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whether they be time-honoured customs, venerable institutions, or century-moulded laws, to the "light of truth," and cheerfully submitting them to the examination of the rational faculties of man. We rejoice that we live in an age when public opinion is respected,—in a country where that opinion is listened to by the government, in which the utmost freedom of thought, inquiry, and opinion is tolerated, and even encouraged.

We are convinced that on this question, also, the public opinion will be respected, for sure we are, that no government can withstand the united voice of its subjects, especially when those subjects have a just cause of complaint; and we hope, ere we conclude this paper, to convince our English friends that the Scottish nation has grievances, and that of no light or ordinary character.

inhabitants, giving an aggregate of 250,000 unrepresented in parliament. But there are thirty English boroughs, whose whole combined constituency does not amount to that of Edinburgh, who return two members each to represent them in parliament, being seven more than that returned by all Scotland, whose populous burghs are grouped in halfdozens, and send only one member to each group. Is this justice to the northern half of Great Britain? Does it now excite your surprise that it is so difficult to get a hearing on Scottish affairs in the House of Commons?

But a second Scottish grievance is the want of some person to represent her interests in the cabinet, and who could be continually attendant upon his place in parliament to watch over Scottish interests. True, we have a Lord Advocate; but he is unable to But it is necessary to premise that the attend to all the duties devolving upon him union betwixt the two countries of England as the legal and legislative representative to and Scotland is a union on equal terms, that the government. We, for our own part, the one nation did not merge into the other, cannot conceive how a lord advocate can but that both stand on an equal footing; execute thoroughly the duties of adviser to such, we believe, will be conceded by all who the crown, or public prosecutor in Scotlandhave studied the history of their own father- of secretary of state for a country which is land, or who have read the Treaty of Union weekly increasing in wealth, population, and between the two integral portions of Great legislative business—and also to attend to his Britain; one of the articles in that union own private duties as an advocate, which he distinctly states, that all parts of the United cannot be expected to forget or forego. But Kingdom, for ever, from and after the union, that Scotland and her interests and affairs shall have the same allowances, encourage- are neglected, from want of a qualified resiments, and drawbacks, and shall be under dent party to look after them, no one will the same prohibitions, restrictions, and regu- deny who reads the following list of comlations of trade, and liable to the same cus-plaints which wronged and ill-used Scotland toms and duties on export and import. Now, has to prefer against the government of the question is, has Scotland received the Great Britain. same allowances, in proportion to her population, as England? Has she received the same encouragements? We say she has not; but now for proof.

And first, as regards the representative system. Has Scotland the privilege of sending as many members to the parliament of Great Britain as England has? that is, in proportion to the numerical amount of inhabitants. By the census of 1851 we find that Scotland has a population of 2,870,786, which gives an average of 54,166 to each of our fifty-three representatives. Applying the same rule to England, it will be found that each of her five hundred members represents only 35,845, which is a third less to each. Further, there are about seventy towns in Scotland, possessed of from 2,000 to 9,000

First. The boards of customs and excise have been abolished, and our metropolitan establishments reduced to the position of sub-offices. This is peculiarly felt in the Scottish commercial capital, where the want of a customs and excise board is a serious evil.

Secondly. The charitable institutions are entirely neglected by the British government. None of our maternity hospitals, our blind asylums, our royal infirmaries, or our houses of refuge, receive any aid from the government. But we mistake. Government does contribute towards the support of one of our charitable institutions: the government of Great Britain contributes the munificent sum of Two pounds per annum to the dispensary of Kirkwall.

How stands the case

with England? Is she placed on the same footing? No! she is not. London received in 1852, for charitable institutions, the sum of £118,583; and those of the metropolis of Ireland, £41,790.

Thirdly. The metropolitan character of Edinburgh puts it to great expense in upholding a gaol, the benefits of which are reaped by the country at large; it is also from the same reason exposed to a great influx of poor and destitute people from all parts of the country, and who are consequently a heavy burden, either in their pauper character on the charitable institutions, or in their criminal, on the police establishment. The Commissioners of Police naturally prayed government to assist in defraying the expense of these police establishments, but were bluntly refused; nevertheless, London receives £131,000, and Dublin £36,000 annually.

