ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 327 



never be lost on us in Ohio, in all similar casesj These pre- 

 cepts of Christ and his apostles, these admonitions to masters 

 and servants, in all the passages above quoted or referred to, 

 leave us in no doubt as to our duty, in such cases. 



All our preceding remarks are intended, in part at least, for 

 immediate abolitionists. But we now proceed to say some 

 things for the serious consideration of their opponents. They 

 have said a thousand times over aud over, "that in the funda- 

 mental law of this nation, our constitution, the right to own 

 slaves is secured to them." Being thus secured they add, 

 "that being so inserted in that instrument, their right is of too 

 sacred a nature, to be at all, discussed, in public or private." 

 We now proceed to examine this allegation in their declara- 

 tion, and their proofs under it — the constitution. That in- 

 strument does not profess to be perfect in itself, and therefore 

 contains provisions, for its amendment by the people, to pro- 

 mote whose happiness, it professes to have first been made. 

 This amendment can never be made without discussion, with- 

 out public meetings, without consultation, and without the aid 

 of the press. The liberty of speech and of the press is se- 

 cured to us, one and all, by the same constitution. But the 

 friends of slavery say that their right to hold slaves is of too 

 sacred a nature to admit of being discussed in public or pri- 

 vate, orally or through the press. Let us look at this most ex- 

 traordinary proposition. We all profess to believe that the 

 Bible contains the law of God, and that itself is the word of 

 God. We all know that the law of God, that the word of God, 

 and even the attributes of the Deity himself, are discussed 

 every day in the year, in public, orally and through the press; 

 and yet no man dare deny our right to discuss all these mat- 

 ters in all these ways. Is our constitution more sacred than 

 the Bible? more sacred than the Deity himself? The proposi- 

 tion is so preposterous, that we need say no more on that sub- 

 ject, perhaps, but let us state the case once more, in a plain 

 way. The slaves themselves, either have not, or they have 

 immortal souls and are really human beings! First, if the 

 slaves have no souls, then they are on a par with horses, hogs, 



