that slavery is of divine origin. Will the
gentlemen be astonished?
AVOICE. "Yes."
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. The first
reference I shall make is to the 14th chapter
of Genesis, the 14th, 15th and 16th verses.
I believe my friend from Cecil (Mr. Scott)
is fond of reading the Bible, but I am afraid
he has read it to little purpose.
"And when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, be armed his
trained servants, born in his own house,
three hundred and eighteen, and pursued
them unto Dan,"
"And he divided himself against them,
be and his servants, by night, and smote
them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which
is on the left hand of Damascus."
" And he brought back all the goods, and
also brought again his brother Lot, and his
goods, and the women also, and the people."
Mr. SCOTT. That shows the propriety of
Mining slaves. [Laughter.]
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. They were
fighting for their households and in support
of their institutions, led by their master.
Abram possessed servants, which he mar-
shalled against his enemies.
Mr. SCOTT. Just what we are doing now
against our enemies. [Renewed laughter.]
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. I now re-
fer to the 16th chapter of Genesis.
"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no
children, and she bad an handmaid, an
Egyptian, whose name was Hagar."
"And Sarai said unto Abram: Behold
now the Lord hath restrained me from bear-
ing; I pray thee, go in unto my maid, it may
be that I may obtain children by her. And
Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai."
Mr. SCOTT. I did not know you claimed
Bible authority for that practice. [Great
laughter.]
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. The gen-
tleman seems to forget that this is simply a
history of that age, and that the men of that
age, having fallen from their high estate,
possessed all the sinfulness and weakness be-
longing to our nature; that bad men lived
then as now.. And we can find in the Old
Testament, in the bistory of the men of that
age, a precedent for nearly every vice except
vagary, such as is now attempted to be per-
petrated by the majority of this Convention
upon the slaveholders of Maryland.
"And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar
her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had
dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and
gave her to her husband Abram to be his
wife.
" And he went in unto Hagar, and she
conceived; and when she saw that she had
conceived, her mistress was despised in her
eyes.
" And Sarai said unto Abram: My wrong
be upon thee; I have given my maid into |
thy bosom; and when she saw that she had
conceived, I was despised in her eyes; the
Lord judge between me and thee.
" But Abram said unto Sarai: Behold, thy
maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth
thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with
her, she fled from her face.
"And the angel of the Lord found her by
a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the
fountain in the way to Shur.
"And he said: Hagar, Sarai's maid,
whence earnest thou? and whither wilt thou
go? And she said, I flee from the face of
my mistress Sarai.
"And the angel of the Lord said unto her:
Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself
under her hands,
" And the angel of the Lord said onto her:
I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it
shall not be numbered for multitude."
Mr. SCOTT, if the gentleman from Prince
George's will permit me—
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. Not now.
I am astonished, Mr. President, that whilst
the Holy Scriptures are being read there
should be so much levity. I am astonished
that gentlemen should not have more respect
for themselves; for yon as the presiding of-
ficer of this body; for the Bible and its holy
teachings, than to make anything read from
it a subject of merriment. Do they not hear
the Bible read at least once a week in their
churches?
I next refer to the 17th chapter of Genesis,
12th verse:
"And he that is eight days old shall be
circumcised among you, every man child in
your generations, he that is born in the house
or bought with money of any stranger which
is not of the seed."
This reference shows that under the Mosaic
dispensation slaves were bought with money;
they were commodities of sale; they were
sold in market, and were bought in that day
—and slavery was recognized as right by the
teachings of that day.
The 10th Commandment, recognized and
held sacred by all Christians, certainly recog-
nizes slavery. I shall not readit, as I sup-
pose the gentlemen very well recollect the
commandments, though they have forgotten
many other teachings and precepts of the
Bible.
I now refer to the 21st chapter of Exodus ;
" Now these are the judgments which thou
shalt set before them.
" If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years
he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go
out free for nothing.
" If he came in by himself, he shall go out
by himself; if he were married, then his wife
shall go out with him.
" If his master have given him a wife, and
she have borne him sons or daughters, the
wife and her children shall be her master's,
and he shall go out by himself. |
