A Visit to the United States in 1841

Appendix

Appendix A. P. 30 — Anti-Slavery Epistle of “Friends” in Great Britain

“From our Yearly Meeting held in London, by adjournment from the 20th of the 5th Month to the 29th of the same inclusive, 1840.

“To the Yearly Meetings of Friends on the Continent of North America.

“DEAR FRIENDS,—We think it a favor to us, and we accept it as an evidence that our Lord is mindful of us, that from one time to another, when thus assembled for mutual edification, and the renewing of our spiritual strength, we are in any small measure brought afresh to the enjoyment of that love which flows from God to man, through Jesus Christ our Savior; and under its blessed influence quickened to exercise of mind, not only for the health and prosperity of all those professing the same faith with ourselves, but for the coming of the kingdom of God upon earth, and the universal prevalence of righteousness and truth among men. This love has often brought us in Christian compassion and tenderness of spirit, deeply to feel for that portion of the great family of man subjected to the degradation and cruelty of slavery.

“We do not cease to rejoice with reverent thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the termination of this system of iniquity in the British Colonies. It was an act of justice on the part of our Legislature, and it has removed an enormous load of guilt from our beloved country; but in our rejoicing, we cannot, nor would we wish, to forget the hundreds of thousands of our brethren and sisters on the continent of America, and elsewhere, still detained in this abject condition, and liable to all the misery and oppression which it entails upon its victims.

“We have a strong conviction of the guilt and sinfulness of slavery, and its pernicious effects upon both the oppressed and the oppressor. That man should claim a right of property in the person of his fellow—that man should buy and sell his brother—that civil governments in their legislative enactments, should so far forget that ‘God who giveth to all, life, and breath, and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth,’ as to treat those who differ from them in the color of their skin, or any other external peculiarity, as beasts that perish, as chattels and articles of merchandise,—is in such direct violation of the whole moral law, and of the righteousness of the New Testament, and that in a day in which the principles of civil and religious liberty are so fully acknowledged in many of the nations of Christendom, may well excite both indignation and sorrow. And we cannot but regard it as such proof of hardness of heart, and perverted understanding, that we think it can be attributed to nothing short of the deceivableness of Satan working upon the fallen nature of man.

“It was, dear friends, in the gradual unfolding of that light in which the things that are reproved are made manifest, that your forefathers and ours, were brought to see the criminality of slavery. Thus enlightened, they could find no peace with God, until they had put away this evil of their doings from before his eyes—until by a conscientious discharge of their individual religious duty, they had restored those whom they held in bondage, to the full enjoyment of unqualified freedom. Under the influence of Divine wisdom, and by this faithfulness on the part of upright Friends, our religious society were brought to a united and settled judgment as a body, that personal slavery, both in its origin and its results, was so great an evil, that it could be tolerated by no mitigation of its hardship; and they felt the demands of equity to be so urgent upon them, that they were concerned to enjoin it upon Friends every where, by a ready compliance with such reasonable duty, to cease to do evil, by immediately releasing those they held as slaves. Their own hands being cleansed from this pollution, they felt it to be laid upon them, plainly and faithfully, to labor with their countrymen to bring them to a full understanding of the requiring of the Divine law, and to press it upon them to act up to its commandments. In the love of God, they were bold, both in your country and in ours, to plead the cause of the oppressed with those in power. We believe, and we would wish to speak of it with modesty and humility, that their faithfulness, in connection with the exertions of humane and devoted men of other Christian communities, were instrumental to bring about the abolition of the slave trade, as well as the extinction of slavery.

“We are reverently impressed with a sense of the prerogatives of the Great Head of the Church, to dispose of his servants, and to employ their time, and every talent which he has intrusted them, in such a way and manner as may consist with the purposes of his wisdom and love. It is the concern of this Meeting, that all our dear friends may carefully seek each to know his Lord’s will, and to ascertain his individual path of duty; at the same time we desire to encourage one another to simple obedience to that which in the true light may be made manifest to them; and each to an unflinching and uncompromising avowal of his allegiance to his Lord in all things.

“We observe with satisfaction and comfort, in the epistles from your Yearly Meetings, which have been read in this Meeting, that there is a very general acknowledgment of concern on this important subject. It has often been a prominent feature in the brotherly correspondence which subsists between us. The expression of your encouragement in times past, has been helpful to us, and in the trials and difficulties you have had to endure, our hearts have been brought into fellow feeling with you. In this work of justice and love, we have long labored together. It has helped to strengthen the bond of our union; and in the fresh sense of this Christian fellowship, as it is now renewed amongst us, we offer you, beloved friends, the warm expression of our sympathy, and our strong desire for your help and encouragement. So far removed as we are from the scene of slavery, we are aware that we can but imperfectly appreciate either the sufferings of the slave, or the trials of those who live in the midst of such oppression; nor do we believe that we can fully appreciate either the labors of faithful Friends in your land, or the obstacles and discouragements which have been thrown in their way.

“The brief review we have taken of the history of our Society, in reference to this deeply interesting subject, and the feeling which prevails with us, under a sense of the enormity of the evil, urges us, and we desire that it may have the same effect upon you, still to persevere; and in every way that may be pointed out to us of the Lord, that we may continue to expose the evil of this unjust interference with the natural and social rights of man. Time is short, the day is spending fast with every one of us, and we had need to use diligence in the work of our day. We know the high authority under which we are commanded to ‘love our neighbor as ourselves.’ It is our desire on our own account, and in this exercise of mind we believe, dear friends, that you are one with us, that in our efforts to discharge the duties laid upon us, we may watch against a hopeless and distrustful spirit in times of discouragement. And O that in his great mercy and love towards his poor afflicted and helpless children, it might please Him to hasten the coming of that day, even to this generation of the enslaved in your land, in which every yoke shall be broken and the oppressed go free.

“If, in this righteous cause, we move in the leading of our Lord, we may humbly trust that he, with whom there is no respect of persons, who careth for the sparrows and feedeth the ravens, will grant to his dependent ones the help and support of his Holy Spirit, and enable them, in the face of every opposition, to do that which is made known to them as his will.

“With the enlarged views entertained by Friends of the mercy and love of our heavenly Father towards his children of every nation and tongue all the world over, we desire to press it upon you still to labor for the removal of all those unjust laws and limitations of right and privilege consequent upon the unwarrantable distinction of color—a distinction which has brought so much suffering upon those settled in different parts of the Union, and which we think must conduce to the strengthening of the prejudices of former years, and to retard the work of emancipation.

“It is affecting to us to think with what astonishing rapidity slavery is extending itself upon the Continent of North America, and how from year to year the slave population is increasing among you. Our spirits are oppressed with a sense of the magnitude of the evil; we tremble at the awful consequence which, in the justice and wisdom of Almighty God, may ensue to those who persist in the upholding of it. We commend the whole subject to your most serious attention, and desiring that divine wisdom may be near to help in your deliberations upon it,

“We bid you, affectionately, farewell.

“Signed in and on behalf of the Meeting, by

“GEORGE STACEY,

“Clerk to the Meeting this year.”

Appendix B. P. 30 — Early Efforts of “Friends” in Behalf of Negro Slaves

The following extract from Clarkson’s “Memoirs of the Public and Private Life of William Penn,” will show how the society of Friends, at a very early period, became unwarily entangled with the practice of slave holding; and also that the unchristian nature of it was immediately perceived by the more spiritual minded among them. It will serve also to prove that the testimony of Friends against slavery is no novelty, but is coeval with its rise as a distinct religious body. The measures proposed by William Penn on this subject, are an honorable testimony to the comprehensive benevolence of that truly great and magnanimous legislator, yet they fell short of the exigencies of the case, and of what Christian people required; consequently what good they directly effected was local and temporary. Viewed as the germ of subsequent anti-slavery enterprises of the last century, in Europe and America, their interest and importance cannot be too highly estimated.

“I must observe, that soon after the colony (Pennsylvania) had been planted, that is, in the year 1682, when William Penn was first resident in it, some few Africans had been imported, but that more had followed. At this time the traffic in slaves was not branded with infamy, as at the present day. It was considered, on the other hand, as favorable to both parties: to the American planters, because they had but few laborers, in comparison with the extent of their lands; and to the poor Africans themselves, because they were looked upon as persons redeemed out of superstition, idolatry, and heathenism. But though the purchase and sale of them had been admitted with less caution upon this principle, there were not wanting among the Quakers of Pennsylvania those who, soon after the introduction of them there, began to question the moral licitness of the traffic. Accordingly, at the Yearly Meeting for Pennsylvania, held in 1688, it had been resolved, on the suggestion of emigrants from Crisheim, who had adopted the principles of William Penn, that the buying, selling, and holding men in slavery, was inconsistent with the tenets of the Christian religion. In 1696, a similar resolution had been passed at the Yearly Meeting of the same religious society for the same province. In consequence, then, of these noble resolutions, the Quakers had begun to treat their slaves in a different manner from that of other people. They had begun to consider them as children of the same great Parent, to whom fraternal offices were due; and hence, in 1698, there were instances where they had admitted them into their meeting houses to worship in common with themselves.A

“William Penn was highly gratified by the consideration of what has been done on this important subject. From the very first introduction of enslaved Africans into this province, he had been solicitous about their temporal and eternal welfare. He had always considered them as persons of the like nature with himself; as having the same desire of pleasure and the same aversion from pain; as children of the same Father, and heirs of the same promises. Knowing how naturally the human heart became corrupted and hardened by the use of power, he was fearful lest, in time, these friendless strangers should become an oppressed people. Accordingly, as his predecessor, George Fox, when he first visited the British West Indies, exhorted all those who attended his meetings for worship there, to consider their slaves as branches of their own families, for whose spiritual instruction they would one day or other be required to give an account, so William Penn had, on his first arrival in America, inculcated the same notion. It lay, therefore, now upon his mind to endeavor to bring into practice what had appeared to him to be right in principle. One of them was to try to incorporate the treatment of slaves, as a matter of Christian duty, into the discipline of his own religious society; and the other, to secure it among others in the colony of a different religious description, by a legislative act. Both of these were necessary. The former, however, he resolved to attempt first. The Society itself had already afforded him a precedent, by its resolutions in 1688 and in 1696, as before mentioned, and had thereby done something material in the progress of the work. It was only to get a minute passed upon their books to the intended effect. Accordingly, at the very first Monthly Meeting of the Society, which took place in Philadelphia in the present year, he proposed the subject. He laid before them the concern which had been so long upon his mind, relative to these unfortunate people; he pressed upon them the duty of allowing them as frequently as possible to attend their Meetings for worship, and the benefit that would accrue to both, by the instruction of them in the principles of the Christian religion. The result was, that a Meeting was appointed more particularly for the negroes, once every month; so that besides the common opportunities they had of collecting religious knowledge, by frequenting the places of worship, there was one day in the month, in which, as far as the influence of the Monthly Meeting extended, they could neither be temporally nor spiritually overlooked. At this Meeting also, he proposed means, which were acceded to, for a more frequent intercourse between Friends and the Indians; he (William Penn,) taking upon himself the charge of procuring interpreters, as well as of forwarding the means proposed.”—Vol. II. pp. 218-222.

APPENDIX C. p. 34.


Report of the Committee of the Yearly Meeting of Friends, held in Philadelphia, appointed for the Gradual Civilization, &c., of the Indian Natives, presented to the meeting, Fourth Month 21st, 1841, and directed to be printed for the use of the members.

“TO THE YEARLY MEETING.

“The Committee charged with promoting the Gradual Improvement and Civilization of the Indian Natives, report:—

“That although they have given attention to this interesting concern, there are but few subjects in their operations, since the last report, which require notice. The Indians have been in a very unsettled condition during the past year, in consequence of the embarrassment and distress produced by the ratification of the treaty, and their uncertainty as to the best course to be pursued by them in their trying and perplexing circumstances. They still cling to the hope that they shall be able to ward off the calamity which threatens them, either through the favorable disposition of the new Administration and Senate, to give their case a re-hearing, or by an Appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. Small as the hope afforded by these sources may appear to a disinterested observer, they are buoyed up by it, and seem as unwilling as ever, to look toward relinquishing their present homes.

“In a communication addressed to the committee, dated Tunesassah, Fifth Month 24th, 1840, signed by ten chiefs, they say, ‘Although, the information of the ratification of the treaty is distressing to us, yet it is a satisfaction to hear from you, and to learn that you still remember us in our troubles, and are disposed to advise and assist us. The intelligence of the confirmation of the treaty caused many of our women to shed tears of sorrow. We are sensible that we stand in need of the advice of our friends. Our minds are unaltered on the subject of emigration.’ Another dated Cold Spring, Twelfth Month 8th, 1840, holds this language: ‘Brothers, we continue to feel relative to the treaty as we have ever felt. We cannot regard it as an act of our nation, or hold it to be binding on us. We still consider, that in justice, the land is at this time as much our own as ever it was. We have done nothing to forfeit our right to it; and have come to a conclusion to remain upon it as long as we can enjoy it in peace.’ ‘We trust in the Great Spirit: to Him we submit our cause.’

“A letter from the Senecas, residing at Tonawanda, was addressed to the Committee, from which the following extracts are taken:

“‘By the help of the Great Spirit we have met in open council this 23d day of the Fifth Month, 1840, for the purpose of deliberating on the right course for us to pursue under the late act of the government of the United States relating to our lands. Brothers, we are in trouble; we have been told that the President has ratified a treaty, by which these lands are sold from our possession. We look to you and solicit your advice and your sympathy under the accumulating difficulties that now surround us. We feel more than ever, our need of the help of the great and good Spirit, to guide us aright. May his council ever preserve and direct us all in true wisdom.

“‘It is known to you, brothers, that at different times our people have been induced to cede, by stipulated treaties, to the government of the United States, various tracts of our territory, until it is so reduced that it barely affords us a home. We had hoped by these liberal concessions to secure the quiet and unmolested possession of this small residue, but we have abundant reason to fear that we have been mistaken. The agent and surveyor of a company of land speculators, known as the Ogden Company, have been on here to lay out our land into lots, to be sold from us to the whites. We have protested against it, and have forbidden their proceeding.

“‘Brothers, what we want, is that you should intercede with the United States government on our behalf. We do not want to leave our lands. We are willing that the emigrating party should sell out their rights, but we are not willing that they should sell ours.

“‘Brothers, we want the President of the United States to know that we are for peace; that we only ask the possession of our just rights. We have kept in good faith all our agreements with the government. In our innocence of any violation we ask its protection. In our weakness we look to it for justice and mercy. We desire to live upon our lands in peace and harmony. We love Tonawanda. It is the residue left us of the land of our forefathers. We have no wish to leave it. Here are our cultivated fields, our houses, our wives and children, and our firesides—and here we wish to lay our bones in peace.

“‘Brothers, in conclusion, we desire to express our sincere thanks to you for your friendly assistance in times past, and at the same time earnestly solicit your further attention and advice. Brothers, may the Great Spirit befriend you all—farewell.’

“Desirous of rendering such aid as might be in our power, a correspondence has been held with some members of Congress, on the subject of the treaty, and other matters connected with it; and recently, two of our number visited Washington, and were assured by the present Secretary of War, under whose immediate charge the Indian affairs are placed, that it was his determination, and that of the other officers of the government, to give to the treaty, and the circumstances attending its procurement, a thorough examination; and to adopt such a course respecting it, as justice and humanity to the Indians would dictate.

“The friends who have for several years resided at Tunesassah still continue to occupy the farm, and have charge of the saw and grist mills and other improvements. The farm, during the past year, has yielded about thirty-five tons of hay, two hundred bushels of potatoes, one hundred bushels of oats, and one hundred bushels of apples. Notwithstanding the unsettlement produced by the treaty during the past season, the Indians have raised an adequate supply of provisions to keep them comfortably during the year; and they manifest an increased desire to avoid the use of ardent spirits, and to have their children educated. In their letter of the Twelfth Month last, the chiefs say, ‘We are more engaged to have our children educated than we have heretofore been. There are at this time three schools in operation on this reservation, for the instruction of our youth.’

“Our friend, Joseph Batty, in a letter dated 28th of Second Month last, says, ‘The Indians have held several temperance councils this winter. The chiefs—with the exception of two, who were not present—have all signed a pledge to abstain from the use of all intoxicating liquors, and appear engaged to bring about a reform among their people; but the influence of the whites among them is prejudicial to their improvement in this and other respects.’

“By direction of the Committee,
“THOMAS WISTAR, Clerk.
“Philadelphia, 4th Month 15th, 1841.”

Appendix D. P. 44 — Elisha Tyson

The following particulars of this memorable person are chiefly taken from a work, now very scarce, entitled “The Life of Elisha Tyson, the Philanthropist, by a Citizen of Baltimore.”

“The eldest known ancestor of Mr. Tyson was a German Quaker, converted to the faith of Fox by the preaching of William Penn. Persecuted by the government of his native country for his religion, he gathered up his all and followed Penn to England; with whom, and at whose request, he afterwards embarked for America, and was among the first settlers of Pennsylvania. He established himself within what are now called the environs of Philadelphia, married the daughter of an English settler, and became the happy father of sons and daughters. From these, many descendants have been derived.

“Elisha Tyson was one of the great grandsons in direct descent of the German Quaker, and was born on the spot which he had chosen for his residence. The religion and virtues of this ancestor were instilled into the minds of his children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation—not by transmission of blood, but by the force of a guarded and a Christian education. In the subject of this memoir, they blazed forth with superior lustre. From his infancy he was conspicuous in his neighborhood for that benevolence of heart and intrepidity of soul, which so highly distinguished him in after life.”

In his early manhood he removed to Baltimore, in the slave State of Maryland. Here, from his first residence, he took an active part in various benevolent and public spirited enterprises, although he had to struggle with early difficulties, having no resources for his support but honesty, industry, and perseverance. The cause of the oppressed slaves very soon engaged his attention, and his unwearied exertions in their behalf ceased not till the close of a long and energetic life. In the following quotation, describing the American slave trade, although the past tense is employed by his biographer, yet if Louisiana be substituted for Georgia, the whole representation is true of the present time. That dreadful traffic has increased many fold since the date here alluded to, at which E. Tyson’s career of benevolence commenced.