Fourthly. With all our increasing commerce with other nations, we only possess one single harbour of refuge, viz., that of Port Patrick. On the eastern coast, which is rocky, dangerous, and stormy, and on which are situated the important seaport towns of Leith, Dundee, Aberdeen, and Montrose, there is no harbour of refuge. On our western shore they are less required, owing to the great number of bays and indentations of the sea along the greater part of that coast; yet we have one harbour there, viz, that of Port Patrick, but which was not constructed out of any regard to the marine interests of Scotland-or more particularly, if you will, of Glasgow and Greenock-but for the safety of the Irish mail steamers betwixt that port and Donaghadee. In the Pentland Firth, from Duncansbay to Dunnet Heads, there is also no harbour, although one in that quarter would be of great value to our whaling interests. How stands the case with the southern portion of Great Britain. In England there is at present five harbours constructing, viz.: Dover-estimated cost, £245,000; Harwich-£110,000; Alderney -£620,000; Jersey-£700,000; Portland -£588,959: a total of £2,263,959. To Holyhead has been voted, £91,270; but to repair the Scottish harbour of Port Patrick, parliament has voted £2,556.

Fifthly. The revenue of the Scottish woods and forests are transmitted to London, and employed in the embellishment of English

palaces and parks, whilst Holyrood, our venerable palace, is fast crumbling into decay, and the garden let out to a market gardener! Scotland is in danger of being left without a palace, unless her own patriotic sons will themselves undertake to maintain its once honoured, and its now revered, palace, dear to the heart of every true-hearted patriot, because it stands out in basso-relievo to remind them of their independence-their immunity from conquest; because it reminds them that the present royal family of Great Britain received the crown from Scotland, in virtue of their descent from our James VI. When the magistrates of Edinburgh petitioned for funds for its repair, the Chancellor of the Exchequer answered that he had no funds for such purposes, although the hereditary revenues of the Scottish crown amount to £10,000 per annum; yet in 1853, with no funds for the repair of Scotia's one palace, the British government did expend £181,960 for the repair and embellishment of royal palaces, parks, &c., in England, besides £100,000 for Victoriapark, purchased for the convenience of the East-end Londoners. Further, this is in gross violation of the terms of union, the nineteenth article of which expressly asserts that Scotland shall possess her own Exchequer Court, which court had the power of making grants for the repair of her public buildings; but this was abolished in 1837, and amalga mated with the Court of Session; and in consequence, Scotland has now to apply to the English treasury when she wants assistance to enable her to repair her institutions, and is generally, like a beggar, spurned from the door. But, not to multiply examples, we will only glance at the remaining part of the list of Scottish grievances. Our museums are not such as become the Scottish nation; more especially as regards the geological section.-As a nation rich in mineral productions, we are without a museum,-without a professorship of geology; while England, with inferior metals, has both.-Our Ordnance survey, though begun in 1809, is not yet completed; and in the report issued by the parliamentary committee in 1852, Scotland is declared to be behind all civilized nations as regards its geography.—The Glasgow Post-office is a positive disgrace to any government; a roofless building, threatening to topple down about the heads of the people

Can you think of these facts, and yet turn

engaged in the public service, who, by the way, are grossly underpaid for their labour.-round and say that Scotland is fairly repreThe want of an official in Scotland who per- sented, or that her interests are properly mits the exchange of one stamp for another attended to? You cannot look fully at when one is spoiled, and which, when re- these things without perceiving that the quired, has now to be done in London.-Our Scottish nation is really an independent unprotected shores, where an enemy might nation. Look at the very trifle she receives land and possess himself of the whole country from government, and the great amount of without let or hindrance.-Our universities public work she performs, and you will perunrepresented, whilst Oxford, Cambridge, ceive the strugglings, the throbbings, of an and Dublin have each their members. Our energetic, independent heart, pulsating university allowances, which is a very pit- through the whole length and breadth of tance. Our medical diplomas, which are the land. Assuredly the time has come taxed, to the manifest injury of our medical for Scotland to assume one of two alternajurisprudence.-Even the regulations as re- tives,-either she must sink her nationality, gard the public health of Scotland are under and become an English county, or she must the management of the London board. struggle for her just rights; and, by the memory of her actions from the days of Bannockburn to the present, we are persuaded that she will do the latter.

