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references in the paper of Professor Macdonald. On page 208 the Professor 
says : — 
“ The divine command ‘ to subdue the earth ’ has been for the first time 
exhibited by the Negro race in the usual form of subjugation, brutal wars, 
turbulent despotism, and oppressive slavery.” 
Now I must protest against the command to “subdue the earth ” being sup- 
posed to have any connection with anything of the sort. It was a command 
to cultivate the earth, and had nothing whatever to do with fighting and 
cutting other people’s throats. Then there is another instance, on page 210, 
of this strange misapplication of texts. Professor Macdonald says man was 
warned — 
“ That ‘ of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat 
of it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ ” 
And adds — 
“ From succeeding events recorded in the Bible, we know that this did not 
result.” 
Now I say that what was stated did result, for man became a mortal being. 
To say that Adam was to drop down dead at once on eating the forbidden 
fruit is to say that which common sense repudiates. Then, in another 
passage, the Professor “ protests against the grounds stated in the Bible,” or 
“ to credit that the curse of Noah should have changed the colour of Ham.” 
But the Bible does not assume or state that the curse of Noah changed 
Ham’s colour. It says nothing of the kind. Probably Ham was of a dark 
complexion, and it is a remarkable thing that the name of his son Cush in 
Hebrew means black, and Egypt is called Cush after him. But there is 
nothing in the Scriptures which tells us that the curse of Noah made Ham 
grow black. 
The Chairman. — I need scarcely say that I differ almost entirely from the 
conclusions of Professor Macdonald. I think it is important, as Mr. Poole 
has said, that these subjects should be discussed in a reverent spirit ; but 
when theories are brought forward they should be supported by facts, and I 
cannot see that Professor Macdonald has supported his theories by any facts. 
I do not believe that his theories are consonant, either with a fair interpre- 
tation of Scripture or with the facts of science. As to the manner in which 
we are to determine whether mankind sprang from a single race, or whether 
they sprang from several centres of creation, there are two ways of dealing 
with that subject. One way is to believe that the truth has been revealed to 
us by God, and that we find that revelation in the Bible ; and we then come 
to determine the question from a plain, fair, and honest interpretation of the 
words of Scripture. That is one way of arriving at a decision ; but there are 
some people who tell us that the Bible has no more authority than any other 
book, and that the subject must be decided on purely scientific principles. 
The subject is one that has long been discussed ; and those who maintain that 
the various races of men sprang from many centres of creation, have striven 
to bring forward all the evidence they can from science, while those who oppose 
them have brought forward all the arguments open to them to combat those 
