In Exodus xxi, 20, 21, we find this law: "And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall be surely punished. . Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money."

The 26th and 27th verses of the same chapter provide, that if the servant have lost an eye or a tooth, by a blow from the master, the servant should go free.

The 29th, 30th, 31st and 32d verses provide, that if an ox was known to be vicious and killed a freeman, the ox and his owner were both put to death; but if he gored a bond-servant, the ox should be killed and the master should pay thirty shekels of silver: showing the distinction between bond and freemen.

The law given to the Israelites, in regard to circumcision, required the master to circumcise his male servant, bought with his money or born in his house; and, of course, it presupposes the right and power to enforce the circumcision.

Thus, we see that, at a time when the Israelites had no slaves, but were themselves, in a manner, fugitive slaves, and when they had no use for slaves, being wanderers in a wilderness, and fed by God's own hand, he provided laws for bringing in, buying, inheriting and governing. slaves, in the land unto which they were to be brought at the end of forty years. He made laws recognizing the right of property, in man and in his descendants, forever-the right to trade in that property, without any limit, except that the Israelites could not buy each other; and the right to punish the slave, with no limitation, except that if the slave should die under his master's hand, the master should be punished-and if maimed, in certain ways, he had a right to freedom. These laws are worse, for the slave, than the laws of any southern State. They were provided, by God himself, for his chosen people. To any man, who admits that the Bible is given by inspiration from God, they prove that, in buying, selling, holding and using slaves, there is no moral guilt. Like all the institutions of the Deity, the holding of slaves may become criminal, by abuse of the slave; but the relation, in itself, is good and moral.

In the New Testament I find frequent mention of master and servant, and of their duties. Paul and Timothy, in writing to the Colossians, in the third chapter and twenty-second to twenty-fifth verses, exhort servants to obey their masters in all things, and not with eye-service; and in the fourth chapter and first verse, they exhort masters to give their servants what is just and equal.

Paul, in writing to Timothy, tells him to teach the same doctrines; and says, if any man teach otherwise, he is proud, knowing nothing, but

doting about questions and strifes of words: see 1 Timothy vi, 1–6. Peter, also (1 Peter ii, 18-24), exhorts servants to be obedient to their masters, not only to the good and gentle, but to the froward.

Now, we all know, that the condition of the servant of the Roman empire, was much less free than that of the southern negro. His master had a more unlimited control over him; yet, the apostles say to servants, to submit to their masters-not only to the good and gentle, but to the froward; and to masters to give to their servants what is just and equal. Now, had they considered the relation of master and slave, one criminal or immoral, in itself, they must either have omitted to speak of it at all, or have condemned the relation altogether.

Paul wrote an epistle to Philemon, a Christian, a disciple of his, and a slaveholder. He sent it to him by Onesimus, also a convert, a slave of Philemon, who was a fugitive. In it, he prays Philemon to charge the fault of Onesimus to him, saying, he would repay it, unless Philemon forgave it for his sake.

Now, had the holding of slaves been a crime, Paul's duty to Phile mon would have required him to instruct Philemon, that he had no rights over Onesimus, but that the attempt to hold him in servitude, was criminal; and his duty to Onesimus would have been, in such case, to send him to some foreign free country, whereby he might have escaped from oppression. But Paul sent him back. Our northern friends think that they manage these matters better than Paul did.

We find, then, that both the Old and New Testaments speak of slavery--that they do not condemn the relation, but, on the contrary, expressly allow it or create it; and they give commands and exhortations, which are based upon its legality and propriety. It can not, then, be wrong.

What we have written is founded solely upon the Bible, and can have no force, unless it is taken for truth. If that book is of divine origin, the holding of slaves is right: as that which God permitted, recognized and commanded, cannot be inconsistent with his will.

ART. V.HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA.

I. THE PARISH OF ASSUMPTION.

[OUR readers are aware we are engaged in the preparation of an elaborate report upon Louisiana, at the instance of the Legislature of the State, and that we have sent out a circular, soliciting information upon a great variety of points. This circular has been sent into every parish, and also was inserted in the May number of Commercial Review, 1850, p. 422. As yet it has produced

but little fruit, though it is to be hoped the citizens of the State will not disappoint us in our reasonable expectation of aid in preparing a work which will be greatly for the public weal.