And now we appeal to the readers of the British Controversialist,-we appeal to all intelligent Scotchmen and Englishmen,-to say whether these are grievances or not.

WALTER.

Social Economy.

IS SLAVERY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFIABLE?
AFFIRMATIVE ARTICLE.-I.

PERHAPS upon no subject previously brought before the attention of the readers of this magazine has there been such need, as upon this, for the exercise of a calm and unbiassed judgment, and an entire self-divestment of pre-conceived notions and popular prejudices. During the memorable years in which the agitation for the abolition of slavery in our colonies was carried on, popular feeling ran high upon this subject; but then it was the feeling of an English party, now it is too much the feeling of the British public. It is now the general belief, both of the educated and the illiterate, that all slaves are the most miserable wretches beneath the sun, and that all slave-owners and their defenders are amongst the most demoniacal beings to be found in this fallen world. This state of opinion is, doubtless, for the most part attributable to the universal perusal of that fascinating but untruthful work, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Written in a most popular style, appealing to the strongest prejudices, and avowedly

employing fiction for the purpose of representing fact (!), it has gained the attention of all classes of the community, exciting their imaginations, misleading their judgments, and arousing their passions. The British public have thus been misled as to the character of a system, the scene of whose operations is too far removed from their observation to correct mistakes respecting it. Notwithstanding that public opinion is in such an unfavourable state for the impartial discussion of this question, we rejoice that it has been introduced into this magazine, because we expect to find amongst its readers men and women who are prepared calmly to consider the arguments that may be brought forward, and who are endowed with courage and moral heroism enough to follow the truth wherever it may lead them.

Now, we are not about to assert that slavery, or involuntary servitude, is a desirable social state, or that it is consonant with the highest developments of humanity; but we maintain that there is not that moral evil

essentially connected with it which is commonly supposed, and further, that under some circumstances its existence is justifiable. From the earliest ages, and nearly in every habitable part of the world, slavery, in some form or other, has existed; it has prevailed in the most civilized, as well as in the rudest nations; among the chosen people of God, as well as among the heathen whom they were commissioned to destroy. Its principle is found in our own constitution, and is carried| out, to some extent, even in our own day. The majority of the ruling classes decide upon a certain code of laws for the government of the body politic, and decree that the infringement of those laws shall be followed with the infliction of bodily torture, or the loss of personal liberty, even for the term of a man's natural life. Now, few of our opponents will be prepared to denounce such a course as this as unwise or unjust; and yet the principle involved in it is precisely the same as that involved in the system which we are now discussing.

That there is no moral sin in slavery appears evident from the manner in which it is referred to in the word of God, and the relationship which eminently good men have occupied in connexion with it, in all ages of the world. "The 'servants' mentioned in scripture history were mostly unconditional and perpetual slaves; they were strangers, either taken prisoners in war, or purchased from the neighbouring nations. They and their offspring were the property of their masters, who could sell them, and inflict upon them corporal punishment, and even, in some cases, could put them to death."* Doubtless, of this description were the three hundred and eighteen servants of Abraham, who, we are told, were "born in his own house." To prevent misconception here, it may be well to notice that the Hebrews had slaves of their own nation, individuals who sold themselves through poverty, or had committed theft, and were not able to make the restitution required by the law (Exod. xxii). These native servants, or slaves, became free on the completion of the seventh year of their servitude, or were liberated in the year of jubilee. But not so the alien slaves; these were perpetual bondmen; and Moses, as the vicegerent of God, recognised

* Penny Encyclopædia.

