to destroy or enslave them as far as they could extend their power.  And from thence the mystery of iniquity, carried many into the practice of making merchandise of slaves and souls of men.  But all ought to remember, that when God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed, he let him know that they were not to take possession of that land, until the iniquity of the Amorites was full; and then they did it under the immediate direction of Heaven; and they were as real executors of the judgment of God upon those heathens, as any person ever was an executor of a criminal justly condemned.  And in doing it they were not allowed to invade the lands of the Edomites, who sprang from Esau, who was not only of the seed of Abraham, but was born at the same birth with Israel; and yet they were not of that church.  Neither were Israel allowed to invade the lands of the Moabites, or of the children of Ammon, who were of the seed of Lot.  And no officer in Israel had any legislative power, but such as were immediately inspired.  Even David, the man after God’s own heart, had no legislative power, but only as he was inspired from above:  and he is expressly called a prophet in the New Testament And we are to remember that Abraham and his seed, for four hundred years, had no warrant to admit any strangers into that church, but by buying of him as a servant, with money.  And it was a great privilege to be bought, and adopted into a religious family for seven years, and then to have their freedom.  And that covenant was expressly repealed in various parts of the New Testament; and particularly in the first epistle to the Corinthians, wherein it is said—­Ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.  And again—­Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping of the commandments of God.  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.  Thus the gospel sets all men upon a level, very contrary to the declaration of an honorable gentleman in this house, “that the Bible was contrived for the advantage of a particular order of men.”

NEW YORK CONVENTION.

Mr. M. SMITH.  He would now proceed to state his objections to the clause just read, (section 2, of article 1, clause 3).  His objections were comprised under three heads:  1st, the rule of apportionment is unjust; 2d, there is no precise number fixed on, below which the house shall not be reduced; 3d, it is inadequate.  In the first place, the rule of apportionment of the representatives is to be according to the whole number of the white inhabitants, with three-fifths of all others; that is, in plain English, each State is to send representatives in proportion to the number of freemen, and three-fifths of the slaves it contains.  He could not see any rule by which slaves were to be included in the ratio of representation;—­the principle of a representation