Ancient and Modern Systems of Slavery. APRIL, 



present day have their galley slaves and coerced labourers ; and to come, 

 still nearer home, those numerous convicts condemned to labour in the 

 hulks in chains, or who are sentenced to a state of servitude in New 

 South Wales, or elsewhere, are neither more nor less than persons 

 reduced to a state of slavery for their crimes. Again, can we shut our 

 eyes to the fact, that even in England, there are always throughout the 

 country numbers of persons, who by indolence or misfortune, are obliged 

 to surrender their liberty, in exchange for food and clothing, and whose 

 labour is either sold to the highest bidder, or who are employed by their 

 respective parishes in the most degrading offices of slaves, such as 

 sweeping and cleaning the streets, dragging the filth in carts, &c., as 

 may be seen weekly even in certain metropolitan parishes St. Luke's 

 for instance ? We fear, we cannot with justice, class such persons in 

 any other manner than with those who have been obliged to surrender 

 their liberty under the pressure of evil, or with the view of obtaining 

 some particular good ! 



But, to attempt to trace the progress of slavery until it became in 

 various countries of the world, a hereditary state or condition of man- 

 kind, is not the object of the present article. We merely propose to give 

 a slight sketch of the treatment of slaves in ancient Rome, and in modern 

 Africa ; and we shall hereafter state shortly a few facts relative to their 

 condition in that land of freedom, the United States of America, taking 

 the most recent travellers in the latter countries as our guides, so that our 

 readers may judge for themselves, how far our own colonists have suc- 

 ceeded above all other people in mitigating the evils of slavery, so as by 

 fradual degrees, to raise their labourers in the scale of intellectual 

 eings, and to fit them for ultimately becoming useful and industrious 

 freemen, instead of remaining, like their African ancestors, in a state of 

 the most dark and cruel barbarism. 



Let it not for one moment be supposed, that we are advocates for the 

 continuance of slavery : for on the contrary we declare with Mr. Cole- 

 ridge, that we are not aware of any other bias in our minds, " except 

 that which may be caused by a native hatred of injustice, and a contempt 

 and disdain of cant and hypocrisy/'* 



We may premise, that however much slavery may be considered at 

 variance with the spirit of Christianity, every one acquainted with sacred 

 history must know, that after the miraculous emancipation of the Jews 

 from their slavery in Egypt, their lav/giver expressly permitted the 

 holding of heathen slaves, and even the subjection to perpetual bondage 

 of individuals amongst the chosen people themselves. 



It is also very remarkable that from the beginning to the end of the 

 New Testament, there is not a single command directly condemning the 

 state of slavery, although during the time of the apostles, it existed 

 throughout the Roman Empire, and slaves were treated with the greatest 

 severity ; but on the contrary it seems, as in the case of Onisimus, the 

 runaway slave of Philemon, that the right of the master over his slave, 

 is specially sanctioned, and many directions as to the duty which even 

 Christian slaves owe to their masters, are there expressly set forth. 



The treatment of slaves in ancient Rome has been so misrepresented 

 by the anti-colonial party in this country, in pursuance of their odious 

 schemes against our West-India colonists, that we consider it necessary 

 to show from undoubted authorities, the nature of Roman slavery ; and 



* Six Months in the West Indies. 