and legislated for this state of things. If there had been here any moral wrong, or essential iniquity, do our candid readers think that such would have been the conduct of this man of God? or that we should have found, on the sacred page, such words as the following," Both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your chil dren after you, to inherit them for a possession: they shall be your bondmen for ever." (Levit. xxv. 44-46). But we know it will be said that these words were uttered under a dispensation that has now passed away: we admit it, but would remind our friends that justice and injustice are the same at all times, and under all dispensations; and none can for a moment suppose that God would, at any time, sanction an institution that was radically and morally wrong. But further, let it be remembered that our Lord and his apostles, who so fearlessly denounced every evil with which they came in contact, did nowhere, at any time that we are acquainted with, utter a single word prohibitory of slavery. On the contrary, "The Divine author of our holy religion found slavery a part of the existing institutions of society; with which, if not sinful, it was not his design to intermeddle, but to leave them entirely to the control of men. Adopting this, therefore, as one of the allowed arrangements of society, he made it the province of his religion only to prescribe the reciprocal duties of the relation." be necessary to adduce any proof of this, we refer our readers to the numerous injunctions given by his apostles to servants-to "servants under the yoke," or slaves-as to their demeanour towards their masters; and also to the directions given to these masters as to their conduct towards their slaves. If these things are so, and surely they cannot be denied,-we think we have incontrovertibly established our position, that there is no necessary evil or moral iniquity attached to a state of involuntary servitude.

If it

All that now remains for consideration is,

the question of expediency; and this may be
dismissed in a few words, for here the testi-
mony of history will suffice, as she speaks
in unmistakeable language as to the advan-
tages which youthful nations have derived
from this institution. But we need not
fetch our illustrations from the past; it will
be sufficient to glance across the waters of
the Atlantic, and to contemplate the extent
and surpassing prosperity of our descendants
there, and learn, from their presidents and
'men of mark," the estimate which they put
upon this kind of servitude. That there is

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much connected with a portion of American slavery that is contrary to justice and Christianity we freely admit; but that it has been of service to the state we firmly believe. It has been one of the various means which have been instrumental in so rapidly raising America to her present position; and, when its work is completed, we believe it will be gradually removed, as the slaves become better fitted for the discharge of the duties of social life, and the exercise of the privileges of citizenship.

NEGATIVE ARTICLE.-I.

"God that made the world and all things
therein, .
hath made of one blood all nations
of men for we are also his offspring."

St. Paul, Acts xvii. 24, 26, 28.
"Oh, give me liberty!
For were even Paradise my prison,
Still I would long to leap the crystal walls."
Dryden.

TIME, with inexorable precision, hath marked another period in the cycle of existence. The history of the past, with its comminglings of joy and sorrow, is realized in the present; while the future is full of hope to the aspirant after truth and justice. Old friends and new, we give ye all a happy greeting; and invite you, with us, earnestly to address yourselves to the mental duties of the day, that we may be prepared for the future, as

""Tis the promised land,

To which hope points with prophet hand,
Telling us fairy tales of flowers
That only change for fruit."

The expression of anti-slavery feeling recently made by all classes of society, may induce some to consider that a discussion upon the question of Slavery is not merely unnecessary, but an insult to the common sense of mankind. We do not think so. The waves of public excitement may dash with wild fury upon the rocks of existing evils, but by the consequent reaction, their beneficial influence may be lost, and their onward motion stayed. Millions are still held in those fetters by honest, good, and christian men-men who on all other topics of social economy can think and act as justly as any anti-slavery advocate. They believe themselves justified in the course they are pursuing; and we must meet them with kindness and affection, yet with all the force

X.

reason can command, and endeavour to bring
truth, drawn from the word of God, to bear
upon their intellects and hearts. We must
show them that slavery is essentially wrong;
that the first law of nature and of pure
religion demands freedom for the slave, and
then their interest-the selfish interest of

vitiated society-must give way to the dic-
tate of reason and a sense of duty. It must
be made manifest to them that "Disguise
thyself as thou wilt, still, Slavery! thou art
a bitter draught; and although thousands
less bitter on that account."
are made to drink of thee, thou art none the

All men having descended from one comall men were once equal. It may be they mon parent, it will at once be admitted that differed in their moral and intellectual qualities and acquirements, but still they were all equal in their natural rights. But we have used a phrase which may possibly be misconstrued; we will, therefore, explain what we intend by it: "a person has a right to the use of his faculties and powers; he has a right to enjoy the light of the sun, and the air of the atmosphere; he has a right to the use of his property, and the fruits of his labour. These are self-evident propositions; and the meaning of the term right, which occurs in all of them, may be collected from its uniform signification in each; and from the nature of the proposisitions themselves, the phrase natural right is also easily understood. Agreeably to this rule, right is the relation of a person to a thing, in which no alteration ought to be made, without his own consent. In this circumlocution, the name of person and thing imply that a right is the appurtenance of a

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