“Even the most creditable merchants felt no compunction in speculating in the flesh and blood of their own species. These articles of merchandize were as common as wheat and tobacco, and ranked with these as a staple of Maryland. This state of things was naturally productive of scenes of cruelty. Georgia was then the great receptacle of that portion of these unfortunate beings, who were exported beyond the limits of their native soil; and the worst name given to Tartarus itself could not be more appalling to their imaginations than the name of that sister State. And when we consider the dreadful consequences suffered by the victims of this traffic; a separation like that of death between the nearest and dearest relatives; a banishment for ever from the land of their nativity and the scenes of their youth; the painful inflictions by the hands of slave drivers, to whom cruelty was rendered delightful by its frequent exercise; with many other sufferings too numerous to mention, we cannot wonder at this horror on the part of these unfortunate beings, and that it should cause them to use all the means in their power to avoid so terrible a destiny. The slave-trader, aware of all this, and fearful lest his victims might seek safety by flight, became increasingly careful of his property. With these men, and upon such subjects, care is cruelty; and thus the apparent necessity of the case came in aid of the favorite disposition of their minds. They charged their victims with being the authors of that cruelty, which had its true origin in their own remorseless hearts. Their plea for additional rigor, being plausibly urged, was favorably received by a community darkened by prejudice. Few regarded with pity, and most with stoical indifference, this barbarous correction for crimes anticipated, and rigorous penance for offences existing only in the diabolical fancies of their tormentors. The truth is, it was the love these poor wretches bore their wives, children, and native soil, for which they were punished. They were commonly bound two and two by chains, riveted to iron collars fastened around their necks, more and more closely, as their drivers had more and more reason to suspect a desire to escape. If they were conveyed in wagons, as they sometimes were, additional chains were so fixed, as to connect the right ancle of one with the left ancle of another, so that they were fastened foot to foot, and neck to neck. If a disposition to complain, or to grieve, was manifested by any of them, the mouths of such were instantly stopped with a gag. If, notwithstanding this, the overflowings of sorrow found a passage through other channels, they were checked by the ‘scourge inexorable;’—the cruel monsters thus endeavoring to lessen the appearance of pain, by increasing its reality. These were scenes of ordinary occurrence; troops of these poor slaves were continually seen fettered as before described, marching two and two, with commanders before and behind, swords by their sides, and pistols in their belts—the triumphant victors over unarmed women and children. The sufferings of their victims, were, if possible, increased, when they were compelled to stop for the night. They were crowded in cellars, and loaded with an additional number of fetters. On those routes usually taken by them to the South, stated taverns were selected as their resting places for the night. In these, dungeons under ground were specially contrived for their reception. Iron staples, with rings in them, were fixed at proper places in the walls; to these, chains were welded; and to these chains the fetters of the prisoners were locked, as the means of certain safety. It was usual every day for these slave-drivers to keep a strict record of the imagined offences of their slaves; which, if not to their satisfaction expiated by suffering during the day, remained upon the register until its close; when, in the midst of midnight dungeon horrors, goaded with a weight of fetters, in addition to those which had galled them during their weary march, these reputed sins were atoned by their blood, which was made to trickle down ’the scourge with triple thongs.’”

Such was the evil with which Elisha Tyson, when “young, solitary, and friendless,” undertook to grapple; the means he chiefly employed, were such as tended to purify and enlighten public opinion.

“He had two principal modes of operating upon the public mind; by conversation in public and private places, and by the press. Through the means of the first, he worked upon the feelings and sentiments of the higher and more influential classes; by means of the latter, he influenced in a great degree, the mass of the community. In private conversation, his arguments were so cogent, his appeals so energetic, and his manner so sincere and disinterested, that few could avoid conviction. It is true, indeed, as it regards the press, that he did not publish very much of his own composing; but he procured the publication of a vast deal of his own dictating. By his arguments and entreaties, he aroused the zeal of many individuals, each of whom enlisted himself as a kind of voluntary amanuensis, who wrote and published his dictations. Many important essays have in this way been communicated to the public.”

But he undertook also, services requiring a yet sterner resolution, and more heroic perseverance, services which demanded that he himself should be in bondage neither to riches, honor, nor reputation, since his exertions endangered all his personal interests in such a community as that by which he was surrounded.

“Of those held in servitude, two classes of beings felt in a peculiar manner the kindness and sympathy of Mr. Tyson—those entitled to their freedom, and illegally held in slavery—and those, who, though not illegally kept in bondage, yet were treated with inhumanity by their masters.

“Where he had reason to believe that a person claimed as a slave was entitled to his freedom, he would, in the first place, in order to avoid litigation, lay before the reputed owner, the grounds of his belief. If these were disregarded, he then proceeded to employ counsel, by whom a petition for freedom was filed in the proper court, and the case prosecuted to a final determination. What excited most astonishment in these trials, was the extraordinary success which attended him. Very few were the cases in which he was defeated; and his failure even in these, was more generally owing to the want of testimony, than to the want of justice on his side. To enumerate his successes, would be as impossible, on account of their vast number, as it would be tedious on account of their similarity to each other. Whole families were often liberated by a single verdict, the fate of one relative deciding the fate of many. And often ancestors, after passing a long life in illegal slavery, sprung at last, like the chrysalis in autumn, into new existence, beneath the genial rays of the sun of liberty, which shed at the same time its benign influence upon their children, and children’s children.

“The titles of the individuals, thus liberated, to their freedom, were variously derived. Sometimes from deeds of manumission, long suppressed, and at last brought to light, by the searching scrutiny of Tyson—sometimes from the genealogy of the petitioner, traced by him to some Indian or white maternal ancestor—sometimes from the right to freedom, claimed by birth, but attempted to be destroyed by the rapacity of some vile kidnapper, and sometimes from the violation of those of our laws which manumitted slaves imported from foreign parts.

“The labors of Mr. Tyson, were not confined to a single district—they extended over the whole of Maryland. There is not a county in it, which has not felt his influence, or a court of justice, whose records do not bear proud testimonials of his triumphs over tyranny. Throwing out of calculation the many liberations indirectly resulting from his efforts, we speak more than barely within bounds, when we say, that he has been the means, under Providence, of rescuing at least two thousand human beings from the galling yoke of a slavery, which, but for him, would have been perpetual.

“And here let me join my readers in expressions of wonder and astonishment at this extraordinary display of human benevolence, in the person of a single individual—unsupported by power, wealth, or title, beneath the frowns of society, and against a torrent of prejudice.”

In the year 1789 an “Abolition Society,” (see antecedent pages 23 and 24,) was formed in Baltimore, of which Elisha Tyson was a member until its dissolution, seven years afterwards.

“From that time, Mr. Tyson supported alone the cause of emancipation in Maryland. Alone, I mean, as the sole director and prime mover of the machinery by which that cause was maintained. Assisted, he was, no doubt, from time to time; but that assistance was procured through his influence, or rendered effectual under his inspection and advice.A

“The slave traffic gave rise to an evil still greater—I mean the crime of kidnapping. If the horrors arising from the first were so great as I have described them, how shall I depict those of the other! Slaves only were the victims of the slave trade. In passing from hand to hand, they merely exchanged one condition of slavery for another. And though on such occasions they fell from a less degree of misery into a greater, they could not number among their privations any thing so bitter as the loss of liberty. It was this that made the difference between them and the victims of the kidnapper; not that they laid their hands exclusively upon the freeman, for sometimes their rapacity seized upon a slave. But this was very seldom, for the vigilance of slave owners was always alive to detect, and their vengeance to punish such daring felony. In almost all cases of man stealing, the stolen beings were of those who had tasted the sweets of liberty. To the kidnapper, who made these his prey, there were great facilities for escaping with impunity; not only because, in the depth and darkness of a dungeon, his limbs loaded with fetters, and utterance choked with a gag, his suffering could not be made visible or audible, but also because the deadness of sensibility on this subject, which still pervaded the public, though in a less degree than formerly, seemed to have unnerved every eye and palsied every ear. Sights of misery passed darkly before the one and sounds of wo fell lifeless on the other.

“On one occasion Mr. Tyson received intelligence that three colored persons, supposed to have been kidnapped, had been seen under suspicious circumstances, late in the evening, with a notorious slave-trader, in a carriage, which was then moving rapidly towards a quarter of the precincts of Baltimore in which there was a den of man-hunters. It was late in the day when he received the information, which was immediately communicated to the proper authorities. As the testimony offered to these was not, in their opinion, sufficiently strong to induce them to act instantaneously, Mr. Tyson was obliged to seek for aid in other quarters. He accordingly requested certain individuals, who had sometimes lent him their assistance, to accompany him to the scene of suspicion, in order to obtain, if possible, additional proof. One after another made excuse, (some telling him that the evidence was too weak to justify any effort, and others saying that it would be better to postpone the business for the next morning,) until Mr. Tyson saw himself without the hope of foreign assistance. But he did not yield or despair—one hope yet remained, and that rested on himself. Alone he determined to search out the den of thieves, to see and judge for himself. If there was no foundation for his suspicions, to dismiss them; if they were true, to call in the aid of the civil power, for the punishment of guilt and the rescue of innocence.

“So much time had been spent in receiving the excuses of his friends, that it was late at night when he set out, on foot and without a single weapon of defence. In the midst of silence and darkness, he marched along until he arrived at the place of destination. It was situated in the very skirts of the city—a public tavern in appearance, but almost exclusively appropriated to a band of slave-traders. Here they conveyed their prey, whether stolen or purchased; here they held their midnight orgies, and revelled in the midst of misery. The keeper of this place was himself one of the party, and therefore not very scrupulous about the sort of victims his companions chose to place beneath his care. Mr. Tyson ascended the door-sill, and, for a moment, listened, if perchance he might hear the sounds of wo. Suddenly a loud laugh broke upon his ears, which was soon lost in a chorus of laughter. Indignant at the sound, he reached forth his hand and rapped with his whole might. No answer was received. He rapped again—all was silence. He then applied himself to the fastening of the door, and finding it unlocked, opened it and entered. Suddenly four men made their appearance. They had been carousing around a table which stood in the centre of a room, and when a little alarmed by the rapping at the door, they had gone in different directions to seize their weapons. Mr. Tyson immediately recognised in the countenance of one of these, who appeared to be their leader, the slave-trader whose conduct had given rise to the suspicions that had brought him thither. Nor was it many moments before the person and character of Mr. Tyson became known.

“‘I understand,’ said he, ‘that there are persons confined in this place entitled to their freedom?’

“‘You have been wrongly informed,’ said the leader of the quartette; ‘and, besides, what business is it of yours?’

“‘Whether I am wrongly informed,’ said Mr. Tyson, calmly, ‘can be soon made to appear; and I hold it my business, as it is the business of every good man in the community, to see that all doubts of this kind are settled!’

“‘You shall advance no further,’ rejoined the leader, swearing a tremendous oath, and putting himself in a menacing attitude.

“With the rapidity of lightning, and with a strength that seemed to have been lent him for the occasion, Mr. Tyson broke through the arms of his opponent. As he had been repeatedly at this house on similar errands, he knew the course he should steer, and made directly for the door of the dungeon. There he met another of the band, with a candle in one hand, and in the other, a pistol, which, having cocked, he presented full against the breast of Mr. Tyson, swearing that he would shoot him if he advanced a step further.

“‘Shoot if thee dare,’ said Mr. Tyson, in a voice of thunder, ‘but thee dare not, coward as thou art, for well does thee know, that the gallows would be thy portion.’

“Whether it was the voice and countenance of Mr. Tyson, or the terror of the word gallows, that affected the miscreant, his arm suddenly fell, and he stood as if struck dumb with amazement. Mr. Tyson taking advantage of the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, snatched the candle from the hand of the kidnapper, entered the dungeon door, which was providentially unlocked, and descended into the vault below.

“There he beheld a dismal sight; six poor creatures chained to each other by links connected with the prison wall! The prisoners shrunk within themselves at the sight of a man, and one of them uttered a shriek of terror, mistaking the character of their visitor. He told them that he was their friend; and his name was Elisha Tyson. That name was enough for them, for their whole race had been long taught to utter it. He inquired, ‘if any of them were entitled to their freedom?’ ‘Yes,’ said one, ‘these two boys say that they and their, mother here are free, but she can’t speak to you, for she is gagged.’ Mr. Tyson approached this woman, and found that she was really deprived of her utterance. He instantly cut away the band that held in the gag, and thus gave speech to the dumb. She told her tale; ’she was manumitted by a gentleman on the eastern shore of Maryland; her sons were born after her emancipation, and of course free. She referred to persons and papers. She had come over the Chesapeake in a packet, for the purpose of getting employment; and was, with her children, decoyed away immediately on her arrival, by a person who brought her to that house. Mr. Tyson told her to be of good comfort, for he would immediately provide the means of her rescue. He then left the dungeon and ascended the stair way, when he reached the scene of his preceding contest; he, looked around, but saw no one save the keeper of the tavern. Fearing that the others had escaped, or were about to escape, he hastened out of the house, and proceeded with rapid strides in pursuit of a constable. He soon found one and entreated his assistance. But the officer refused, unless Mr. Tyson would give him a bond of indemnity against all loss which he might suffer by his interference. Mr. Tyson complied without hesitation. The officer, after summoning assistance, proceeded with Mr. Tyson to the scene of cruelty. There meeting with the tavern keeper, they compelled him to unlock the fetters of the three individuals claiming their freedom. They then searched the house for the supposed kidnappers, and found two of them; in, bed, whom, together with the women, and children, they conveyed that night to the jail of Baltimore county, to await the decision of a court of justice. The final consequence was, the mother and children were adjudged free. One of the two slave-traders, taken as afore-mentioned in custody, was found guilty of having kidnapped them, and was sentenced to the Maryland penitentiary, for a term of years.

“On another occasion, Mr. Tyson having received satisfactory evidence that a colored person, on board a vessel about to sail for New Orleans, in Louisiana, was entitled to his freedom, hastened to his assistance. On reaching the wharf, where the vessel had lain, he learned that she had cleared out the day before, and was then lying at anchor, a mile down the river. He immediately procured two officers of the peace, with whom he proceeded in a batteau, with a full determination to board the suspected ship.

“When he arrived alongside, he hailed the captain and asked him ‘whether such a person, (naming him,) having on board negroes destined for the New Orleans market, was not among the number of passengers.’ Before the captain had time to reply, the passenger alluded to, who had overheard the question, stepped to the side of the vessel, and recognising Mr. Tyson, asked what business he had with him. ‘I understand,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘that a colored person,’ describing him, ‘now in thy possession, is entitled to his freedom.’ ‘He is my slave,’ said the trader; ‘I have purchased him by a fair title, and no man shall interfere between him and me.’

“‘If these documents speak the truth,’ said Mr. Tyson, holding certain papers in his hand, ‘however fairly you have purchased him he is not your slave.’ He then proceeded to read the documents. At the same time a light breeze springing up, the captain ordered all hands to hoist sail and be off. Mr. Tyson seeing that there was not a minute to be lost, requested the constables to go on board with him for the purpose of rescuing the free man who had been deprived of his rights. The trader immediately drew a dagger from his belt, (for this sort of men went always armed,) and swore that ‘the first man that dared set his foot upon the deck of that ship was a dead man.’ ‘Then I will be that man,’ said Mr. Tyson, with a firm voice and intrepid countenance, and sprang upon the deck. The trader stepped back aghast. The officers followed, and descended the hold of the ship. There they soon saw the object of their search. Without any resistance being made on the part of a single person on board, they led their rescued prisoner along and safely lodged him in the boat below. Then Mr. Tyson, addressing the trader, said, ‘If you have any lawful claim to this man, come along and try your title; if you cannot come, name your agent, and I will see that justice is done to all parties.’ The trader, who seemed dumb with confusion, made no answer; and Mr. Tyson requested his boatmen to row off. Ere they had proceeded half their distance from the ship, her sails were spread and she began to ride down the stream. Had Mr. Tyson’s visit been delayed half an hour longer, his benevolent exertions would have been in vain.

“No one appearing to dispute the right of the colored man to freedom, his freedom papers were given him and he was set at liberty.

“The whole life of Mr. Tyson was diversified by acts such as we have just described. Those I have given to the reader may be considered as specimens merely, a few examples out of a vast many, which, if they were all repeated, would satiate by their number and tire by their uniformity.

“The joy manifested by the poor creatures whom he thus rescued from misery, on their deliverance, may be imagined, but cannot well be described. Sometimes it broke forth in loud and wild demonstrations; sometimes it was deep and inexpressible, or expressed only by mingled tears of gratitude and ecstacy, rolling silently but profusely down their wo-worn cheeks.

“Mr. Tyson, it is remarkable, would always turn his eyes from these manifestations. He would listen to no declarations of thanks. When these were strongly pressed upon him, he would usually exclaim, ‘Well, that will do now; that is enough for this time.’ And once when one of these creatures, fearful that Mr. Tyson would not consider him sufficiently grateful, cried out, ‘Indeed, master, I am very thankful, I would die to serve you,’ Mr. Tyson exclaimed, ‘Why, man, I have only done my duty; I don’t want thy thanks;’ and turned abruptly away.

“Equalled only by the delight of the rescued victims, was the chagrin and vexation of the slave-traders, when they saw their prey torn from their grasp. They cursed the law; they cursed its ministers; but above all, they invoked imprecations upon the head of Tyson.

“They swore that they would murder him, that they would fire his dwelling over his head, that they would do a thousand things, all full of vengeance. None of these threats were ever put into execution; for though a plot was once laid to take away his life, fear dispersed the actors long before the day of performance. Thus does it always happen that the wickedest of men are also the meanest, and therefore the most dastardly. And thus did the cowardice of Mr. Tyson’s enemies shield him from the effects of their enmity. Nor did he profit less by that individual fear of him which these slave-traders were made to feel. They feared him because they deprecated his hostility. In order, if possible, to lessen this hostility, they frequently became informers on others engaged in the same traffic. This they were further inclined to do, in consequence of the jealousy that subsisted between them—a jealousy very natural to competitors in the same line of business. It was always a time of exultation with them when one of their number found his way into the penitentiary.