If it were possible to get answers to our circular, from all the parishes, as fully and as minutely as the one we now present, and which was prepared for us, last year, by Mr. André Le Blanc, of Assumption, and for which he has our unfeigned gratitude, the greatest difficulty in the way of the report would be removed. Will not parish officers, members of the legislature and leading citizens, aid us in this manner. Their services will be acknowledged and their labors published in the pages of the Review, as well as in the final report.

As Mr. Le Blanc's contribution appears in a different language from that in which he wrote it, some unimportant points may have escaped the translator. We say this, in justice to Mr. Le Blanc, who has placed us under so many obligations.-ED.]

THE the first settlements in the parish of Assumption were made in the year 1784. The first inhabitants, of European origin, were emigrants from Nantz, in France, and four-fifth of the white population of the parish are their decendants. A few families from the Canary islands came afterward. The first immigration took place in 1782. There is now such a mixture, by intermarriages, of the first inhabitants, that it would be a difficult matter to establish a distinction between the two people. There are very few American or German families.

The condition of the first inhabitants was, generally, poor; but, hospitality and other virtues, which raise man to the rank he should have in all civilized society, were to be found every where.

The most ancient town is Napoleonville. It dates from 1835. The population is composed of 150 souls. Paincourville comes next; founded in 1836, with a population of 200 or 300. There are other situations, destined to establish towns, which have but the name: such as Vilaville, Chevritteville and Labadieville, where there are two or three houses.

The Indians, found in the country, were called Chatimachas. On Lac Verret was found the bust of a man, sculptured in stone, presumed to be a relic of theirs; also, mounds, which are still existing, where are found human bones, pieces of burnt clay, pieces of white stone shaped as lances, destined, perhaps, to be put at the ends of arrows. There are yet in the parish some roving Indians, but not of the tribe mentioned above; they are mostly Chattaws.

At the time France ceded Louisiana to Spain, a creole of the name of Darpit St. Amant opposed the new government. An order of arrest was issued against him; but, to hinder the Spanish officers, he placed a barrel of gunpowder before his door, and defied them to enter. They immediately retired, and at a little distance from Darpit's house, met a number of armed men, and to appease them had to promise that Darpit should be let alone. They, the inhabitants, agreed to return to their homes, but only on the written order of Darpit.

Nicolas Verret was the first commandant, appointed by the Spanish government, Villanueva, the second. Mithus was appointed the first parish judge, Bela Hubbard the second, when Louisiana was under the territorial

government; and Courvoisier, the third parish judge, when Louisiana was admitted, as a State, into the Union; and the same Bela Hubbard was reappointed as the fourth parish judge. Wincelas Pichot was the fifth parish judge: he was killed, in a duel with Robert C. Martin. The sixth and last parish judge was Alexander Cuvillier. Since the new constitution, parish judges have been abolished, and recorders or archivists perform part of the duties of parish judges. The duties that weighed on a single man (the parish judge), are now divided among several persons; each has his share of the duty to perform, and all works much better and with more regularity.

Among the first settlers, Isaac Hebert was considered the most accomplished, for his education. He was first ancient clerk in a notarial office, in France; next came Nicolas Hebert, L'Abbe Bourg, Latiniste (quite distinguished), Auguste Verret, and a certain Moreau, who died on Lac Verret. His life was a mystery. On his arrival in the parish he retired from all society and lived thirty years alone on Lac Verret, which was then only known to a few hunters.

The parish of Assumption has a large territory, cut up by bayous and lakes, in every direction. The principal lake is called lake Verret: next is lake Jonc and lake Palourde. The principal bayous are called bayou Pierre Landry or Grand Bayou, bayou Corne, bayou Pierre Part, bayou St. Vincent, bayou des Oliviers, bayou Creux Blanc, des Attakapas, la Belle Reviere, bayou Long, bayou Maxile, bayou Bœuf, and other small bayous, mostly inhabited. They are all situated to the westward of bayou Lafourche. In the eastern part of the parish you find bayou Choupic and bayou Verret. They are, both of them, improved. Bayou Lafourche divides the parish in two. Two bridges are found in the parish; one on the canal des Attakapas near Napoleonville, and the other on the Grand Bayou, opposite the plantations of Joseph Mottere and W. L. Logie.

