dwell there, and minded expect. dren had long been dead, and that Phuzad vi was his patria; and the services of Zesent at the friendship dae to his intred were Here A tyrannical and expressive gence DOSTAL VIL jealousy the rast increase of İstai, uni ufiemet u regard them as dangerous on Twi aroma,—est they should become mirider ta de Egans. and reduce them to a stale e mien Kry: 200 est they should rescire a qui Eggy and the presession of their proposed there and st Eng should sustain the loss of a great number of well subjects. It appears that various inters had been exacted of the Israelites, as a kind of tax and I was equitable and reastmate that wine ther found shelter, protection, and sostenience in Egne they should in some way ocetime the stNET of the state. But these exatus vert dezased to such a degree as to reduce the perque at suvers Their lives were made ter v them wil hard bondage, in mortar and brick, and in a manner té service in the field Task-musters were anocneć over them, to enforce these me DES. In every respect they were treated with exzene rigour, both as to the excess of the bar and the severity of their penishments. The works on which they were empismed, were probably works of great unity, such as tomg treasure cities, and digging treaches to occter the waters of the Nile; but though the frits of their industry were many and great, all proper commpensation seems to have been wittbl te de, and the unreasonal le demands of their rose beyond bounds; nor was this all, the domestic life of this oppressed people was cruelty Or, if the will and sovereignty of God, And snap the chain the moment when you may." COWPER. SECT. V.THE SOURCES OF SLAVERY. IF liberty is the birthright of every human being, in what manner have persons become slaves? This is a very natural question. We should think liberty so dear a blessing, that every one would most strenuously maintain and defend it, and watch against every thing that might endanger it. Fellow feeling, we should think, would also prompt every man to defend this sacred right of his neighbour against encroachment; and that, if an attempt should be made to enslave one man, the whole neighbourhood would rise to defend or rescue him; and that thus slavery must be of very rare occurrence, and its extensive prevalence absolutely impossible. This, however, is very far from being the true state of the case. Among the causes of slavery may be mentioned 1. Crime.-On account of their crimes, some persons have been condemned to labour in a state of slavery for a limited time, or for the remainder of life. 2. Captives taken in war have been either detained and employed as slaves in public works, or sold to individuals, or appropriated by the captors for their own private use, as any other part of the booty taken in war. Persons thus becoming slaves, have often been redeemed from captivity by a ransom paid by their friends; or exchanged for other captives, restored to their own country, and set at liberty. 3. Debtors have sometimes sold themselves to their creditors, either for a limited time, or for life. 4. A vast proportion of slaves have been made so by the treachery of man. They have been enticed by stratagem, or seized by violence, and sold into captivity. Even parents have sold their children in this manner. 5. Children born of parents in a state of slavery, being destitute of the means of claiming the native liberty of man, have inherited the slavery of their parents, and become the property of their possessor; and thus slavery, when once incurred, has been perpetuated from generation to generation. SECT. VI.-THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY. WHEN did slavery begin? At a very early period. We do not know whether it existed before the flood; but, as the presumptuous wickedness of man had risen to such an awful height, as to call for that judgment from a righteous God, we can scarcely think that, among the monstrous evils that prevailed, the oppression of man by man did not hold a conspicuous place. Indeed, the predictive curse pronounced soon after the flood, against Ham and his posterity," a servant of servants, (or a slave of slaves,) shall he be unto his brethren," would have been unintelligible if slavery had been unknown. In rather more than a century after the flood, Nimrod, the son of Cush, grandson of Ham and 66 great-grandson of Noah, was proverbially distinguished as a mighty hunter before the Lord.” This phrase, "before the Lord," when applied to a good man, intimates that he acted as realizing the presence of God, and enjoying the Divine approbation and favour. Thus it is said that "Noah was righteous before the Lord;" and Abraham was thus addressed," I am the Almighty God, walk thou before me, and be thou perfect.' But when the phrase is applied to a wicked man, it generally expresses his presumptuous defiance of the Lord. Thus it is said, the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." It is probable that the phrase, as applied to Nimrod, denotes his daring haughty spirit, which led him, in his ambitious pursuits, to disregard the laws of God and the rights of men. Up to his time, government had been patriarchal; that is, each father had governed in his own family; but Nimrod is the first mentioned king and conqueror. He might hunt wild beasts, but it is pretty evident that he also hunted down men, and made them subservient to his ambition and usurpation. He founded the royal city, afterwards called Babel or Babylon, and thence went forth to conquer and subdue, and usurp dominion over the inhabitants of other places. He was, in all probability, the leader of that presumptuous enterprise, the building of a city whose walls should reach to heaven, and should become the centre of a universal monarchy. In the prosecution of these ambitious designs, we can easily imagine that Nimrod must have reduced vast numbers of his fellow-creatures to subjection, either to the labour of slavery or the captivity of war; indeed we can scarcely suppose it to have been other M wise; and generi sumuse produ” ÁS IT er 1 assiging 1: Narod the names Espai 4 being the parent of postlina certain that, I de ane u timum. of slavery was very sama, ie w P him by some gezet vil Viol i va il te alliance, and from incivert the net almeration of patria veti sains the tea. "men-servants at mat-seats,” character of Abrial ve tare e k conclude that these persus w Doled m not only with justice and inmatry THE T ternal kindness; a way nenes being placed in his family was bores a par blessing to them, as the means of jengne den o an acquaintance with the true God. The same remark will apply to the poous pacards a perral. Still we cannot but see de eri somet with a condition which extress the nav solute dominion over another, the postcry an even danger that be may aliose I sible that humane and consciences preus ing in times and countries where he de d mode of servitude, may hare en a de cua without perceiving the danger of pramie, ma without any disposition to abuse the aruary they possessed; but such instans, we u merous, must be regarded as the exceptions, vieI do not set aside the general rue that len na acquiring absolute power over i marra eas will, in all probability, abuse it About a hundred and fifty year fervers, w find that the descendants of base, at h |