“It sometimes happened that Mr. Tyson extracted from the mouths of these monsters, evidence which afterwards went to criminate those who had uttered it. It was usual with him when he could not obtain testimony against a suspected person, to send for such person and interrogate him. No one refused his summons—fear forbade the refusal; and after they had come, the very fear which brought them there sacrificed them to injured humanity. Sometimes those who came voluntarily for the purpose of criminating others, involved themselves in toils of their own weaving; where they were no sooner seen, by the penetrating eye of Tyson, than he reached forth his hands and secured his astonished prisoner, before he had a suspicion of his danger.

“Mr. Tyson’s knowledge of the sort of people with whom he had principally to deal was perfect. His quickness of perception and self-command were also remarkable. These qualifications gave him an extraordinary power in the examinations just alluded to.

“One evening the servant announced a stranger at the door, who wished to see Mr. Tyson privately. Mr. Tyson requested that he might be asked into the room where we were then sitting, and if further privacy were necessary he should have it.

“When the door opened and the stranger appeared, he was no other than the slave-trader we have just alluded to.

“‘Your humble servant,’ said the man, casting off his hat and bowing profoundly; ‘I hope you are well, sir; I have a few words for your private ear.’

“‘Every one present may be safely trusted,’ said Mr. Tyson; ‘but sit down.’

“The man seated himself. ‘Well,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘what is there new in thy way of business; I suppose it continues as usual to be a good business?’

“‘Ah! sir,’ said the man, ‘I believe it to be a bad business in more ways than one. I am resolved to quit it.’

“‘Not while thee can get two hundred dollars profit per man,’ said Mr. Tyson.

“‘Notwithstanding that,’ said the trader, ‘it’s a bad business; it’s a hard business; I must quit it, and that very soon.’

“‘Hast thou heard of the old saying,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘Hell is paved with good intentions? I fear,’ said he, ‘when thee goes there thee will find thine among the number.’

“‘I know,’ said the trader, ‘you think me very bad; but when you hear what I have to communicate, perhaps your opinion will alter a little.’

“‘I wish it may; but,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘thy progress down hill has been so rapid, and thou hast got so far, that thee will find it rather hard to turn about and ascend.’

“These doubtings, attended with a shrewd, suspicious, yet satirical look, had the effect intended; for the man became doubly anxious to do what he had come to do, and what he thought would be esteemed a great favor by Mr. Tyson. Accordingly, after a word or two of preface, he stated that he ‘had reason to believe that ——’, naming a certain trader, ‘had kidnapped two free blacks.’

“‘Thee is certainly mistaken,’ said Mr. Tyson, affecting great surprise; ‘it is hardly possible that so worthy a man could have been guilty of so great a crime.’

“This apparent doubt on the part of Mr. Tyson, made the man more anxious to bring out all his testimony.

“‘But who told thee this piece of news?’ said Mr. Tyson. There was a breach at once into the man’s order and arrangement and he hesitated for a reply. ‘Mr. ——, Mr. ——, Mr. ——, what do ye call him, spoke to me about it.’ ‘Who?’ said Mr. Tyson. ‘Mr. ——,’ said the man; mentioning the name of a veteran dealer in human flesh.

“‘Is he engaged in the traffic now?’ asked Mr. Tyson.
“‘Yes, sir; very deep in it.’
“‘By himself, or in partnership?’ asked Mr. Tyson carelessly.
“‘Why, I believe he is in partnership with some body.’

“‘Is he not in partnership,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘with ——?’ naming the person whom the man was anxious to inculpate.

“‘I believe he was, but I don’t know that he is now.’

“‘Thee don’t know of their having dissolved?’ asked Mr. Tyson at the same time, as if thoughtlessly lighting his pipe.

“‘No, I do not. But as I was going to say,’ said the trader—

“‘Ah, true,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘we must not forget. Thee was talking about a case of kidnapping; well?’

“‘Last night,’ said the trader, ‘a hack drove up to the tavern where I lodge. The hackman inquired the way to ——’s tavern, which is the place of rendezvous for —— and his gang;’ naming the person whose guilt seemed to be the principal object of inquiry. ‘I looked into the carriage, and saw two boys.’

“‘Did thee speak to them?’
“‘No, they were gagged, and that made me think they were kidnapped.’
“‘Was any body with them?’
“‘Nobody but the driver, and he was black.’
“‘Did thee direct him as he requested?’ asked Mr. Tyson.
“‘Yes.’
“‘And they arrived accordingly?’
“‘Yes.’
“‘Did thee follow them?’

“‘No sir, not immediately—but I went this morning, and inquired whether a hack with two boys and a black driver, had not arrived late last night, and they said there had.’

“‘What o’clock last night was it when thee saw the carriage?’
“‘About ten, sir.’
“‘Was the hack close, or were the curtains down?’
“‘The curtains were down, and that increased my suspicion.’

“Mr. Tyson had now heard enough to convince him that if there was any kidnapping in this case, the trader who stood before him had a much nearer connection with it than that of a mere spectator.

“He had said in the first place that he obtained his knowledge from a trader who had been partner with the party implicated. He then stated that he derived it from seeing the kidnapped persons in a hack. And though it was ten o’clock at night, (at a time, too, as Mr. Tyson knew, when there was no moon,) yet he could not only see that these two persons were in the hack, but that they were gagged. He could not have done this by the light of a candle or the moon, because ‘the hack was tight, and the curtains were down.’

“Fearing lest the suspicions of the trader might be excited as to the sentiments of Mr. Tyson towards him, an end was put to the part of the dialogue which related to the kidnapping, by saying, ‘Well, I am much obliged to thee for thy information; we’ll see this ——, and settle the matter with him;’ and then turned the tide of conversation into a different direction.

“The same day Mr. Tyson sent for the person who was first mentioned as the person communicating the knowledge of the transaction, and asked him as to the fact of such communication. It was positively denied. He had ‘not seen the informer for six weeks, except the last evening, when he brought a hack load of negroes to the tavern where he and his partner were lodgers.’

“‘Were two boys among the number?’
“‘Yes.’
“‘Were they gagged?’
“‘Yes.’

“The moment this man left his house, Mr. Tyson went in search of bailiffs and civil process. With these he proceeded to the place where the two boys were confined, and had them and all three of the traders taken into custody.

“It turned out afterwards, in the further prosecution of this investigation, (by what testimony we do not distinctly recollect,) that the informer who first came to Mr. Tyson had himself kidnapped the two boys. He sold them to the person upon whom he had endeavored, in the manner we have detailed, to affix the whole crime; who, refusing afterward to pay their price, and yet determined to retain them, exasperated the seller to such a degree that he resolved to sacrifice him; in attempting which he sacrificed himself, for he was afterward convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary.

“During the progress of any investigation originated by Mr. Tyson in behalf of individual freedom, his anxiety about the final issue, though concealed from the world, burned with intensity. His days were restless, his nights were sleepless, and himself, except when in company, which he avoided at those times, lost in the abstractions of hope or of despondency.

“When he succeeded, his joy was strong, but invisible or inaudible, save to the Father of all mercies. To him he never failed ‘to pour out his soul’ in pious thanksgivings for that he made him a humble instrument in the restoration of a fellow being to light and liberty.

“When he failed, which was seldom, after he had seriously undertaken a case, his sorrow was equally great, and as inscrutable to human observation, excepting that of the unfortunate objects of his care, who saw him mingling tears of sympathy with theirs of suffering.

“Though Mr. Tyson seldom failed in those cases which he had commenced in legal form, yet very many persons were turned hopelessly away whose cases were too groundless for adjudication; and often those who knew they had no cause for hope,—condemned to be torn from their connections and sold, as if to death, never to be heard of more,—would call merely to obtain his sympathies, as if the universe had no other friend for them.

“A man who lived with his master, in Anne Arundel county, came late one evening to Mr. Tyson, and begged that he would listen to his case. His master had promised him his freedom, provided he would raise and pay him the sum of five hundred dollars in six years; and he had earned half of the money, which he had given his master. The six years were not expired, yet he was about to be sold to Georgia. Mr. Tyson asked if ‘there was any receipt for the money.’ ‘No.’ ‘Was there any witness who could prove its payment?’ ‘Nobody but his master’s wife.’ ‘Then,’ said Mr. Tyson, ‘the law is against thee, and thou must submit. I can do nothing for thee.’ Never, said Mr. Tyson, when relating this story, shall I forget the desperate resolution which showed itself in the countenance and manner of this man when he said, with clenched fist, his eyes raised to Heaven, his whole frame bursting with the purpose of his soul, while a smile of triumph played around his lips, ‘I will die before the Georgia man shall have me.’ And then suddenly melting into a flood of tears, he said, ‘I cannot live away from my wife and children.’ After this poor fellow had left me, said Mr. Tyson, I said to a person present, ‘That is no common man; he will do what he has resolved.’

“A short time afterwards, the remains of a colored person who had been drowned in the basin at Baltimore were discovered. The fact coming to the knowledge of Mr. Tyson, he went to see the body, and recognized in its features and from its dress, the remains of the unfortunate man who, a short time before, had breathed the dreadful resolution in his presence.”

Such are a few of the memorials which this friend of the human race has left behind him. He was not less persevering, and scarcely less successful in his endeavors to obtain the mitigation of the slave laws in Maryland. Some of the most repulsive of these were repealed or altered, particularly those restricting manumissions. Thus the condition and the prospects of the whole body of slaves was improved, in addition to more than two thousand delivered by his immediate instrumentality from illegal bondage. Hundreds of free and happy families have cause at this day to bless the memory of “Father Tyson.”

He also deeply interested himself on behalf of the Indian tribes; and once in company with another individual, as a deputation from the Society of Friends in Baltimore, undertook a dangerous journey to visit several tribes 1000 miles distant, to the north-west of the Ohio. The main object of the mission was to induce the Indians to refrain from the use of ardent spirits—of whose destructive effects the chiefs were themselves fully sensible. The following affecting address was made to an assembly of “Friends” in Baltimore, by Little Turtle, a chief famous for courage, sagacity and eloquence:

“Brothers and Friends:—When our forefathers first met on this great Island, your red brethren were very numerous! But since the introduction among us of what you call spirituous liquors, and what we think may justly be called poison, our numbers are greatly diminished. It has destroyed a great part of your red brethren.

“My Brothers and Friends:—We plainly perceive, that you see the very evil which destroyed your red brethren; it is not an evil of our own making; we have not placed it among ourselves; it is an evil placed among us by the white people; we look to them to remove it out of our country. We tell them, ‘Brethren, bring us useful things; bring goods that will clothe us, our women and our children; and not this evil liquor, that destroys our reason, that destroys our health, and destroys our lives.’ But all we can say on this subject is of no service, nor gives relief to your red brethren.

“My Brother and Friends:—I rejoice to find that you agree in opinion with us, and express an anxiety to be, if possible, of service to us, in removing this great evil out of our country; an evil which has had so much room in it; and has destroyed so many of our lives, that it causes our young men to say, ‘we had better be at war with the white people.’ This liquor, which they introduce into our country, is more to be feared than the gun and the tomahawk. There are more of us dead, since the treaty of Greenville, than we lost by the six years war before. It is all owing to the introduction of this liquor amongst us.

“Brothers:—When our young men have been out hunting, and are returning home, loaded with skins and furs, on their way if it happens that they come along where some of this whiskey is deposited, the white man who sells it, tells them to take a little drink; some of them will say ‘no, I do not want it;’ they go on till they come to another house, where they find more of the same kind of drink; it is there offered again; they refuse; and again the third time. But finally, the fourth or fifth time, one accepts of it and takes a drink; and getting one, he wants another; and then a third, and a fourth, till his senses have left him. After his reason comes back to him again, when he gets up and finds where he is, he asks for his peltry. The answer is, ‘You have drank them,’ ‘Where is my gun?’ ‘It is gone?’ ‘Where is my blanket?’ ‘It is gone.’ ‘Where is my shirt?’ ‘You have sold it for whiskey!!’ Now, Brothers, figure to yourselves, the condition of this man. He has a family at home; a wife and children, who stand in need of the profits of his hunting. What must be their wants, when he himself is even without a shirt?”

The journey of Elisha Tyson and his companion, James Gillingham, occurred a few years subsequent to the interview at which the preceding speech was made. They met a council of the Indians at Fort Wayne, whom Elisha Tyson addressed to the following effect:

“He painted in glowing colors the dreadful effects of intemperance—both upon civilized and savage life—told them that they must resolve to abstain entirely from it. If they admitted it at all among them, it would soon conquer them, and reduce them to a condition worse than that of the brute creation. That not until they abandoned altogether the use of ardent spirits would they be fit subjects for civilization. If they were ready to do this he would then unfold to them the blessings of civilization—the superiority of such a condition over the one in which they then subsisted. He traced their history from the earliest period to the present time—shewed them how, as the white population had expanded itself, they had retreated into the western wilderness—that if they did not remain, but continued to retreat, in a few years they would have no territory upon this continent. In order, therefore, to their permanent establishment, he recommended to them the practice of agriculture, as a substitute for hunting. He advised them to mark out their lands, and ask advice of the agents established by the Society of Friends among them, with respect to their cultivation. They stood ready, not only with their advice, but with their assistance; they were furnished for their use with all the necessary implements of husbandry, with beasts of the plough also, and beasts of burden.

“They had come a great distance, endured much privation and fatigue in order to see them, and must endure a great deal more before they could again behold their wives and their children. But they could bear it all with patience, nay with joy, if they could only have the satisfaction of seeing them adopt the disinterested advice which he had thus given them.”

The following is one of the speeches made in reply, by White Loon, an influential chief:

“Brothers:—Ever since your great father Onas, (William Penn,) came upon this great island, the Quakers have been the friends of red men. They have proved themselves worthy of being the descendants of their great father. And now, when all the whites have forgotten that they owe any thing to us, the Quakers of Baltimore, though so far distant from us, have remembered the distressed condition of their red brethren, and interceded with the Great Spirit in our behalf.

“Brothers:—You have travelled very far to see us—you have climbed over mountains—you have swam over deep and rapid torrents—you have endured cold, and hunger, and fatigue, in order that you might have an opportunity of seeing your red brethren. For this, so long as life exists within us, we shall be very grateful.

“Brothers:—That wide region of country over which you have passed, was once filled with red men. Then was there a plenty of deer and buffalo, and all kinds of game. But the white people came from beyond the great water; they landed in multitudes on our shores; they cut down our forests; they drove our warriors before them, and frightened the wild herds, so that they sought security in the deep shades of the west.

“Brothers:—These white men were not your grandfathers; for, as I said before, the sons of Onas were always the friends of red men.

“Brothers:—The whites are still advancing upon us. They have reached our territory, and have built their wigwams within our very hunting grounds. Our game is vanishing away.

“Brothers:—Formerly our hunters pursued the wild deer, and the buffalo, and the bear; and when they killed them they ate their flesh for food, and used their skins as covering for themselves, their old men, their women, and their children. But now, they kill them that they may have plenty of skins and furs to sell to the white men. The consequence of this is, the game is destroyed wantonly, and faster than our necessities require.

“Brothers:—We would not mind all this, provided these skins and furs were exchanged for useful articles—for implements of husbandry, or clothes for our old men, our women, and our children. But they are too often bartered away for whiskey, that vile poison, which has sunk even Wapakee into the dust.

“Brothers:—We shall soon be under the necessity either of leaving our hunting grounds or of converting them into pastures and fields of corn. Under the kind assistance of our brothers, the Quakers, we have already proceeded a great way. You have witnessed, as you have passed among us, the good effects of the kindness of our brothers. We are disposed to go on as we have begun, until our habits and manners, as well as the face of our country, shall be changed and look like those of the white people.

“Brothers:—Accept from us this belt of wampum and pipe of peace. And may the Great Sasteretsy, who conducted you here in safety, still go with you and restore you in peace and happiness to the arms of your women and children.”

After this, with ceremonies such as those already described, but, if possible, accompanied with more solemnity, the chiefs dissolved the council.

It is a melancholy reflection, that soon such memorials as these will be the only remains of that noble but unfortunate race who once peopled the continent of North America. War has slain its thousands, but alcohol its tens of thousands; and the fortitude which could bear without shrinking the most cruel inflictions of torture, has proved powerless to resist the seductions of strong drink. It is to be feared a heavy retribution awaits the white man, the pitiless author of their extermination.

The biographer of E. Tyson has taken great pains to represent him as a friend to the Colonization Society, but in this respect I am informed, by one who well knew him, he has done him great injustice. It is confessed, indeed, that for a long period E. Tyson viewed this scheme with great jealousy. “When we saw,” remarks this writer, “domestic tyrants, and men who had actually, in the southern slave-trade, speculated in the flesh and blood of their fellow creatures, united with their betters in a society, the professed object of which was the peopling of a continent with freemen by the depopulation of a continent of slaves, he argued, as he had a right to argue, mischief to the cause.” No evidence is adduced to show that this same distrust of the Colonization Society was ever removed, beyond the fact that, having been the means of liberating eleven native Africans from a slave-ship, he cooperated with Gen. Harper, an influential colonizationist, in restoring them to their native country, which bordered upon the colony of Liberia. This was the last public act of his life.

“The great concern in which he had spent his life was the constant topic of his conversation; and he continued with his latest breath to enforce the claims of the unhappy sons of slavery upon the humanity of their brethren. It was natural that he should feel a strong anxiety about the fate of those who, through his exertions, had been restored to their friends in Africa. He was on the alert to hear intelligence of their fate—his spirit seemed to follow them across the mighty waters. On one occasion he was heard to say, ‘If I could only hear of their safe arrival I should die content;’ and on another, that he ‘had prayed to the Father of Mercies that he would be pleased to spare his life until he could receive the pleasing intelligence.’ His prayer was heard. The news reached his ears amid the last lingerings of life. He shed tears of joy on the occasion; and when he had sufficiently yielded to the first burst of feeling, exclaimed, like one satiated with earthly happiness, ‘Now I am ready to die; my work is done.’ His expressions were prophetic; for in the short space of forty-eight hours, on the 16th of February, 1824, at the age of 75 years, he breathed his soul into the hands of God Almighty.”

The following are some notices of his personal appearance and mental characteristics:

“The person of Mr. Tyson was about six feet in height, though the habit of leaning forward as he walked, gave a less appearance to his stature. The rest of his frame was suited to his height.