The forests furnish such a diversity of trees, shrubs, plants, etc., that my knowledge of botany does not allow me to satisfy you, but I shall give, as near as I can, the names by which they are called in the country. We have the cypress tree-the most precious. It grows as well on high as lowlands, but is more numerous on lowlands. The highland cypress is considered the best timber. It is generally used for building, fences, hogshead and barrel staves. Several varieties of the oak; also, several varieties of the laura, from the magnolia to the laurel, are used for culinary purposes; also the ash, varieties of willow, the cotton wood, the birch, the persimmon, the maple, the gum, the pecan tree, the acacia the hackberry, the olive tree, the wild cherry, the sassafras, whose root is used for tea, and whose leaves, dried and pulverized, make the dish called gombo fillie. The abbe Raynal relates, that during the first establishment made in Louisiana, the root of the sassafras, used in tea, was the only effectual remedy which cured the inhabitants of fevers and other diseases, proceeding from exposure to the emanations and effluvia of newly-cleared lands: this remedy was prescribed by the Indians.

The forests are covered with a great number of varieties of the wild onion

plant, which produces the same effects that mercury does, if the least particle is mashed under the teeth; the plantain, the three-quarter leaf, the fled grass, the wild sarsaparilla, the malo grass, the cuirage, the wild coffee, the worm root, the bardane or rogue's weed, the poke weed, the thistle, the pompier and coco grass, hay, the pisantlits, an exotic grass; the wild pea grows usually in low lands; the ninuphar, or aquatic grass; the wild rice, excellent fodder for cattle; the wild reed, the scrub grass, and a variety of others, too tedious to mention, are all indigenous to the country. The exotic plants are the tobacco, cotton, millet, sugar cane, corn, indigo, sweet potato, Irish potato, gourd, calabash, peas, a variety, beans also, and garden plants of all kinds.

The wild animals are the bear, panther, tiger, wild cat, raccoon, squirrel, deer, otter, muskrat, mink, mole, rabbit, etc. The birds are the partridge, redbird, blackbird, woodcock, crow, grosbec, picvers, woodpecker, crookedbill, marsh hen, mocking bird, dove, nonpareil, remarkable for the beauty of its plumage; humming bird, malard, water hen, the bee sire, the dipper, the plover, the robin, the wild pigeon, the goose, the brant, the crane a variety, and the lark: mostly birds of passage. The insects are the musketo, the fly, the bumble bee, the wasp, the bee, bed bugs, fleas, red bugs, woodlice, butterflies of all colors, caterpillars, worms, etc., ad infinitum. The fish are catfish, casseburgo or sheep head, sardine, buffalo, stinger eels, sun fin, patassas, trout, flounder, grand ecaille, yellow catfish, choupic, mudcat, alligator gar and the sturgeon. The reptiles are the rattlesnake, the dart or spearsnake, the moccasin snake, the garter snake, the copper-head, lizards, vipers and congues-the bite is fatal, though some say we have had no instance of any accident of the kind here.

We have no rocks, nor mines, nor springs. The soil is generally heavy clay and sandy. The best water used is the bayou Lafourche. It is generally clarified with a little alum or peach kernels. Well water, in sandy lands, may be also used, and needs no clarification. It is sweeter than the water from the bayou Lafourche, but does not allay the thirst of those who are not used to it. The soil, on both sides of the bayou Lafourche, is the only one which varies in quality: it is a mixture of sand and clay. The clay is generally found in the points of the bayou and the sandy soil in the bends: the cause is attributable to the more or less strength of the current, it being stronger at the points than in the bends, which causes the deposit of sand. The encroachments made by the inhabitants on both sides of the bayou, before they were sufficiently raised by the desposits of the current, have compelled them to make levees to secure them from inundations when the bayou rises.

The principal cultures are the sugar cane, cotton, corn, rice and tobacco. Indigo is no more cultivated. Culture is brought to a high state of improvement, principally for the sugar cane. Few planters continue to plant cotton and rice, and then but in small quantities. Cotton was introduced when the first improvements were made in the country. The sugar cane has been cultivated, with advantage, since 1824 only. Previous to that time there were only two or three estates producing sugar, and barely