Again, St. Paul, 1 Cor. viii. 21., says, “Art thou called being a servant, care not for it; but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.” Here is plainly a direction to the disciples to submit to their situation, but to prefer freedom when fairly offered; which in this case was its being purchased for them by the Christian congregation. This is explained, ver. 23. “Ye are bought with a price, be not (Greek become not) ye the servants of men.” Avoid a situation which must debase your mind. In the Revelations, xviii. 13. slaves and souls of men are said to be articles of traffick in Babylon, the Mother of Abominations. This supposeth nothing very excellent in slavery, to make it be approved of, and commanded to be prosecuted by God. We may now account for the manner in which St. Paul applies to Philemon in behalf of his servant Onesimus. He desires him to receive him back into his family, not now as a servant, but above a servant; a profitable inmate, a brother beloved. He would not take advantage of the privilege of an apostle, to withhold Onesimus from his service, or consider his conversion as a bar to it, and therefore endeavours to effect a reconciliation between them. But from the manner in which the apostle solicits this favour, it is clear the situation of Onesimus in the family was desirable; for he requests it as a favour to Onesimus, and considers not his interposition, as the conferring of an obligation on Philemon. All this is very opposite to that West-Indian slavery with which this of Onesimus, p. 65. is compared. For the master only is considered here; neither the feelings nor profit of the slave is taken into account. Page 72, 73. I shall not dispute his exposition of doing as we wish to be done by, as far as it goes, of “a slave’s serving his master, as he if a master would wish to be served.” But I would carry it a step farther. As I, a free man, settled with my family and friends about me in my native country, would not wish to be kidnapped, or to have my family enslaved, separated, and carried bound neck and heel, and stifled in the foul air of a ship’s hold, all to be sold in a distant country, to toil incessantly for a man we never knew, without food or raiment, except such scraps as we may procure by breaking the sabbath; under the lash of any unfeeling boy, who may be set over us with a whip in his hand; so would not I be concerned in any such cruel oppressive inhuman treatment of others. When this author publishes his Second Part, it is to be hoped, this will be pressed home on his Leverpool patrons.