“The features of his countenance were strong. His forehead was high; his nose large, and of the Roman order; his eyes were dark and piercing; his lips so singularly expressive, that even in their stillest mood they would almost seem to be uttering the purposes of his mind. Indeed his whole face was indicative, to a striking degree, of the passions and feelings of his soul.

“The mind of Mr. Tyson was strong, rather than brilliant. With scarcely any imagination, he possessed a judgment almost infallible in its decisions; great powers of reason, which were more conspicuous for the certainty of its conclusions than remarkable for displaying the train of inferences by which it arrived at them. He possessed wonderful acuteness of understanding, quickness of perception, and readiness of reply.

“For these qualities he was indebted more to nature than to art. He was not educated for the exalted station of a philanthropist, but for the business of the world; and yet he seemed fitted exactly for the part he acted. He possessed not the refinements of education; he had not learned to soar into the regions of fancy, his destiny was upon the earth; and he knew no flight but that which bears the soul to heaven.”

Appendix E. P. 68 — The “Amistad Captives.”

The following statements are drawn from a “History of the Amistad Captives, &c., by John W. Barber, member of the Connecticut Historical Society;” from the authentic reports of the proceedings in the courts of law, and from a letter of my friend, Lewis Tappan, to the public papers.

“During the month of August, 1839, the public attention was somewhat excited by several reports stating that a vessel of suspicious and piratical character had been seen near the coast of the United States, in the vicinity of New York. This vessel was represented as a ‘long, low, black schooner,’ and manned by blacks. The United States steamer Fulton and several revenue cutters were despatched after her, and notice was given to the collectors at various sea ports.”

This suspicious looking schooner proved to be the “Amistad,” which was eventually captured off Culloden Point, by Lieut. Gedney, of the U.S. brig “Washington.” At this time, however, the Africans, who were in possession of the vessel, were in communication with the shore, and peaceably trafficking with the inhabitants for a supply of water for their intended voyage to their own country. They had spontaneously submitted to the command of one of their number, Cinque, a man of extraordinary natural capacity. When they were taken, he was separated from his companions and conveyed on board the brig.

“Cinque having been put on board of the ‘Washington,’ displayed much uneasiness, and seemed so very anxious to get on board the schooner that his keepers allowed him to return. Once more on the deck of the ‘Amistad,’ the blacks clustered around him, laughing, screaming, and making other extravagant demonstrations of joy. When the noise had subsided, he made an address, which raised their excitement to such a pitch, that the officer in command had Cinque led away by force. He was returned to the ‘Washington,’ and was manacled to prevent his leaping overboard. On Wednesday, he signified by motions that if they would take him on board the schooner again, he would show them a handkerchief full of doubloons. He was accordingly sent on board. His fetters were taken off, and he once more went below, where he was received by the Africans in a still more wild and enthusiastic manner than he was the day previous. Instead of finding the doubloons, he again made an address to the blacks, by which they were very much excited. Dangerous consequences were apprehended. Cinque was seized, taken from the hold, and again fettered. While making his speech, his eye was often turned to the sailors in charge: the blacks yelled, leapt about, and seemed to be animated with the same spirit and determination of their leader. Cinque, when taken back to the ‘Washington,’ evinced little or no emotion, but kept his eye steadily fixed on the schooner.”

An event so extraordinary and unprecedented as the capture of the “Amistad,” excited the most lively interest among all classes. The Africans, forty-four in number, were brought to New Haven and secured in the county jail. A number of gentlemen formed themselves into a committee to watch over their interests, and immediately there was begun a long and complicated series of judicial proceedings, to determine how they should be disposed of. Ruiz and Montez, the two white men, late the prisoners, but claiming to be the owners of the Africans, caused them to be indicted for piracy and murder. This was almost immediately disposed of, on the ground that the charges, if true, were not cognizable in the American courts, the alleged offences having been perpetrated on board a Spanish vessel. The Africans therefore were in no immediate danger of capital punishment. Ruiz and Montez on their part seem to have met with sympathy and kindness, and to testify their gratitude caused the following to be inserted in the New York papers:

“A CARD.

“NEW LONDON, AUGUST 29, 1839.

“The subscribers, Don Jose Ruiz, and Don Pedro Montez, in gratitude for their most unhoped for and providential rescue from the hands of a ruthless gang of African bucaneers and an awful death, would take this means of expressing, in some slight degree, their thankfulness and obligation to Lieut. Com. T.R. Gedney, and the officers and crew of the U.S. surveying brig Washington, for their decision in seizing the Amistad, and their unremitting kindness and hospitality in providing for their comfort on board their vessel, as well as the means they have taken for the protection of their property.

“We also must express our indebtedness to that nation whose flag they so worthily bear, with an assurance that this act will be duly appreciated by our most gracious sovereign, her Majesty the Queen of Spain.

DON JOSE, RUIZ,
DON PEDRO MONTEZ.”

Ruiz and Montez are thus described by a correspondent of the New London Gazette, who visited the Amistad immediately after its capture:

“Jose Ruiz, is a very gentlemanly and intelligent young man, and speaks English fluently. He was the owner of most of the slaves and cargo, which he was conveying to his estate on the Island of Cuba. The other, Pedro Montez, is about fifty years of age, and is the owner of three of the slaves. He was formerly a ship master, and has navigated the vessel since her seizure by the blacks. Both of them, as may be naturally supposed, are most unfeignedly thankful for their deliverance. Pedro is the most striking instance of complacency and unalloyed delight we have ever witnessed, and it is not strange, since only yesterday his sentence was pronounced by the chief of the bucaneers, and his death song chanted by the grim crew, who gathered with uplifted sabres around his devoted head, which, as well as his arms, bear the scars of several wounds inflicted at the time of the murder of the ill-fated captain and crew. He sat smoking his Havana on the deck, and to judge from the martyr-like serenity of his countenance, his emotions are such as rarely stir the heart of man. When Mr. Porter, the prize master, assured him of his safety, he threw his arms around his neck, while gushing tears coursing down his furrowed cheek, bespoke the overflowing transport of his soul. Every now and then he clasped his hands, and with uplifted eyes, gave thanks to ’the Holy Virgin’ who had led him out of his troubles.”

It will be necessary to contrast the deeds of these “gentlemanly and intelligent” Christians with that of the “ruthless gang of African bucaneers,” from whose grasp they were so providentially rescued. In giving the subsequent detail, I would not be understood as compromising for a single instant my belief in the inviolability of human life, though it must I think be confessed that in the instance related below, the heathen and barbarous negroes contrast very favorably with the civilized and Christian Spaniards.

“The following communication from Mr. Day, of New Haven, gives a summary account of the African captives, as stated by themselves, from the time they left Africa, till the time they obtained possession of the Amistad:

“NEW HAVEN, OCT. 8, 1839.

[To the Editor of the Journal of Commerce.]

“Gentlemen—The following short and plain narrative of one or two of the African captives, in whose history and prospects such anxious interest is felt, has been taken at the earliest opportunity possible, consistently with more important examinations. It may be stated in general terms, as the result of the investigations thus far made, that the Africans all testify that they left Africa about six months since; were landed under cover of the night at a small village or hamlet near Havana, and after ten or twelve days were taken through Havana by night by the man who had bought them, named Pipi, who has since been satisfactorily proved to be Ruiz; were cruelly treated on the passage, being beaten and flogged, and in some instances having vinegar and gunpowder rubbed into their wounds; and that they suffered intensely from hunger and thirst. The perfect coincidence in the testimony of the prisoners, examined as they have been separately, is felt by all who are acquainted with the minutes of the examination, to carry with it overwhelming evidence of the truth of their story.

Yours respectfully,
“GEORGE E. DAY.”
“MONDAY, OCT. 7.

“This afternoon, almost the first time in which the two interpreters, Covey and Pratt, have not been engaged with special reference to the trial to take place in November, one of the captives named Grabeau, was requested to give a narrative of himself since leaving Africa, for publication in the papers. The interpreters, who are considerably exhausted by the examinations which have already taken place, only gave the substance of what he said, without going into details, and it was not thought advisable to press the matter. Grabeau first gave an account of the passage from Africa to Havana. On board the vessel there was a large number of men, but the women and children were far the most numerous. They were fastened together in couples by the wrists and legs, and kept in that situation day and night. Here Grabeau and another of the Africans named Kimbo, lay down upon the floor, to show the painful position in which they were obliged to sleep. By day it was no better. The space between decks was so small,—according to their account not exceeding four feet,—that they were obliged, if they attempted to stand, to keep a crouching posture. The decks fore and aft were crowded to overflowing. They suffered (Grabeau said) terribly. They had rice enough to eat, but had very little to drink. If they left any of the rice that was given to them uneaten, either from sickness or any other cause, they were whipped. It was a common thing for them to be forced to eat so much as to vomit. Many of the men, women, and children died on the passage.

“They were landed by night at a small village near Havana. Soon several white men came to buy them, and among them was the one claiming to be their master, whom they call Pipi, said to be a Spanish nick-name for Jose. Pipi, or Ruiz, selected such as he liked, and made them stand in a row. He then felt each of them in every part of the body; made them open their mouths to see if their teeth were sound, and carried the examinations to a degree of minuteness of which only a slave dealer would be guilty.

“When they were separated from their companions who had come with them from Africa, there was weeping among the women and children, but Grabeau did not weep, ‘because he is a man.’ Kimbo, who sat by, said that he also shed no tears—but he thought of his home in Africa, and of friends left there whom he should never see again.

“The men bought by Ruiz were taken on foot through Havana in the night, and put on board a vessel. During the night they were kept in irons, placed about the hands, feet and neck. They were treated during the day in a somewhat milder manner, though all the irons were never taken off at once. Their allowance of food was very scant, and of water still more so. They were very hungry, and suffered much in the hot days and nights from thirst. In addition to this there was much whipping, and the cook told them that when they reached land they would all be eaten. This ‘made their hearts burn.’ To avoid being eaten, and to escape the bad treatment they experienced, they rose upon the crew with the design of returning to Africa.

“Such is the substance of Grabeau’s story, confirmed by Kimbo, who was present most of the time. He says he likes the people of this country, because, to use his own expression, ‘they are good people—they believe in God, and there is no slavery here.’

“The story of Grabeau was then read and interpreted to Cinque, while a number of the other Africans were standing about, and confirmed by all of them in every particular. When the part relating to the crowded state of the vessel from Africa to Havana was read, Cinque added that there was scarcely room enough to sit or lie down. Another showed the marks of the irons on his wrists, which must at the time have been terribly lacerated. On their separation at Havana, Cinque remarked that almost all of them were in tears, and himself among the rest, ‘because they had come from the same country, and were now to be parted for ever.’ To the question, how it was possible for the Africans when chained in the manner he described, to rise upon the crew, he replied that the chain which connected the iron collars about their necks was fastened at the end by a padlock, and that this was first broken, and afterwards the other irons. Their object, he said, in the affray, was to make themselves free. He then requested it to be added to the above, that ‘if he tells a lie, God sees him by day and by night.’”

The interpreters alluded to in the preceding extract were two Africans belonging to the crew of the British brig of war Buzzard, which providentially arrived at New York, from a cruise on the coast of Africa. They were found to speak the same language as the prisoners, and with the consent of Captain Fitzgerald, their services were immediately secured by the indefatigable committee for the African captives. By their aid much information was elicited respecting the native country and previous history of these negroes, with many incidental particulars of great interest, some of which will appear in the following account. The criminal proceedings against the Mendians being quashed, there remained the claim of Ruiz and Montez to have the negroes returned to them as their property. To sustain this claim they produced the license, signed by the proper authorities at Havana, permitting the removal of these negroes from that port to Principe, in the same island. This document is signed by General Espelata, Captain-General of Cuba, and countersigned by Martinez, one of the most extensive slave-traders in the known world. This pass or license described the negroes as ladinos, a term used to designate Africans who have been long settled in Cuba. It was proved, however, that they were Bozal negroes, that is, such as had been very lately introduced, and the testimony on both sides, on this point, established a fact that is but too notorious, that the slave trade to Cuba is openly carried on with the connivance, and even with the corrupt participation of the authorities. One of the witnesses, D. Francis Bacon, gives the following account of the slave trade:—

“Mr. Bacon stated that he left the coast of Africa on the 13th of July, 1839. He knew a place called Dumbokoro [Lomboko] by the Spaniards: it was an island in the river or lagoon of Gallinas. There is a large slave factory or depot at this place, which is said to belong to the house of Martinez in Havana; there are also different establishments on different islands. Mr. Bacon stated that he had seen American, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese vessels at Gallinas. The American flag was a complete shelter; no man-of-war daring to capture an American vessel. The slave trade on that part of the coast is the universal business of the country, and by far the most profitable, and all engaged in it who could raise the means. Extensive wars take place in Africa, for obtaining slaves from the vanquished. Different towns and villages make war upon each other for this purpose. Some are sold on account of their crimes, others for debts. The slaves are all brought on to the coast by other blacks, and sold at the slave factories, as no white man dare penetrate into the interior. Some of the blacks who have been educated at Sierra Leone, have been principal dealers in the slave trade.”

The decision of the District Court of Connecticut on this question of property, was to the effect that since their original introduction into Cuba was plainly illegal, they were free by the law of Spain, and of course could not be the property of Spanish subjects.

The subsequent proceedings were undertaken on behalf of the United States’ Government. “The District Attorney, Mr. Holabird, filed his claim under Lieut. Gedney’s libel, on two distinct grounds; one that these Africans had been claimed by the Government of Spain, and ought to be retained till the pleasure of the Executive might be known, as to that demand; and the other, that they should be held subject to the disposition of the President, to be re-transported to Africa, under the act of 1819.” The Court finally decreed that the Africans should be delivered to the President of the United States, to be transported to Africa, there to be delivered to an agent appointed to receive and conduct them home. Against this decision, though it is what he had asked for, Holabird appealed on behalf of the United States’ Government, and through a protracted series of law proceedings, it was finally carried before the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest tribunal in the nation. The counsel employed on both sides, in the different stages, were of the highest reputation; and finally the venerable John Quincy Adams, after an absence from the Courts of nearly forty years, during which interval he had filled the highest offices of state, at home and abroad, in the service of his country, did not think it beneath him to defend the Mendians before the Supreme Court, against the conspiracies of Forsyth, the Secretary of State, and the Spanish Ambassador. In his first communication to the latter, Forsyth says:

“All the proceedings in the matter, on the part of both the executive and judicial branches of the government, have had their foundation in the assumption that Montez and Ruiz alone were the parties aggrieved; and that their claim to the surrender of the property was founded in fact and in justice.”

The Spanish minister and his successor, complained bitterly, in the course of a long correspondence, of the delay in giving up the Africans, on the ground, as emphatically stated in one of their letters to the Department of State, that “the public vengeance had not been satisfied; for be it recollected that the legation of Spain does not demand the delivery of slaves, but of assassins.” In a previous communication it was intimated that “the infliction of capital punishment in this case (in the United States,) would not be attended with the salutary effects had in view by the law, when it resorts to this painful and terrible alternative, namely, to prevent the commission of similar offences.” Notwithstanding these dreadful intimations of the fate awaiting the Africans in Cuba, the American Government deliberately adopted the design of delivering them up, either as property or as assassins. That Government found willing agents in the United States’ Marshal, and the District Attorney of Connecticut. The following extracts from the argument of John Quincy Adams, will explain these disgraceful transactions:

“On the 7th of January, the Secretary of State writes to the Secretary of the Navy, acknowledging the receipt of his letter of the 3d, informing him that the schooner Grampus would receive the negroes of the Amistad, ‘for the purpose of conveying them to Cuba, in the event of their delivery being adjudged by the Circuit Court, before whom the case is pending.’ This singular blunder, in naming the Court, shows in what manner and with how little care the Department of State allowed itself to conduct an affair, involving no less than the liberties and lives of every one of my clients. This letter enclosed the order of the President to the Marshal of Connecticut for the delivery of the negroes to Lieut. Paine. Although disposing of the lives of forty human beings, it has not the form or solemnity of a warrant, and is not even signed by the President in his official capacity. It is a mere order.

“‘The Marshal of the United States for the District of Connecticut will deliver over to Lieut. John S. Paine, of the United States Navy, and aid in conveying on board the schooner Grampus, under his command, all the negroes, late of the Spanish schooner Amistad, in his custody, under process now pending before the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Connecticut. For so doing, this order will be his warrant.

“‘Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 7th day of January, A.D. 1840.

“‘M. VAN BUREN.
“‘By the President:
“‘JOHN FORSYTH, Sec. of State.’

“That order is good for nothing at all. It did not even describe the Court correctly, under whose protection those unfortunate people were. And on the 11th of January, the District Attorney had to send a special messenger, who came, it appears, all the way to Washington in one day, to inform the Secretary that the negroes were not holden under the order of the Circuit Court, but of the District Court. And he says, ‘Should the pretended friends of the negroes’—the pretended friends!—’obtain a writ of Habeas Corpus, the Marshal could not justify under that warrant.’ And he says, ’the Marshal wishes me to inquire’—a most amiable and benevolent inquiry—’whether in the event of a decree requiring him to release the negroes, or in case of an appeal by the adverse party, it is expected the Executive warrant will be executed’—that is, whether he is to carry the negroes on board of the Grampus in the face of a decree of the Court. And he requests instructions on the point.”

On the 12th of January, the very next day after the letter of the District Attorney was written at New Haven, the Secretary of State replies in a despatch which is marked ‘confidential.’

“‘[CONFIDENTIAL.]

“‘DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Jan. 12,1840.

“‘SIR,—Your letter of the 11th inst. has just been received. The order for the delivery of the negroes of the Amistad is herewith returned, corrected agreeably to your suggestion. With reference to the inquiry from the Marshal, to which you allude, I have to state, by direction of the President, that if the decision of the Court is such as is anticipated, the order of the President is to be carried into execution, unless an appeal shall actually have been interposed. YOU ARE NOT TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT IT WILL BE INTERPOSED. And if, on the contrary, the decision of the Court is different, you are to take out an appeal, and allow things to remain as they are until the appeal shall have been decided.

