in different ages and countries, it cannot be denied, that it has stood forth with a prominency peculiarly its own. Shall we not find that in great and illustrious events, which have been connected with the welfare and fate of nations, females have frequently been conspicuous, not merely as accidentally causing the scale to preponderate, but as displaying exalted powers of mind? We can turn over no page of history, but we shall find some trace of woman; and let it be decided by matter of fact, whether we do not discover the female mind in many of its recorded transactions. It will not be only as an individual branch of animal creation, but as a being possessing in a pre-eminent degree rich endowments of intellectual

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On the Female Character.

energy, that woman will appear in the annals of human kind.

While on the one hand we shall discover that by female instrumentality the most atrocious deeds have been committed, and the most determined hostility excited; thereby proving furens quid femina possit;—yet on the other hand it has more frequently happened, that, by an uncommon penetration and sagacity of thought, she has foreseen important mutations, and has at times almost glanced at unwonted contingencies. By the exquisite sensibilities of her bosom, she has tamed the rage of stern and undaunted warriors; by the winning softness of her manners, and the endearing amiableness of her mind, she has won over the hardened and misanthropic wretch, or melted the reckless monster into lamblike meekness. Could we ask the men who lived in by-gone ages, whether, with all their neglect and contempt of female powers, they were not greatly influenced, and greatly benefited by them; should we not find that almost all would be forced to testify, however reluctantly, in the affirmative?

We, who happily live in an age and nation where the female is exalted to her full degree of prominency in society, and to the full display of her influence, can be at no loss to discover the cause of her moral degradation. It has been frequently declared that we are indebted to Christianity for the proper estimation of the female sex, and that, owing to a want of this system, the nations of antiquity, and those of the present day where woman is still enthralled in ignorance and debased by servitude, underrate and still contemn this amiable part of human kind. It is indeed the heavenly influence of Christianity which has taught man how to estimate the other branch of his race; it has shown him that she possesses a rational soul, and intellectual powers of no mean capacity; that she is calculated to be a constant blessing and advantage to him in all circumstances of his life-to delight him by her enlivening fancy-to advise him by her wise counsel-and to solace him by her sympathizing soul. While it distinctly recognizes the dependence of woman as the "weaker vessel" upon her more powerful companion, and enjoins due submission on her part; it fully establishes her allotted sphere, and affords abundant scope for the sway of her mind. Education, following upon the footsteps of her divine predecessor, has invited the female race to a participation of her inestimable blessings;-and enriching by her solid information, instructing by her judicious advice, and adorning by her elegant accomplishments,

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has succeeded in placing her lovely pupils upon a distinguished eminence in the social and public stations. Thus, fitted by her natural powers, and improved by her useful acquirements, the female is now qualified for every path of life in which she may be called to walk. As a companion, she now adorns the most valuable society; as a relative, she discharges her duties with affectionate assiduity; and as a Christian, she shines with modest and undimming lustre, as a faithful and becoming attendant upon the Sun of righteousness.

The value and influence of woman can be proved from the most ordinary occurrences of life. Let us merely glance at a party of the other sex in which conversation may be supposed to flag, or a want of inclination to prevent its full tide of interestwhat will be the result, if female company be introduced into the circle? Immediately some congenial topic is excited; declining interest is revived; the feelings are aroused, and, in a short period, the delights of society are found to be "the feast of reason and the flow of soul." Such a case is neither far-fetched nor uncommon: it may be met with in our daily intercourse with each other; in the social circle, or in the more public assembly.

Much indeed has this fact been ridiculed, and the effects of female society have been jocularly traced to the inquietude of woman's tongue; often has its loquacity been the subject of the witling's lash, and the satirist's acumen. It cannot be denied that very often a woman may use her tongue with more profuseness than propriety, and sometimes deluge us with a torrent of declamation; yet ought we not to esteem the use of the tongue in woman a blessing rather than a misfortune? And is there not somewhat of ill-nature and ingratitude in repaying her who has been conducive to an evening's 'entertainment, even though it be with a profusion of talk, with the shafts of ridicule, and the flashes of wit?

The paths of literature invite us to inspect the displays of female mind which are therein exhibited. The question need not now be asked; "what can woman do in the literary circle? Her influence there is now placed beyond a doubt; her value estimated as it ought to be. Indeed, to such a degree has female talent been exerted, that instead of "what can woman do?" it may with more propriety be asked-" what ought she to do?"-for certainly there is a question depending upon the great fact; and it is no unnatural interrogatory-" how far ought a woman to carry her literary researches and labours, consistently with the

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