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Show 84 LIBERTY..I.ND SLAVERY. It is an ordinance of heaven, which no human decree can reverse or annul. It is not a thing of compacts, bound together by promises and paper, but is itself a Jaw of nature as irreversible as any other. Compacts may give it one form or another, but in one form or another it must exist. It is no accidental or artificial thing, which may be made or unmade, which may be set up or pulled down, at the mere will and pleasure of man. It is a decree of God; the spontaneous and irresistible working of that nature, which, in all climates, through all ages, and under all circumstances, manifests itself in social organizations. § VI. Inherent and inalienable rights. Much has been said about inherent and inalienable rights, which is either unintelligible or rests upon no solid foundation. "The inalienable rights of men" is a phrase often brandished by certain reformers, who aim to bring about "the immediate abolition of slavery." Yet, in the light of the foregoing discussion, it may be clearly shown that the doctrine of inalienable rights, if properly handled, will not touch the institution of slavery. An inalienable right is either one which the NATURE 0 F CIVIL LIBERTY. 35 possessor of it himself cannot alienate or transfer, or it is one which society bas not the power to take from him. According to the import of the terms, the first would seem to be what is meant by an inalienable right; but in this sense it is not pretended that the right to either life or liberty has been transferred to society or alienated by the individual. And if, as we have endeavored to show, the right, or power, or authority of society is not derived from a transfer of individual rights, then it is clear that neither the right to life nor liberty is transferred to society. That is, if no rights are transferred, than these particular rights are still u ntransferred, and, if you please, untransferable. Be it conceded, then, that the individual has never transferred his right to life or liberty to society. But it is not in the above sense that the abolitionist uses the expression, inalienable rigl!ts. According to his view, an inalienable right is one of which society itself cannot, without doing wrong, deprive the individual, or deny the enjoyment of it to him. This is evidently his meaning; for he complains of the injustice of society, or civil government, in depriving a certain portion of its subjects of civil freedom, and |