I am, sir, your obedient servant
“‘JOHN FORSYTH.
“‘W.S. HOLABIRD, Esq.,
“‘Attorney U.S. for District of Conn.’

“But after all the order did not avail. The District Judge, contrary to all these anticipations of the Executive, decided that the thirty-six negroes taken by Lieut. Gedney and brought before the Court on the certificate of the Governor-General of Cuba, were FREEMEN; that they had been kidnapped in Africa; that they did not own these Spanish names; that they were not ladinos; and were not correctly described in the passport, but were new negroes bought by Ruiz in the depot of Havana, and fully entitled to their liberty.”

At a public meeting held subsequent to their liberation, the teacher of the Africans made a statement as follows:—Their ruling passion was a love for home; and their desire to return thither was constantly manifesting itself. One day, a short time ago, Fohlee came to his teacher, with his cap in his hand, and said, “If Merican men offer me as much gold as fill this cap full up, and give me houses, land and every ting, so dat I stay in dis country, I say no! Is dat like my father? Is dat like my mother? Is dat like my sister? Is dat like my brother? No! I want to see my father, my mother, my brother and sister.” This feeling manifested itself in many ways; and they expressed themselves willing to undergo any thing short of losing their lives, if by so doing they could be at liberty to return to the Mendi country.

I now introduce the lively narrative of my friend Lewis Tappan:

“EXCURSION WITH THE AMISTAD AFRICANS.

“On board Steam Boat, L.I. Sound, Nov. 15, 1841.

“BROTHER LEAVITT:—As the committee had chartered a ship to take the Mendians to Sierra Leone about the middle of this month, and as the funds contributed by a benevolent public were about all expended, it appeared necessary, in addition to an appeal published in the newspapers, to take some prompt and efficient measures to procure funds sufficient to pay for their outfit and passages, and, if possible, something to sustain the contemplated mission in Mendi. One of the committee being sick and another absent, it devolved upon me to perform the excursion. I was assisted essentially by Mr. Samuel Deming, one of the committee at Farmington, and by Mr. William Raymond and Mr. Needham. On arriving at Hartford, the third instant, I learned that Mr. Deming had proceeded to Boston, accompanied by ten of the Mendians, viz., Cinque, Banna, Si-si, Su-ma, Fu-li, Ya-bo-i, So-ko-ma, Kin-na, Ka-li and Mar-gru. These were selected not on account of being the best scholars, but with reference to their being the best singers, although some of them are among the best scholars. None of them, however, have had instruction in music. Arriving in Boston, the city was, as I anticipated, full of excitement, on account of the approaching election,—a circumstance unknown to the committee at Farmington, who had sent off the Mendians sooner than we had calculated,—and it seemed almost impossible to procure a suitable place in which to hold meetings, or to arrest the attention of the people, as the whole—democrats, whigs and abolitionists—had every nerve strained for the political contest. However, preparation had been made for a meeting at the Melodeon, late Lion Theatre, on Thursday evening. A few hundreds assembled, and appeared to be highly gratified with the performances. It seemed to them marvellous that these men and children, who, less than three years since, were almost naked savages in the interior of Africa, should, under the untoward circumstances in which they have been placed for the largest part of the time since they have been in a civilized and Christian country, appear so far advanced in civilization and knowledge. Only forty-six dollars were received, the proceeds of tickets and a collection, but a strong desire was expressed that there should be another meeting.

“Saturday evening was the only evening we could have Marlboro’ Chapel, the largest church in the city. Preliminary to this meeting, a private meeting of invited gentlemen was held during the afternoon, at the Marlboro’ Hotel, the Mendians being present. The meeting was well attended and a good impression was made. In the evening there was a large meeting in the Chapel; Rev. Dr. Anderson opened it with prayer, concluding with the Lord’s prayer, each sentence being repeated in our language by the Mendians. A statement was then made of their past and present condition, of their good conduct, their proficiency, of their ardent desire to return to Mendi, and the favorable prospects of establishing a mission in their country. Three or four of the best readers were then called upon to read a passage in the New Testament. They then read and spelled a passage named by the audience. One of the Africans next related, in ‘Merica language,’ their condition in their own country, their being kidnapped, the sufferings of the middle passage, their stay at Havana, the transactions on board the Amistad, &c. The story was intelligible to the audience, with occasional explanations. They were next requested to sing two or three of their native songs. The performance afforded great delight to the audience. As a pleasing contrast, however, they sang immediately after, one of the songs of Zion:

“‘When I can read my title clear
To mansions in. the skies,
I’ll bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weeping eyes.’

“This produced a deep impression upon the audience; and while these late pagans were singing so correctly and impressively a hymn in a Christian church, many ‘weeping eyes,’ bore testimony that the act and its associations touched a chord that vibrated in many hearts. Cinque was then introduced to the audience, and addressed them in his native tongue. It is impossible to describe the novel and deeply interesting manner in which he acquitted himself. The subject of his speech was similar to that of his countryman who had addressed the audience in English, but he related more minutely and graphically the occurrences on board the Amistad. The easy manner of Cinque, his natural, graceful and energetic action, the rapidity of his utterance, and the remarkable and various expressions of his countenance, excited the admiration and applause of the audience. He was pronounced a powerful natural orator, and one born to sway the minds of his fellow men. Should he be converted and become a preacher of the cross in Africa, what delightful results may be anticipated!

“The amount of the statements made by Kin-na, Fu-li and Cinque, and the facts in the case, are as follows:—These Mendians belong to six different tribes, although their dialects are not so dissimilar as to prevent them from conversing together very readily. Most of them belong to a country which they call Mendi, but which is known to geographers and travellers as Kos-sa, and lies south-east of Sierra Leone; as we suppose, from sixty to one hundred and twenty miles. With one or two exceptions, these Mendians are not related to each other; nor did they know each other until they met at the slave factory of Pedro Blanco, the wholesale trafficker in men, at Lomboko, on the coast of Africa. They were stolen separately, many of them by black men, some of whom were accompanied by Spaniards, as they were going from one village to another, or were at a distance from their abodes. The whole came to Havana in the same ship, a Portuguese vessel named Tecora, except the four children, whom they saw, for the first time, on board the Amistad. It seems that they remained at Lomboko several weeks, until six or seven hundred were collected, when they were put in irons and placed in the hold of a ship, which soon put to sea. Being chased by a British cruiser, she returned, landed the cargo of human beings, and the vessel was seized and taken to Sierra Leone for adjudication. After some time, the Africans were put on board the Tecora. After suffering the horrors of the middle passage, they arrived at Havana. Here they were put into a barracoon, one of the oblong enclosures, without a roof, where human beings are kept, as they keep sheep and oxen near the cattle markets, in the vicinity of our large cities, until purchasers are found, for ten days, when they were sold to Jose Ruiz, and shipped on board the Amistad, together with the three girls and a little boy who came on board with Pedro Montez. The Amistad was a coaster, bound to Principe, in Cuba, distant some two or three hundred miles. The Africans were kept in chains and fetters, and were supplied with but a small quantity of food or water. A single banana, they say, was served out as food for a day or two, and only a small cup of water for each daily. When any of them took a little water from the cask, they were severely flogged. The Spaniards took Antonio, the cabin-boy and slave to Captain Ferrer, and stamped him on the shoulder with a hot iron; then put powder, palm oil, &c. upon the wound, so that they ‘could know him for their slave.’ The cook, a colored Spaniard, told them that on their arrival at Principe, in three days, they would have their throats cut, be chopped in pieces, and salted down for meat for the Spaniards. He pointed to some barrels of beef on the deck, then to an empty barrel, and by significant gestures,—as the Mendians say, by ‘talking with his fingers,’—he made them understand that they were to be slain, &c. At four o’clock that day, when they were called on deck to eat, Cinque found a nail, which he secreted under his arm. In the night they held a counsel as to what was best to be done. ‘We feel bad,’ said Kin-na, ’and we ask Cinque what we had best do. Cinque say, “Me think, and by and by I tell you.”’ He then said, ‘If we do nothing, we be killed. We may as well die in trying to be free as to be killed and eaten.’ Cinque afterwards told them what he would do. With the aid of the nail and the assistance of Grabeau, he freed himself from the irons on his wrists and ancles, and from the chain on his neck. He then, with his own hands, wrested the irons from the limbs and necks of his countrymen. It is not in my power to give an adequate description of Cinque when he showed how he did this and led his comrades to the conflict and achieved their freedom. In my younger years I saw Kemble and Siddons, and the representation of Othello, at Covent Garden, but no acting that I ever witnessed came near that to which I allude. When delivered from their irons, the Mendians, with the exception of the children, who were asleep, about four or five o’clock in the morning, armed with cane-knives, some boxes of which they found in the hold, leaped upon the deck. Cinque killed the cook. The captain fought desperately. He inflicted wounds on two of the Africans, who soon after died, and cut severely one or two of those who now survive. Two sailors leaped over the side of the vessel. The Mendians say ‘they could not catch land—they must have swum to the bottom of the sea,’ but Ruiz and Montez supposed they reached the island in a boat. Cinque now took command of the vessel; placed Si-si at the helm; gave his people plenty to eat and drink. Ruiz and Montez had fled to the hold. They were dragged out, and Cinque ordered them to be put in irons. They cried and begged not to be put in chains, but Cinque replied, ‘You say fetters good for negro—if good for negro good for Spanish man too: you try them two days, and see how you feel.’ The Spaniards asked for water, and it was dealt out to them in the same little cup with which they had dealt it out to the Africans. They complained bitterly of being thirsty. Cinque said, ‘You say little water enough for nigger. If little water do for him, a little do for you too.’ Cinque said the Spaniards cried a great deal; he felt very sorry; only meant to let them see how good it was to be treated like the poor slaves. In two days the irons were removed; and then, said Cinque, we give them plenty water and food, and treat them very well. Kin-na stated that as the water fell short, Cinque would not drink any, nor allow any of the rest to drink any thing but salt water, but dealt out daily a little to each of the four children, and the same quantity to each of the two Spaniards! In a day or two Ruiz and Montez wrote a letter, and told Cinque that when they spoke a vessel, if he would give it to them, the people would take them to Sierra Leone. Cinque took the letter and said, ‘Very well;’ but afterwards told his brethren, ‘We have no letter in Mendi. I don’t know what is in that letter—there may be death in it. So we will take some iron and a string, bind them about the letter, and send it to the bottom of the sea.’

“When any vessel came in sight, the Spaniards were shut down in the hold, and forbidden to come on deck on pain of death. One of the Africans, who could talk a little English, answered questions when they were hailed from other vessels.

“It is unnecessary to narrate here subsequent facts, as they have been published throughout the country. After Cinque’s address a collection was taken, and the services were concluded by the Mendians singing Bishop Heber’s missionary hymn:

“‘From Greenland’s icy mountains.’

“At the conclusion of the meeting some linen and cotton table cloths and napkins, manufactured by the Africans, were exhibited, and eagerly purchased of them by persons present, at liberal prices. They are in the habit of purchasing linen and cotton at the shops, unravelling the edges about six to ten inches, and making, with their fingers, neat fringes, in imitation, they say, of ‘Mendi fashion.’ Large numbers of the audience advanced, and took Cinque and the rest by the hand. The transactions of this meeting have thus been stated at length, and the account will serve to show how the subsequent meetings were conducted, as the services in other places were similar.

“These Africans, while in prison, (which was the largest part of the time they have been in this country) learned but little comparatively, but since they have been liberated, they have been anxious to learn, as they said ‘it would be good for us in our own country.’ Many of them write well, read, spell and sing well, and have attended to arithmetic. The younger ones have made great progress in study. Most of them have much fondness for arithmetic. They have also cultivated as a garden fifteen acres of land, and have raised a large quantity of corn, potatoes, onions, beets, et cet., which will be useful to them at sea. In some places we visited, the audience were astonished at the performance of Kali, who is only eleven years of age. He would not only spell any word in either of the Gospels, but spell sentences, without any mistake, such sentences as ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,’ naming each letter and syllable, and recapitulating as he went along, until he pronounced the whole sentence. Two hundred and seven dollars were received at this meeting.

“‘On Sabbath evening a meeting was attended in Rev. Mr. Beman’s Church, (colored.) It was impossible for all to gain admittance—collected sixteen dollars and fifty-one cents. The same evening a meeting was held at Elder N. Colver’s. A very warm interest was manifested by this congregation, and the sum of ninety dollars was contributed. The next morning a respectable mechanic, a member of this church, offered to go to Mendi with his wife and child, to take up their permanent abode there. On Monday we proceeded to Haverhill. It was a rainy day, and town meeting was held at the same hour. The audience was small, but a deep interest was felt, and fifty-six dollars contributed. Rev. Charles Fitch opened the meeting with prayer. The Mendians and their friends will long remember the hospitality and generosity of their friends in this place. After a stay of two hours, we proceeded to Lowell. The heavy rain prevented a general attendance. Only thirty-one dollars was collected, beside some private donations. Mr. John Levi, a colored citizen, rendered important services to us, and several of the clergymen and other inhabitants rendered efficient aid. On Tuesday we went to Nashua, N.H., and remained two hours. Owing to some untoward circumstances, the inhabitants generally had not been notified of the meeting. A small number only attended. The collection was twenty-seven dollars. In the evening at Lowell, the large Methodist Church, St. Paul’s, was crowded, one thousand five hundred people being present, it was said, and many hundreds unable to get admission. The meeting was opened with an appropriate prayer by Rev. Luther Lee. In order to give an opportunity to the audience to see and hear Cinque, he was invited into the pulpit, where he made an energetic address. One hundred and six dollars were collected. At the close of the services, nearly the whole congregation came forward and took the Mendians by the hand, with kind words and many presents. The ministers of all denominations attended the meeting, with many of the most respectable citizens. During the day the Africans were invited to visit the ‘Boott Corporation,’ and were conducted over the whole establishment (cotton mills,) by the agent, Mr. French. As might be supposed, they were astonished beyond measure. After inspecting the machinery, the fabrics, and the great wheel, one of them turned to me and said, ‘Did man make this?’ On receiving a reply, he said, ‘He no live now—he live a great while ago.’ Afterwards they visited the carpet factory, and expressed great delight at the beauty and excellence of the carpets and rugs. Cinque wished to purchase a miniature hearth rug, but the agent allowed him to select one of the large and beautiful rugs to take to Mendi, which he generously presented to him. The workmen here—chiefly Englishmen—made a collection of fifty-eight dollars and fifty cents on the spot, and presented it to the Mendi Fund.

“In pursuance of previous arrangements, we turned aside, Wednesday, November 12, to attend a meeting in the large South Church in Andover, at 9 o’clock, A.M. The house was crowded in every part. Dr. Edwards led in prayer, and Dr. Woods interrogated some of the Mendians. After a stay of two hours we returned to the cars, followed by a large multitude. Collected eighty-four dollars. It was remarked at the meeting here, as in other places, that the contemplated mission to Mendi was to be an anti-slavery mission; that no money would be solicited or received of slave holders; that the committee were not connected with any other missionary associations, and would not assume a hostile attitude towards any. A young gentleman here offered to go to Mendi as a teacher.

“In the afternoon a meeting was held in Boston, at the Marlboro’ Chapel. The scholars in the Sabbath and week-day schools had been notified of it and attended in large numbers, together with several respectable inhabitants of Boston and the neighboring towns. The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. W.B. Tappan. The collection was one hundred and ten dollars. In the evening a meeting was held at the Melodeon, and was attended by a large number of persons. Collection one hundred and thirty-three dollars. The next day, Thursday the 11th, we left for Springfield. The meeting was held in the evening, at the Town Hall, as some of the Parish committee objected to its being held in the church, fearing it would desecrate the place. The Hall was crowded, and many could not gain admittance. Dr. Osgood opened the meeting with prayer, took several of the Mendians to his own house, and manifested a deep interest on their behalf, as did many of the other inhabitants. The Mendians were all hospitably entertained in this place without expense. Some ‘fellows of the baser sort’ insulted Kin-na and others as they went to the Hall; and in the introduction of his speech, Kin-na spoke of the treatment he had received. But there are many warm-hearted and generous friends of the colored race in this town. ‘We said nothing to them,’ said Kin-na; ‘why did they treat us so? What can we do? We are few and feeble. What can the dog do when the lion attacks him; or what can be done when the cat and the mouse come together!’ Collection seventy-three dollars. The Mendians were invited by Mr. Burleigh to see a large picture exhibiting here—‘The Descent of Christ from the Cross,’ copied from Rubens—and were highly gratified.

“Here we received a cordial invitation from two of the ministers of Northampton and several of their people to visit that place, with the assurance that the First Church, the largest in the county, should be opened for the Mendians. On the 12th we rode to N. in the rain. Mount Tom and the Connecticut River were pointed out to Cinque, who said, ‘In my country we have very great mountain—much bigger than that—and river about so wide, but very deep.’ The weather cleared away towards night, and the church was nearly filled. Rev. Mr. Pennington, colored minister of Hartford, opened the meeting with prayer. Collection seventy-five dollars, in addition to seventeen dollars from the Female Abolition Society; fifty-three dollars collected before we arrived, and eighty-five contributed by ‘a friend,’ a short time since. The reception here was warm-hearted. Mr. Warner, keeper of the principal hotel in that place, furnished the Mendians with one of his best rooms, seated them at the table with his family and boarders, and, on being asked for his bill the next day, he replied, ‘There is nothing to pay!’ The agents of the Nashua and Andover rail roads also declined taking pay for the passages of the Mendians. On Saturday, we rose at 3 o’clock, P.M., and returned to Springfield. Here we took the steam boat for Hartford. On arriving, application was made to Mr. Colton, keeper of the Temperance Hotel, to accommodate the Mendians. He demurred. Mr. Warner’s noble treatment of them was mentioned. Mr. C. said he could not place them at his table. He was told that this was not insisted upon; that if he would furnish me a room they could eat there, and sleep wherever it was convenient to Mr. C. But he absolutely refused to entertain them any how. As this house has been patronized by abolitionists, they ought to know this fact. After remaining in the cold on the wharf about an hour, the Mendians were received and hospitably entertained by several families without charge.

