refore, is unrestricted and universal; Hebrew or heathen, he
that killeth a _man_ and he that stealeth a _man_ shall alike die; thus
putting slavery and murder on the same footing, as equally criminal.
Now, if God sanctioned slavery, why did he make such an inconsistent law
as this forbidding it?

_Second. The law concerning fugitives._--Deut. 23:15, 16, "Thou shalt
not deliver to his master the servant which is escaped from his master
unto thee; he shall dwell with thee, even among you in that place which
he shall choose in one of thy gates where it liketh him best; thou shalt
not oppress him."

There is no equivocation here; "_thou shalt not deliver_ unto his
master." It is imperative; they were to receive him among them as a
citizen, and, if need be, protect him from his master; mark, not a
"heathen" or "Hebrew," servant, but the "servant," heathen or Hebrew,
whoever should fly from the ill treatment or injustice of a hard master.
Compare for a moment the Hebrew and American fugitive laws. The Hebrew
says, "Thou _shalt not_ deliver to his master the servant that is
escaped." The American says, "Thou _shalt_ deliver him up to his master,
or be fined one thousand dollars, and suffer six months' imprisonment."
The Hebrew says, "He shall _dwell_ with thee ... thou shalt _not
oppress_ him." The American law says, "The commissioner who tries the
case shall get five dollars if he fails, and ten if he succeeds in
'delivering to his master' the fugitive, on the simple affidavit of the
former that he is his slave."

What are the deductions from this law of Moses? The return of stray
_property_ is expressly commanded in Deut. 22:1-3; the return of
_servants_ is expressly forbidden here; the servant could leave a hard
master at any time, and the state could not compel him to return: it did
not recognize the condition of forced, but only voluntary servitude, and
thus rendered the existence of chattelism impossible.

_The third great protective law was that of the Jubilee._--Lev.
25:10-55, "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim LIBERTY
throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a
jubilee unto you, and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and
ye shall return every man to his family." ... Here the expression is
emphatic, no reservations are made, no restrictions allowed. As the
sound of #YOVAL, YOVAL#, Yov[=a]l, Yov[=a]l, sounded through the land,
and was echoed back from hill a