“On the Sabbath, November 14, they attended public worship in Rev. Mr. Pennington’s church. In the afternoon the church was filled. An address was made by the writer, and the Mendians read in the Testament and sang a hymn. Collection eight dollars. In the evening a meeting was held in the Centre Church, Rev. Dr. Hawes’s. Notices were read in the other churches, and handbills had been posted the previous day. The church, in every part, was crowded, and large numbers were unable to obtain admittance. Dr. Hawes opened the meeting with prayer. The services were of an interesting character. Collection eighty dollars. Dr. Hawes interrogated Kin-na. He said, ‘The Mendi people believe in a Great Spirit, although they do not worship him. They know they have souls. We think,’ said Kin-na, ‘we make clothes. Dog can’t do this. He no soul, but we have.’ He said on another occasion, when asked if his people believed in a future state, ‘The Mendi people all Sadducees.’ Kin-na said that they ‘owe every thing to God. He keep them alive, and give them free. When he go home to Mendi, they tell their brethren about God, Jesus Christ, and heaven.’ Fu-li, on a former evening, being asked, ‘What is faith?’ replied, ‘Believing in Jesus Christ, and trusting in him.’ Their answers to questions show that they have read and that they understand the Scriptures, and hopes are entertained that one or two at least know experimentally the value of religion. The fact that there is no system of idolatry in Mendi for missionaries to oppose and the natives technically to adhere to, is an encouraging fact with regard to the contemplated mission. Another pleasing and remarkable fact exists: labor is suspended every seventh day, and has been from time immemorial. They do not engage in any religious services, but dress in their best apparel, feast on that day,—as some do here,—visit, &c. This day, 15th, Rev. Mr. Gallaudet and Mr. Brigham have invited the Mendians to visit the Deaf and Dumb Asylum and the Insane Institution. On a person’s giving, by signs, the deaf and dumb alphabet to Mar-gru, one of the girls, she, in a few minutes, repeated nearly the whole. They told Mr. Brigham that there were insane people and idiots in Mendi, and described their actions and the treatment of them. Two of the Mendians will be detained as witnesses in Hartford this day, in a cause appealed from a lower court. Some of the Mendians were grossly assaulted at Farmington some time since, on a training day; and those who committed the assault and battery were convicted and fined. An appeal was taken. When thus assailed, the Mendians, as usual, exhibited their peaceful disposition, and said, ‘We no fight.’ On Wednesday there is to be a large fare meeting at Farmington—on which occasion Dr. Hawes is to preach. In a few days the Mendians will embark from New York. May the Lord preserve them, and carry them safely to their native land, to their kindred and homes. Su-ma, the eldest, has a wife and five children. Cinque has a wife and three children. They all have parents or wives, or brothers and sisters. What a meeting it will be with these relations and friends, when they are descried on the hills of Mendi! We were invited to visit other places, but time did not allow of longer absence. I must not forget to mention that the whole band of these Mendi are teetotallers. At a tavern where we stopped, Ban-na took me aside, and with a sorrowful countenance, said, ‘This bad house—bar house—no good.’ But the steam boat is at the wharf, and I must close. The collections in money, on this excursion of twelve days, is about one thousand dollars, after deducting travelling expenses. More money is needed to defray the expenses of the Mendians to their native land, and to sustain their religious teachers. Very truly yours,

“LEWIS TAPPAN.”

But to conclude the narrative of these interesting Africans. After all the trickery on the part of the U.S. government, it was finally decreed by the Supreme Court, that the Mendians were free persons, and might go whither they pleased. They were unanimous for returning to their native country. The Mendian negroes, thirty-five in number, embarked from New York for Sierra Leone, on the 27th of the 11th month, (November,) 1841, on board the barque Gentleman, Captain Morris, accompanied by five missionaries and teachers. The British government has manifested a praiseworthy interest in their welfare, and will assist them to reach their own country from Sierra Leone. Their stay in the United States has been of immense service to the anti-slavery cause, and there is reason to hope that under their auspices, Christianity and civilization may be introduced into their native country.

APPENDIX F. p. 76.


Extract from an Essay by WILLIAM JAY, “On the Folly and Evils of War, and the Means of Preserving Peace.”

“But, after all that can be said against war, and after the fullest admission of its folly, cruelty, and wickedness, still the question recurs, how can it be prevented? It would be an impeachment of the Divine economy to suppose that an evil so dreadful was inseparably and inevitably connected with human society. We are informed, by Divine authority, that wars proceed from our lusts; but our lusts, although natural to us, are not invincible. He who admits the free agency of man, will not readily allow that either individuals or nations are compelled to do evil. The universal prevalence of Christian principles must, of necessity, exterminate wars; and hence we are informed, by revelation, that when righteousness shall cover the earth, ‘the nations shall learn war no more.’

“And are we to wait, it will be inquired, till this distant and uncertain period for the extinction of war? We answer, that revelation affords us no ground to expect that all mankind will previously be governed by the precepts of justice and humanity; but that experience, reason, and revelation, all unite in leading us to believe that the regeneration of the world will be a gradual and progressive work. Civilization and Christianity are diffusing their influence throughout the globe, mitigating the sufferings and multiplying the enjoyments of the human family. Free institutions are taking the place of feudal oppressions—education is pouring its light on minds hitherto enveloped in all the darkness of ignorance—the whole system of slavery, both personal and political, is undermined by public opinion, and must soon be prostrated; and the signs of the times assure us that the enormous mass of crime and wretchedness, which is the fruit of drunkenness, will, at no very remote period, disappear from the earth.

“And can it be possible, that, of all the evils under which humanity groans, war is the only one which religion and civilization, and the active philanthropy of the present day, can neither remove nor mitigate? Such an opinion, if general, would be most disastrous to the world, and it will now be our endeavor to prove that it is utterly groundless. * * * *

“We have often seen extensive national alliances for the prosecution of war, and no sufficient reason can be assigned why such alliances might not be formed for the preservation of peace. It is obvious that war might instantly be banished from Europe, would its nations regard themselves as members of one great Society, and erect a court for the trial and decision of their respective differences.

“But we are told that such an agreement among the nations is impossible. It is unquestionably so at present, for the obvious reason, that time is necessary to enlighten and direct public opinion, and produce a general acquiescence in the plan, as well as to arrange the various stipulations and guaranties that would be requisite. It is certainly not surprising, that those who suppose a congress of nations for the maintenance of peace, can only be brought about by a simultaneous movement of the various states and kingdoms of the earth, who are to continue to battle with each other till the signal is given for universal peace and harmony, should be startled at the boldness and absurdity of the project. But this boldness and absurdity belong not to the project we advocate. We have no expectation whatever of any general, much less simultaneous effort of mankind in behalf of peace. A congress for the decision of national differences, instead of arising in the midst of the present military policy of Europe, must be preceded by an extensive, although partial abandonment of war, and will be the effect and not the cause of the general diffusion of pacific sentiments.

“Hence it is in vain to look for a sudden and universal cessation of war, even among civilized and Christian nations. But reason and experience warrant the hope that some one State may be led to adopt a pacific policy, and thus set an example which through the blessing of Providence, and the prevalence of Christian principles, may usher in the reign of universal peace.

“But by whom, and in what way it will be asked, is this example to be set? It may be a feeling of national vanity, and it may be a reference to the peculiarities of our local, social, and political condition, that inspires the hope, that to the United States is to be reserved the glory of teaching to mankind the blessings of peace, and the means of preserving them. * *

“But in what way are we to make the experiment? Certainly in the way least likely to excite alarm and opposition. In every effort to promote the temporal or spiritual welfare of others, we should consider things as they really are, and not merely as they ought to be, and we should consult expediency as far as we can do so, without compromising principle. * * *

“Of all the nations with whom we have relations, none probably enjoy in an equal degree our good will, as France. No spirit of rivalry in commerce or manufactures exists between us, no adjacent territory furnishes occasion for border aggressions and mutual criminations, while our past relations afford subjects of pleasing and grateful recollection, and at present we see no prospect of the interruption of that harmony which has so long subsisted between the two nations.

“Let us suppose that under these propitious circumstances, a convention should now be concluded between the two governments, by which it should be agreed, that if unhappily any difference should hereafter arise between us, that could not be adjusted by negociation, neither party should resort to arms, but that they should agree on some friendly power, to whom the matter in difference should be referred, and whose decision should be final; or that if it should so happen that the parties could not concur in selecting an umpire, that then each party should select a friendly power, and that the sovereigns or states thus selected, should, if necessary, call to their aid the assistance of a third.

“To what well founded objections would such a treaty be subject? It is true that treaties of this kind have been of rare occurrence, but all experience is in their favor. Vattel remarks (Law of Nations, book II., chap. 18,) ‘Arbitration is a method very reasonable, very conformable to the law of nature, in determining differences that do not directly interest the safety of the nation. Though the strict right may be mistaken by the arbitrator, it is still more to be feared that it will be overwhelmed by the fate of arms. The Swiss have had the precaution in all their alliances among themselves, and even in those they have contracted with the neighboring powers, to agree beforehand on the manner in which their disputes were to be submitted to arbitrators, in case they could not adjust them in an amicable manner. This wise precaution has not a little contributed to maintain the Helvetic Republic in that flourishing state which secures its liberty, and renders it respectable throughout Europe.’

“But it may be said, a nation ought not to permit others to decide on her rights and claims. Why not? Will the decision be less consistent with justice, from being impartial and disinterested? It is a maxim confirmed by universal experience, that no man should be judge in his own cause; and are nations less under the influence of interest and of passion than individuals? Are they not, in fact, still less under the control of moral obligation? Treaties have often been violated by statesmen and senators, who would have shrunk from being equally faithless in their private contracts. Is it to be supposed that the government of a friendly power, in a controversy between us and France, in which it had no interest, and with the observation of the civilized world directed to its decision, would be less likely to pronounce a fair and impartial judgment than either France or ourselves?

“But we can decide our own controversies for ourselves, it is said; that is, we can go to war and take our chance for the result. Alas, ‘it is an error,’ says Vattel, ’no less absurd than pernicious, to say that war is to decide controversies between those who, as in the case of nations, acknowledge no judge. It is power or prudence rather than right that victory usually declares for.’

—Book III. Chap. 3.

“The United States chose to decide for themselves the controversy about impressment, by appealing to the sword. In this appeal they of course placed no reliance on the propriety and justice of their claims, since such considerations could have no influence on the fate of battle; but they depended solely on their capacity to inflict more injury than they would receive themselves, and this difference in the amount of injury was to turn the scale in our favor. Our expectations, however, were disappointed. Our commerce was annihilated, our frontier towns were laid in ashes, our capital taken, our attempts upon Canada were repulsed, with loss and disgrace; our people became burthened with taxes, and we were at last glad to accept a treaty of peace which, instead of containing, as we had fondly hoped, a formal surrender on the part of Great Britain of the right of impressment, made not the slightest allusion to the subject.

“Let us now suppose that a treaty similar to the one we have proposed with France had, in 1812, existed between Great Britain and the United States; the question of impressment would then have been submitted to one or more friendly powers.

“It is scarcely possible that the umpires could have given any decision of this question that would have been as injurious to either party as was the prosecution of the war. Had the claims of Great Britain been sanctioned, some American seamen would, no doubt, have been occasionally compelled to serve in the British navy; but how very small would have been their number compared with the thousands who perished in the war; and how utterly insignificant would have been their sufferings resulting from serving on board a British instead of an American vessel, when weighed against the burdens, the slaughters, the conflagrations, inflicted on their country in the contest? If, on the other hand, the decision had been in our favor, Great Britain would have lost a few seamen from her navy, but she would have saved the lives of a far greater number, and she would have been spared an amount of treasure which would have commanded the services of ten times as many sailors as she could ever hope to recover by impressment.

“It is not, however, probable, that the umpires, anxious to do right, and having no motive to do wrong, would have sanctioned, without qualification, the claims of either party.

“We can scarcely anticipate any future national difference which it would not be more prudent and expedient to submit to arbitration than to the chance of war. However just may be our cause, however united our people, we cannot foresee the issue of the contest, nor tell what new enemies we may be called to encounter, what sacrifices to bear, what concessions to make.

“We have already partially commenced the experiment of arbitrament, by referring no less than three of our disputes to the determination of as many friendly powers. A difference as to the meaning of an article, in our last treaty of peace with Great Britain, was referred to the Emperor of Russia, who decided it in our favor. The question of our northern boundary was referred to the King of the Netherlands; and although the line he assigned was not the one claimed by either party, it was vastly less injurious to each, than would have been one month’s hostility on account of it. Our disputes with Mexico were verging rapidly to open war, when they were happily submitted to the King of Prussia, and are now in the course of satisfactory adjustment.

“A treaty with France of the character proposed, would greatly increase our importance in the estimation of all Europe—as it would permanently secure us from her hostility. It would be seen and felt, that whatever other nation might enter into collision with us, it could not expect the aid of France, but that under all circumstances we should enjoy the friendship and commerce of our ancient ally. These considerations would not be without their influence on England. She has colonies near us which we may capture, or essentially injure, and which cannot be defended by her, but at very inconvenient expense. A war with us must ever be undesired by her, for the obvious reason that in such a contest she has little to gain and much to lose. Our treaty also with France would deprive England of the aid of the only nation that could afford her effectual assistance in a war against us. She would therefore, find it her interest to avail herself of a similar treaty, and thus to secure herself from hostilities which on many accounts she must wish to avoid. Once assured by such treaties of permanent peace with France and England, we should find our alliance courted by the other powers of Europe, who would not readily consent that those two nations should have exclusively the uninterrupted enjoyment of our great and growing commerce. They would think it a matter of prudence also, to avoid the risk of collision with a powerful republic, that had already secured the permanent friendship of France and England; and they would hasten to contract similar treaties. Under such circumstances, every consideration of policy would prompt our South American neighbors to desire that their amicable relations with us might remain uninterrupted; and to them we might offer the same stipulations with full confidence of their cordial acceptance.

“And will it be said that all this is visionary and impossible? The plan we propose rests on no supposed reformation in the passions and propensities of mankind; but upon obvious principles of national interest, deduced from reason and experience, and susceptible of the plainest demonstration. It is a plan adapted to the existing state of civilized society, and accommodated to the passions and prejudices by which that society is influenced. It is indeed perfectly consistent with the precepts of Christianity, but it is also in accordance with the selfish dictates of worldly policy.

“To this plan we can imagine only one plausible objection, which is, that the treaties would not be observed. It is readily admitted that if the only guaranty for the faithful observance of these treaties consisted in the virtue and integrity of those who signed them, the confidence to be reposed in them would be faint indeed. Happily, however, we have a far stronger guaranty in national interest and in public opinion. * * *

“Dismissing then all idle fears that these treaties, honestly contracted and obviously conducive to the highest interests of the parties, would not be observed, let us contemplate the rich and splendid blessings they would confer on our country. Protected from hostile violence and invasion by a moral defence, more powerful than armies and navies, we might indeed beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks. The millions now expended in our military establishments could be applied to objects directly ministering to human convenience and happiness. Our whole militia system, with its long train of vices and its vexatious interruptions of labor, would be swept away. The arts of peace would alone be cultivated, and would yield comforts and enjoyments in a profusion and perfection of which mankind have witnessed no example. In the expressive language of Scripture, our citizens would each ‘sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with none to make him afraid,’ and our peaceful and happy republic would be the praise and glory of all lands. * * * * *

“It is impossible that a scene so bright and lovely should not attract the admiration and attention of the world. The extension of education in Europe, and the growing freedom of her institutions, are leading her population to think, and to express their thoughts. The governments of the eastern continent, whatever may be their form, are daily becoming more and more sensitive to public opinion. The people already restive under their burdens, would soon discover that those burdens would be greatly diminished by the adoption of the American policy. Before long, some state would commence the experiment on a small scale, and its example would be followed by others. In time these conventions would give way to more extended pacific alliances, and a greater number of umpires would be selected; nor is it the vain hope of idle credulity, that at last a union might be formed, embracing every Christian nation, for guarantying the peace of Christendom, by establishing a tribunal for the adjustment of national differences, and by preventing all forcible resistance to its decrees.

“It is unnecessary to discuss, at this time, the character and powers with which such a tribunal should be invested. Whenever it shall be desired, little difficulty will be experienced in devising for it a satisfactory organization; that it is possible to form such a court, and that next to Christianity it would be the richest gift ever bestowed by Heaven upon our suffering world, will be doubted by few who have patiently and candidly investigated the subject.

“But many who admit the advantages and practicability of the plan we have proposed, will be tempted to despair of success, by the apparent difficulty of inducing an effort for its accomplishment. Similar difficulties, however, have been experienced and overcome. The abolition of the slave trade, and the suppression of intemperance were once as apparently hopeless as the cessation of war. Let us again recur for instruction and encouragement to the course pursued by the friends of freedom and temperance. Had the British abolitionists employed themselves in addressing memorials to the various courts of Europe, soliciting them to unite in a general agreement to abandon the traffic, they would unquestionably have labored in vain, and spent their strength for nought. They adopted another and a wiser course. They labored to awaken the consciences of their own countrymen, and to persuade them to do justice and to love mercy; and thus to set an example to the rest of Europe, infinitely more efficacious than all the arguments and remonstrances which reason and eloquence could dictate.

“In vain might moralists and philanthropists have declaimed for ages on the evils of drunkenness, had no temperance society been formed till all mankind were ready to adopt a pledge of total abstinence. The authors of the temperance reformation did not lavish their strength and resources in attempting to convince the world of the blessings of temperance, but forming themselves into a temperance society, gave a visible and tangible proof that the principle they recommended was not merely expedient but practicable. And surely if we desire to persuade mankind that war is an unnecessary evil, it is indispensable that we should be able to point them to some instance in which it has been safely dispensed with; nor can we hope to effect a change in the opinion of Europe, while our own people remain unaffected by our assertions and arguments.

“Here then must be the field of our labors; and let those labors be quickened by the reflection, that while they are aimed at the happiness of the human race, they are calculated to confer on our beloved country a moral sublimity which no worldly glory can approach.

“But what are the means we shall use? The same by which the commerce in human beings was destroyed, and which are now driving intemperance from the earth—voluntary associations and the press.

“Let the friends of peace concentrate their exertions in Peace Societies; and let the press proclaim throughout our land, in all its length and breadth, the folly, the wickedness, and the horrors of war; and call on our rulers to provide for the amicable adjustment of national differences. In the first treaty that shall be formed for this purpose we shall behold the dawn of that glorious day, the theme of prophets and the aspirations of saints, when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

“The present age is propitious to the enterprise. It is an age of energy and of freedom. All the powers of mind are in full activity, and every eye and every ear is open to the reception of new truths. Science and philanthropy are daily achieving triumphs which the past century dared not imagine. The world is no longer governed by princes and senates, but by public opinion, and at the fiat of this mighty potentate, ancient institutions are levelled in the dust. Let this despot wield only a delegated authority, and each individual, however humble, can enhance or diminish his power. Who, then, will refuse to lend his assistance to enable public opinion to say to the troubled nations, ‘peace—be still;’ and to compel the rulers of the earth to refer their disputes to another tribunal than the sword.

“In this cause every man can labor, and it is a cause in which every man is called to labor, by interest and by duty. But it is a cause that peculiarly claims the zeal and devotion of Christians. They are the servants of Him who is not only the mighty God and the everlasting Father, but the Prince of Peace. They know that war is opposed to all his attributes, and contradicts the precepts of his word. Conscience gives her sanction to the means we have proposed, and prophecy assures us of the accomplishment of the object to which they are directed. Why, then, will not Christians use the talents and influence given them from above to effect this consummation? Let them not plead, in excuse for listlessness and indifference, that it is God alone who ‘maketh wars to cease to the end of the earth.’ In the moral government of the world, the purposes of its Almighty Ruler are accomplished by his blessing upon human means. He has promised that righteousness shall cover the whole earth; and in reliance on this promise, his servants are now bearing the everlasting Gospel to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people. He has also promised that nations shall learn war no more, and in his faithfulness we have all the incentive which certainty of ultimate success can give to human exertion. And in what cause can the energies of Christian benevolence be more appropriately exercised? To prevent war is to avoid the effusion of human blood, and the commission of innumerable crimes and atrocities;—it is to diffuse peace, and comfort, and happiness, through the great family of man,—it is to foster the arts and sciences which minister to the wants of society,—it is to check the progress of vice,—to speed the advance of the gospel,—to rescue immortal souls from endless misery,—and to secure to them a felicity as durable as it is inconceivable.

“To him who in faith and zeal labors in this great and holy cause a rich reward is secured. While doing good to others, he is himself a sharer in the blessing he bestows. The very exercise of his benevolent affections affords a pure and exquisite delight, and when he enters the world of peace and love, he shall experience the full import of those cheering, but mysterious words—Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the children of God.”’

Appendix G. P. 89 — Opium War With China

“TO THE CHRISTIAN PUBLIC OF GREAT BRITAIN.

“In again appealing to you in reference to the opium war in China, I will begin by quoting the following extracts from a letter which I addressed to you on the 19th of the Third Month, 1840.

“‘It is now too notorious to render needful entering at large into the subject, that the guilty traffic in opium, grown by the East India Company, to be smuggled into China, at length compelled the Chinese Government to vindicate the laws of the Empire, which prohibit its introduction, and to take decisive measures for the suppression of the traffic, by the arrest of the parties concerned in it at Canton, and the seizure and destruction of the opium found in the Chinese waters.A It is also well known that the superintendent of the British trade, (Capt. Elliott) so far compromised his official character and duty, as to take under his protection one of the most extensive opium smugglers, and thus rendered himself justly liable to the penalties to which they were obnoxious; and at the same time gave, as far as was in his power, the sanction of the British nation to this unrighteous violation of the Chinese laws.

“‘The following fact is, however, not so generally known. An individual,B now in this country, who has acquired immense wealth by this unlawful trade, has been in communication with the Government, and his advice, it is presumed, has in no small degree influenced the measures they have adopted; though a leading partner in a firm to which a large proportion of the opium that was destroyed belonged; and at the very time he was claiming compensation, or urging a war with China, his house in India was sending armed vessels loaded with opium, along the coast of China, and selling it in open defiance of the laws of that Empire. This information, with the names of the vessels and the parties concerned, the number of chests of opium on board, the enormous profits they were realizing, et cet., was some time ago communicated to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on authority which he did not and could not dispute.’

“On the 7th of April, Sir James Graham brought forward a motion in the House of Commons, in reference to this subject, but in a manner which gave it so much of a party character, that our cruel injustice to the Chinese, and the disgraceful conduct of our Government in attacking them, was lost sight of by many, whose professed principles ought to have made them foremost in condemning these proceedings. The Whig Ministry having intimated they would resign if Sir J. Graham carried his motion, every other consideration was forgotten in anxiety lest a political party should be injured or lose office.

“This feeling not only pervaded the supporters of the Government in the House of Commons, but also extended to many leading religious professors of various denominations; and thus no public feeling sufficiently strong could be raised to counteract in Downing-street, the combined and powerful influence of the East India Company and the wealthy opium smugglers; though public meetings were held in London and many places in the country, and petitions forwarded justly deprecating this war, as one of almost unparalleled iniquity. At the meeting in the metropolis, which was held at Freemason’s Hall, and at which the Earl of Stanhope presided, the following resolutions were passed:—

“‘1. That this meeting, whilst it most distinctly disavows any party or political objects, and deprecates most strongly any such construction being put upon its efforts, deeply laments that the moral and religious feeling of the country should be outraged—the character of Christianity disgraced in the eyes of the world—and this kingdom involved in war with upwards of three hundred and fifty millions of people, in consequence of British subjects introducing Opium into China, in direct and known violation of the laws of that Empire.

“‘2. That, although the Chinese have not been heard in their defence, the statements adduced by the advocates of the war, clearly establish the fact, that the East India Company, the growers of and traffickers in opium, and British subjects who received the protection of the laws of China, have been, throughout, the wrong doers; therefore this meeting (without reference to the conviction of many, that all war is opposed to the spirit and precepts of the gospel,) holds it to be the bounden duty of the government immediately to effect an equitable and pacific settlement of the existing differences with China.

“‘3. That all traffic in opium with the Chinese being contraband, the opium which was surrendered to their government was justly confiscated; and that to demand payment from the Chinese, to make reprisals upon them, or, for this country to give compensation to the British merchants thus engaged in smuggling, would be to sanction and even grant a premium on crime.

“‘4. That the petition now read be adopted by this meeting, and presented to both Houses of Parliament; and that the Right Honorable Earl Stanhope be requested to present the same to the House of Lords, and Lord Sandon to the House of Commons.

“‘5. That the resolutions of this meeting be published at the discretion of the Committee; and that a copy of them in the Chinese language be transmitted, through the High Commissioner Lin, to the Emperor of China.’

“Since this period, I have been in company with several Englishmen who were at Canton at the time of the seizure of the opium; and though some of them were concerned in the trade themselves, and were naturally biassed in favor of their own country, they all agreed in condemning the proceedings of the English. I have recently spent some time in the United States, whose intercourse with China is extensive and frequent, and where the merits of this case are clearly understood by many of the most intelligent and candid-minded citizens; and these, without any exception, considered the acts of the British government in this matter as some of the most flagrant that ever disgraced a civilized, much less a Christian people.

“On my return to this country I found a new administration entering upon office; the members of which have, for the most part, condemned the conduct of their predecessors in relation to this war; and I again, therefore, venture to appeal to the Christian public of my country that they may, without delay, forward petitions, or memorials, strongly urging a reference of the existing differences with China to commissioners mutually appointed, who shall be authorized to adjust them, and also to determine upon the best means of entirely suppressing the guilty traffic in opium. The present government are not yet committed to this cruel war; and may no difference of political views deter you from the faithful discharge of this Christian duty! Even should you not succeed in inducing our rulers to adopt this course, or the overtures of this country be rejected by the Chinese, you will have satisfaction in having made the attempt.

“One-third of the human race are now receiving their impressions of the Christian religion, by its professors waging a murderous war to compel them to make restitution to the contraband opium dealers, for the destruction of this deadly poison, which continues to be grown by the East India Company, and poured into China in defiance of all laws, human and divine. Besides the loss of life sustained by the Chinese, and the fearful mortality amongst the British troops, from the unhealthiness of the climate, it is probable that little short of ten millions sterling has already been expended in naval and military armaments, and the enhanced price of tea and sugar,A in the monstrous attempt to force the Chinese to pay about two millions to those opium smugglers. All this, be it remembered, is added to the burdens upon the industry of our own oppressed population.

“Earnestly desiring that you may be induced to discharge your duty as Christians, and whatever may be the result, acquit yourselves of your share of the national guilt, I conclude with the words of a friend: ‘For my own part, I think the present distress of the nation may be the retributive chastisement of our recent atrocious war in China and the East. * * * All history, and the daily march of events, demonstrate the perpetual retributive interference of an overruling providence. Yet this doctrine, proclaimed as loudly by experience as by revelation, and as legibly written on the page of history as in the Bible, appears to have not the smallest practical influence on the most enlightened statesmen, and the most Christian and enlightened nation in the world.’

“Very respectfully,

“JOSEPH STURGE.

“Birmingham, 9th Month 30th, 1841.”
“10th Month 9th, 1841.

“Since writing the foregoing, the intelligence has arrived that Canton has been seized; that ‘Gen. Sir Hugh Gough calculates the loss of the Chinese, in the different attacks, at one thousand killed and three thousand wounded;’ that the British have extracted six millions of dollars as a ransom for evacuating the city, which the Chinese call ‘opium compensation;’ and it is but too evident that the work of the wholesale murder of this unoffending people has but begun, for Capt. Elliot, who appears to have been too tender of shedding human blood to please his employers, is recalled, and is succeeded by Sir H. Pottenger, who, it is reported, has instructions from Lord Palmerston to demand fifteen millions of dollars for the opium smugglers, and the whole of the expenses of the war, and to secure the right to the British of planting armed factories in the different Chinese ports.

“Shall history record that no voice was raised by the Christians of Britain against the employment of their money, and that of their starving countrymen, in deeds like these!!”

Appendix H. P. 119 — Letter of A.L. Pennock

The following letter was addressed by Abraham L. Pennock, conveying his resignation of the office of Vice President of the American Anti-Slavery Society, (old organization,) after the occurrence of the painful divisions in the anti-slavery body, which have been already noticed. This letter is written in an excellent spirit, and clearly developes the cause of the separation.

“TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.

“Other reasons than those which will be presented in this letter, made it desirable to me to be released from any official connection with the Anti-Slavery Society. I thought those reasons so well known to some of the delegates from the Pennsylvania Society, and withal they were deemed by me of so much value, that I felt both surprise and regret at understanding that my name was continued as one of the vice presidents of the Parent Society. Thus saying, I am, nevertheless, bound to express my indebtedness for the kind feeling toward me, and confidence in my love for the slave, which, doubtless, induced the appointment.

“By an accident to my anti-slavery newspapers, I have just received the proceedings of the society at the above meeting. I am sorry to find in them superadded reasons for regret at my appointment, as that appointment seems to place me in the false position of appearing to be in favor of its leading measures; some of which, denunciatory of co-laborers in the abolition cause, have not my unity.

“In the heavy responsibilities of the former Executive Committee, I find a sufficient reason for their transfer of the ‘Emancipator’ and other property for which they stood personally engaged; and I therefore cannot join in affirming such transfer to be ‘a flagrant breach of trust;’ and their answer in justification of their course, ‘an attempt to defend which betrays an utter disregard of the rights of abolitionists.’

“Believing in the intellectual equality of the sexes, I go fully for women’s rights and duties. They possess a moral force of immense power, which they are bound to exert for the good of mankind; including emphatically so, those who are in the hopeless and most wretched condition of slaves. The belief of the value of female co-operation is common to the anti-slavery community; and the only question regarding it which has arisen, is, whether it shall be exerted in societies and conventions of women, or in societies and conventions of men and women, irrespective of sex. The question is of recent date, not even coeval with the modern anti-slavery enterprise; and the practice, at the origination of this enterprise, that of separate action. We can all bear testimony to the powerful impression upon the public mind, made by women, acting singly or in societies and conventions, before it was thought of merging their influence in a joint stock community with their brethren. Where can we find an anti-slavery organization more potential, and so dignified, as was the convention of American women? Is it therefore surprising that the question has not been conclusively settled by American abolitionists, that women ought to act identically on the same platform and in the same society with men; and that the practice, founded on this plan, still remains measurably local, and, by many conforming to it, is deemed experimental?

“In convening a World’s Convention, no innovation upon the general social usages was contemplated by our brethren in England who called it. The convention was meant to be a convention of men; and what was deficient of explicitness in the first notice was amply made up in the reiteration of the call. It was fully known before the appointment of delegates by the American Anti-Slavery Society that the intention of the committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society was such as is above explained. The views of the inviting party being known, it was competent to the invited to accept or reject the invitation, but not to modify its terms. The American Society, however, in face of the invitation, with a knowledge of the extreme sensitiveness of that portion of the British people whom the Convention would deem it important to conciliate, to any innovation upon established forms, and itself not united in discarding the distinctions of sex, resolved to send female delegates to the Convention, and thus, in effect, to appeal from the Committee to the paramount authority of the Convention, and with it to settle the American question.

“In exercising this authority we are to suppose, from the high moral, intellectual, and philanthropic standing of its members, the Convention, in adhering to the general usages of society, meant to perpetuate no injustice; and we know, from their very respectful attention to the rejected delegates, that they were influenced by no want of courtesy—I am satisfied that they acted according to their best impressions of duty, the carrying out of which was their high aim; and that the Convention was not the less a World’s Convention because it did not embrace both sexes as its members, or any reforms without the scope of its call. I cannot unite, therefore, in the resolutions declaring the proceedings of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society ‘arbitrary and despotic;’ or the act of the London Conference, excluding the female delegates of the American Society appointed in contradiction to the terms of the invitation, as ‘highly disrespectful to the delegates, and to us, their constituents, tyrannical in its nature, mischievous in its tendencies, and unworthy of men claiming the character of abolitionists.’

“Thus my views not being in harmony with the action of the society, in the particulars above referred to, my duty to it and myself is, to tender you this as my resignation of the office of Vice President for Pennsylvania, and not to await another election for withdrawing from it.

“With no heart for the controversies which have got in among my brethren, the common friends of the enslaved, and which are sadly wasting their anti-slavery strength, but with a warm heart for the legitimate objects of the American Anti-Slavery Society, I shall not cease anxiously to desire its prosperity and speedy triumph with these just limitations.

“Your friend,
“(Signed) ABRAHAM L. PENNOCK.
“Haverford, 6th Month 28th, 1841.”

Appendix I. P. 146 — Gerrit Smith’s Slaves

Extract of a Letter from James Cannings Fuller to Joseph Sturge.

“DEAR FRIEND,—Doubtless thou hast often thought of the visit to our mutual friend, Gerrit Smith, and dwelt on the recollection with pleasure. As thou requested me to furnish thee with the result of the case which was brought under our notice from the correspondence in the case of Sam and Harriet, I cheerfully comply, by giving thee a somewhat detailed account, believing it may be interesting to thee, and not unproductive of benefit to others.

“There are in America no small number of individuals whose circumstances, by parental gift or marriage endowments, are similar to those of our dear friend, Ann Carroll Smith. I would there were a host prepared, like her and her noble husband, to do sacrifice of their substance on the altar of human rights.

“Ann Carroll Fitzhugh is the daughter of the late Col. Wm. Fitzhugh, a slaveholder, who formerly resided in Hagerstown, Maryland. About twenty-three years ago, he removed to Geneseo, New York. Twenty human chattels, whom he brought with him, became free by the law of 1817; the remainder were left on his plantation, in Maryland. Mammy Rachael, who nursed the Colonel’s wife, on the births of James Fitzhugh and his sister Ann, gave to the former a boy, who was named Sam; and to the latter a girl, called Harriet. They grew up together, and ultimately formed a strong attachment. When Ann Fitzhugh was about eighteen years old, her brother wrote to inquire if she would give him Harriet, that she might become Sam’s wife. When it is considered that Ann was young and inexperienced; that she had been educated to consider slavery right; that the doctrine of inalienable personal ownership had not then been urged; and that the idea of bestowing a wife on her brother’s slave was naturally pleasing, it is no marvel that she cheerfully granted the request.

“James Fitzhugh removed from Maryland to Kentucky. In the course of events, his pecuniary affairs became embarrassed, and creditors grew clamorous for the adjustment of their claims. His effects were likely to be sold by the sheriff, and it was reported he had no legal title to Harriet. Under these circumstances, Gabriel Jackson prevailed on him to transfer Sam, his wife, and first-born child, to him, in payment of his debt. This man afterwards sold them to Samuel Worthington, a cotton planter of Mississippi; whose letter, in reply to Gerrit Smith, arrived the day we were at his house; and he being in doubt how to effect the redemption of the family, and their safe transportation, thou wilt remember that I agreed to effect both, to what I shall call the Elysian Fields, or, more properly, Eden. I started on the 26th of Seventh Month, via Lake Erie and the Erie Canal, which extends from north to south three hundred and nine miles through the State of Ohio. From the canal I took steam-boat down the Ohio, to Maysville, Kentucky. The mistress of the Eagle Hotel sat at her table as a queen, surrounded by many slaves. There seemed to be twice as many hands to do the work as were needful.

“From Maysville to Lexington (sixty-five miles) is the best road I ever travelled, not excepting the English roads. It is made and repaired with whitish limestone, from beginning to end. They told me the repairs were principally made by Irishmen, as slaves were not to be trusted to do the work. At starting, I observed that the mail bags were nearly empty; and the driver being questioned, informed me, that I could carry the whole mail in my coat pockets. When he told me he was a Pennsylvanian, I asked whether he could not earn as much in a free, as in a slave State. He said that eighteen dollars a month was the most he ever received for driving a team in a free State, and that now he received thirty dollars a month. This opened the way for a little anti-slavery talk. ‘Last Sunday night,’ said he, ‘I saw a big black man making the best of his way for Canada; I might have stopped him, and had the reward of two hundred dollars, which was offered.’

“I asked him whether it was best to have God’s blessing, with the fruits of his honest industry, or his curse, with two hundred dollars blood money. He answered, with moistened eyes, ‘I wish all the slaves were free,’ to which I responded, ‘Amen.’

“Some incidents connected with the escape of this negro, go to prove that slaves can ‘take care of themselves,’ by a little ingenuity, when occasion requires. Thinking it would be more expeditious, as well as more agreeable, to ride from slavery than to run from it, he took a horse; whether his master’s or not, I did not ascertain. The turnpike gates were a great hindrance, and greatly increased the risk of apprehension. To avoid this, just before reaching a turnpike gate, he let down a fence, carefully put it up again, to avoid pursuit, passed round the back of the keeper’s house, and came out through the fence beyond. As he was remounting his horse on one of these occasions, the driver came up with him. Supposing him to be one of the keeper’s family, he wished him good night, but instantly discovered by his voice that he was a colored man, putting his horse to full speed. When he returned to Paynestown, he heard people talking about a runaway, and told Dr. Whitehead he believed he had seen the man the night before: ‘I hope that he’ll get safe into Canada,’ was the reply.

“‘How can you say that, and be a slave-holder?’ asked the coachman.

“‘I wish there were no slaves,’ replied he; ‘and as soon as others will liberate theirs, mine shall go free.’

“Stage coaches afford no facilities to the poor fugitives. By the law of the United States’ Government, no colored man can drive a mail stage; neither can any colored man ride on one, unless he is known to be free, or is a slave travelling with his master. Stage owners incur heavy penalties if they infringe these rules. A verdict of one thousand six hundred dollars was lately recovered by a slave-master against the company.

“At Washington the stage was stopped to know if a colored boy could be put on. ‘Yes; where is he?’ ‘Up at the jail yonder.’ The querist took a seat inside; and soon after I spied a colored man on the outside, with keepers. He was a re-captured runaway, who had taken a horse with him, and imitated the Israelites, in borrowing various other articles, when he escaped from bondage. He assumed false whiskers and a pair of spectacles; and on reaching the Ohio river, produced free papers duly stamped with the county seal. But, unfortunately, when questioned where he had staid the preceding night, he foolishly attempted to describe the place, and was thus detected; two hundred dollars had been offered for him if taken out of the State, and one hundred dollars if taken in the State. To ride in a stage, with a man behind, whose legs and arms were fastened together with rivetted chains and padlocks, was enough to make one feel the force of Patrick Henry’s exclamation, ‘Give me liberty, or give me death!’ It was a poor consolation to administer to the gnawings of his hunger, while beholding his manly frame thus manacled: but I thought he seemed to eat my gingerbread with a better relish, when I told him it was made where colored men were free. At Payne’s tavern, in Fairview, the poor fellow had to undergo an examination from the landlord, and listen to a homily about truth-telling; so little do slave-holders seem aware that stealing and lying are constituent parts of their own system. In the stage office at Lexington, we encountered the man who claimed this poor fugitive. The driver, who had come with us the two last stages, was a native of Duchess Co., N.Y.; and he began to plead with the slave-holder in behalf of the slave. I heard of another case where the angry master threatened to flog and sell a recovered runaway, whom he had with him; but the stage driver remonstrated with him so effectually, that he wept like a child, and promised forgiveness to his slave.

“Having a great desire to see the imported cattle on Henry Clay’s plantation, I went thither. On approaching the house I saw a colored man, to whom I said, ‘Where wert thou raised?’ ‘In Washington.’ ‘Did Henry Clay buy thee there?’ ‘Wilt thou shew me his improved cattle?’ He pointed to the orchard, and said the man who had charge of them was there. As I followed his direction, I encountered a very intelligent-looking boy, apparently eight or nine years old. I said to him, ‘Canst thou read?’ ‘No.’ ‘Is there a school for colored people on Henry Clay’s plantation?’ ‘No.’ ‘How old art thou?’ ‘Don’t know.’ In the orchard I found a woman at work with her needle. I asked ‘How old art thou?’ ‘A big fifty.’ ‘How old is that?’ ‘Near sixty.’ ‘How many children hast thou?’ ‘Fifteen or sixteen.’ ‘Where are they?’ ‘Colored folks don’t know where their children is; they are sent all over the country.’ ‘Where wert thou raised?’ ‘Washington.’ ‘Did Henry Clay buy thee there?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How many children hadst thou then?’ ‘Four.’ ‘Where are they?’ ‘I don’t know. They tell me they are dead.’ The hut, in which this ‘source of wealth’ lives, was neither as good, nor as well floored as my stable. Several slaves were picking fruit in the orchard. I asked one of the young men whether they were taught to read on this plantation, and he answered, ‘No.’ I found the overseer of the cattle with a short handled stout whip, which had been broken. He said it answered both for a riding whip, and occasionally ’to whip off the slaves.’

“What, my friend, is to be learned from these gleanings at Ashland?—from the doings of our mutual friend, Joseph John Gurney’s ‘dear friend,’ Henry Clay: the man who boasts that ‘every pulsation of his heart beats high for liberty,’ yet is not ashamed to buy men and women at the Capitol!—that place which, above all others, ought not to be cursed by the footsteps of a slave. Yet I fear there are not wanting in the abolition ranks men so wedded to political party, that they may be tempted to vote for Henry Clay; serving their party and themselves thereby, and perchance thinking they serve their country.

“Do not think Clay a sinner above all other men. His slaves appeared to be well fed and well clothed. Indeed, the general superiority of condition in Kentucky slaves, over those of Maryland and Virginia, cannot fail to strike the most superficial observer.

“Pursuing my journey, I came to Blue Lick, whose waters are celebrated throughout the United States. At the spring I found several men, white and colored. I asked if I could have a drink. A white man said the waters were free to all. I asked, ‘Will they make all free?’ They again replied that the spring was free to all. ‘I perceive thou dost not understand my question,’ said I. But the countenances of the colored men brightened, and, with a cheerful tone, they answered significantly, ‘We know what you mean.’

“I found Samuel Worthington quite a different person than his letters had led me to imagine. When I introduced myself he appeared nervous and embarrassed. He was a Kentuckian by birth, but having met with reverses in fortune he went to Mississippi, and became an overseer; first on a salary of six hundred dollars, and afterwards two thousand dollars. He now owns a cotton plantation, with about one hundred and twenty slaves, and is reputed wealthy. He is considered an accomplished gentleman, of sound, discriminating, and feeling mind. I believe he is a kind master, in the common acceptation of the term; that is, he feeds and clothes his slaves well, and does not overwork them, though the overseer’s whip is the stimulus to labor. He gave me some account of provision; but the only item I remember is, that he cured twenty-five thousand pounds of pork annually, for his slaves. Far be it from me to say any thing disrespectful of him, except that he is a slave-holder; a word which, in my view, comprises ‘the sum of all villany,’ In my transactions with him, I found him fair and honorable, as far as it can be honorable to sell human flesh.

“He said he had long since received a letter from J. Fitzhugh, concerning Sam’s family; but as he knew their situation would not be bettered by being transferred to him, he had taken no notice of the application. When Gerrit Smith’s letter came, he supposed that the writer was not in earnest, ‘that it was all done for effect, and would end in smoke.’ He was surprised to learn, by G. Smith’s reply to him, that it was my intention to come to Harrodsburg; he regretted that it was so, as it disturbed him, and might break up his family arrangements. His wife had three small children, one of them a babe, and the proposed arrangements would leave her without assistance. He told me he was not a man to be driven; and I answered that we were well matched on that point, it would, however, be better for us both to ascertain coolly how far we could agree. He began by saying that he did not feel bound to sell the family, in consequence of what he had written to G. Smith; for he had only said that he might be induced to take four thousand dollars for them. After some preliminaries, he proposed that I should have a conversation with Sam; for he did not think he could be prevailed upon to leave him. I assured him I should do no such thing, until he and I had settled the question of dollars and cents. I had no idea of presenting the cup of freedom to Sam’s lips, and then having it dashed to the ground. ‘I do not believe,’ said I, ‘that there is a man on these grounds whom I could not induce to go with me from slavery; but if Sam has objections, let me talk with his wife.’

“‘No, that will not do,’ replied he; ‘she would go with you.’ ‘Yes,’ said I, ‘let me talk to your women of a mother’s right to herself and her offspring, and then see how many of them you would find willing to remain in bondage!’

“After various pros and cons, we concluded a bargain, subject of course to the parties being willing to leave the ‘patriarchal institution.’ Three thousand five hundred dollars were to be paid, and both of us together were to have an opportunity of conversing with Sam and his wife. The master probably felt so confident that his slave would not leave him, that he had not patience to wait the promised interview; for he popped the delicate question to him alone. Sam had been informed of the whole progress of the affair, from the time of G. Smith’s first letter; and he answered promptly that he would go so that before I met him, that difficult part of the business had ‘ended in smoke.’

“S. Worthington’s disappointment was the greater because I had told him that I had felt like one of old: ‘If the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this;’ that I could go back with a quiet mind; and that the consciences of my friends in Peterboro’ would doubtless be satisfied, having given Harriet and her family the liberty of choice, and thus made all the reparation in their power for having ever held her in slavery.

“The large price paid for the redemption of this family may surprise thee, especially if thou hast not forgotten that passage in Worthington’s letter where he says, ‘I am, to some extent, opposed to slavery; nor do I object to the efforts of abolitionists when done in a good spirit.’ It is, however, but justice to say that the description he gave of the family is strictly correct ‘They are all sprightly, remarkable for good character, and of course most valuable for house servants.’ He said he had repeatedly been offered two thousand dollars for Sam, and he believed he would command that sum any day from those who knew his worth; that his old master prised him very highly, particularly for his moral excellence; and, speaking of his conduct, described him as a ‘gentleman.’ Yet he talked as if he were certain that Sam and his family would be reduced to beggary if left to themselves at the North! The children, it is true, have had little preparation in slavery for self reliance; for the most favored of them cannot spell their own names.

“S. Worthington said many had inquired of him what business brought me there; and being informed of the object of my mission, they advised him to have nothing to do with me. ‘But,’ said he, ‘though I am certain the condition of Sam and his wife cannot be bettered, I do not think the same with regard to their children; and as Mr. Smith seems disposed to do a kind action, I cannot, in conscience, attempt to frustrate it. If I were to send you home without this family, I should have a troubled mind.’

“One of Worthington’s greatest difficulties in parting with these slaves was, that it would leave his wife destitute of servants. I pitied her, and felt it right to express my sympathy. I told her my compassion was increased, because I apprehended there was a struggle in her own breast between duty and interest; and I appealed to her whether she did not know it was a duty to let them go, though personal interest would induce her to keep them in her service. I was glad to perceive that these remarks enabled her to relieve herself of a weight—her countenance brightened up, and she appeared quite willing I should take them away. She showed great kindness to Harriet and her children, and evidently felt deeply moved at parting with the nurse, who had thrice been with her through nature’s sorest trials. She appeared to me to be a nice lady-like person; and, if I judge aright, she knows what estimate ought to be placed upon slavery in a woman’s mind.

“Those who know me will not suspect that I sought to conceal my abolition, even in the hot-bed of slavery. Yet I assure thee I had no intention of making it a common topic of conversation, unless the way appeared to open; but thy experience, I doubt not, as well as mine, proves that it is ever opening. The most we need to do is to embrace opportunities, without seeking to make them. I had not expected to say as much as I did, but it was such a curiosity for a Quaker to be seen in such company, that it was soon universally known why I had come and what I had done. This gave rise to many conversations with slave holders, which I trust did some good. I was astonished at their extreme ignorance concerning the laboring population of the North. Thou wilt perhaps be surprised to hear me assert that slave holders do not know what slavery is. Still more strange will it seem when I tell thee that thy old friend was highly complimented by them for his prudence and discretion! The story had become current that I would not talk to Sam till I had settled the business with his master; and as they generally professed to believe that abolitionists wished to incite the slave against their master, by every mischievous incentive they could devise, my conduct naturally enough seemed to them remarkable. I told them I must honestly abjure such complimentary language; for, so far from being what they would consider discreet, I was in fact an abolitionist of the most ultra school. I assured them that most of my associates at the North would have proceeded as I had done, and some of them probably with more discretion. I like much better to talk to a southerner on slavery than with a northern apologist. I regard him as far less mean. There is a mind to be appealed to for facts, and there is a feeling that can be reached by a simple testimony of republican truth. In this, the slave holder sometimes ‘sees his face as in a glass; but he goeth away and forgetteth what manner of man he is.’

“As my prudence and discretion had excited observation, I ventured to remark that it would be a great gratification to me, if the slave holders would meet together and let me occupy an hour or so in defining the true position and principles of the abolitionists; but this, as I had expected, was declined.

“When I paid the money, I felt constrained to testify that I could in no degree sanction the principle that man could hold property in man; that the slaves were our equals by creation, and for their salvation, equally with ours, did Christ leave the right hand of the Father to suffer on the cross. I told them that contradictory as it might seem to them, the man who was now paying money for slaves, had such a detestation of the system, that he deemed it a duty to abstain from eating or wearing any of the products of slavery. This seemed to them wondrous strange, and they inquired if there were many at the North who agreed with me in this scruple. I told them yes; that the number was increasing, and that my friend, Gerrit Smith, had abstained from slave produce for many years.

“A few hours previous to my final departure one after another gathered around me, and as we stood in the open piazza, I said what I could to explain the principles and practice of abolitionists. I think S. Worthington felt a little hurt at my being thus engaged, for when the stage drove up, he came in great haste to inform me that it was ready. I found it surrounded by many persons, principally colored, who had assembled to bid farewell to the objects of my charge. Their master shook each slave by the hand and bade them farewell. I observed him as we moved away, and thought he seemed to be a good deal moved from some cause or other.

“I took care that coachman and passengers should be informed of the history of Sam and his wife; and some one or other of them was sure to make it a subject of conversation wherever we stopped. At Lawrenceburg, where we put up for the night, the landlord was also stage proprietor and a slave holder. He tried to make me believe that his slaves were much better off than himself. He enumerated his troubles and perplexities in contrast with the blessed freedom from care enjoyed by his slaves. I told him he had made out his case very well; but to test his sincerity, I merely wished him to declare candidly, whether he should be altogether willing that himself and family should exchange places with a slave family. The test was too severe, and he walked off. Two young men at table then took up the conversation. The tyranny which slavery exercises over the entire community, was illustrated by the assertion that the head of a certain college did not dare to acknowledge himself an abolitionist; for if he did he would lose his office, which brought him in a good salary; and, moreover, the people of D—— would dismiss him from his pastoral charge. I of course took the ground that he could not be a truly Christian minister, who would purchase his bread and cheese at the expense of denying his own belief, or suppressing his own convictions.

“My host inquired whether I would sit at table with colored people; and he seemed much surprised when I answered, ‘I do not judge persons by their complexion, but by moral worth. At my own table I sit with colored people, and I shall with these.’

“The South, however, is much more free from prejudice against color than the north; provided the distinction between the classes is understood.—A gentleman may seat his slave beside him in a stage coach, and a lady makes no objection to ride next a fat negro woman, even when the thermometer is at ninety degrees; provided always that her fellow travellers understand she is her property.

“At Shelbyville the stage was likely to be crowded with new passengers, when I said to some young men who were about to get in, that I had a family with me who must not be turned out of the seats they had occupied. Samuel and his family took their accustomed seats, and those who could not find room rode on the roof of the coach; among them was a member elect of the Legislature. As we started, a well dressed man, among the crowd at the tavern-door, called out, ‘Go it abolition!’

“A crowd at this place attracted my attention, and I found it was an executor’s sale; comprising ‘lands, houses, furniture, horses, cows, hogs, and twenty likely negroes.’ Slaves must, however, be more of a cash article than other commodities; for they were to be sold on four months’ credit; real estate, on twelve and twenty four months, and all other property, six months’.

“At Louisville, we fell in with Elisha, brother of Samuel Worthington, on his return to Arkansas, where he had a cotton plantation. He manifested much openness and good will, and pressingly invited me to visit him, should I ever go down the Mississippi. After considerable conversation on slavery, he asked me what I thought would be the effect of my late visit. I replied, it was a subject I had often contemplated myself, but I did not know whether it had entered the heads of others. For my own part, I thought I had taught the slaveholders a lesson. They maintained that the slaves did not want their freedom; yet here was one, well fed and well clothed, and in fact living in clover, as far as a slave could do so, ready, without my asking him, to go with me among strangers. If he would leave such a kind master, what might not be expected of the oppressed field hand?

“‘Perhaps a quotation from Latimer would furnish you with a more direct reply to your question,’ said I, ‘You know he said at the stake—“We shall this day light such a fire in England, as I trust, by God’s grace, will never be put out.” And I believe my visit has kindled a flame of liberty in Harrodsburg, that shall burn for years to come; and, by its light, I trust, that many will find their way into Canada.’

“I told him, too, I had a question to ask, and I wanted a direct answer—yes, or no. ‘Were the slaves any worse off, since the question of abolition has been agitated?’

“He said they were not, excepting in one respect. Formerly, when a preacher came among them to hold meetings with the slaves, they had no objection; but now, they feared that slaves from different plantations might thus congregate together and plot mischief. I asked him if slaves in Mississippi were aware of abolition efforts in the North; and he said he believed they were.

“We parted with Samuel at Louisville, we taking the steam boat for Cincinnati, and leaving him to proceed to Worthington plantation for his boys. He stood and watched the departure of our boat with a soul full of emotion. He felt himself a connecting link between his sons in distant Mississippi, and his wife and daughters on their way to Peterboro’; and I was glad to see nature and affection gush forth in tears. They say colored people cannot take care of themselves, but I assure thee I had hard work to make these people move a step, till a safe plan was arranged for their absent children.

“When I went to pay the captain my fare, he asked whether the colored woman and girls were my property. I answered yes; but explained to him my peculiar situation, and I told him I detested the very name of slavery. He said they usually asked for a reference, but he felt sure that a person of my appearance would not tell him a falsehood. I told him I would show him my bill of sale, as soon as the hurry had subsided; not because I acknowledged his right to demand it, but because he was civil and polite, and I was willing to satisfy him. When I showed him the bill, he knew both the seller and the witness, as I had expected. I asked him whether, if I had brought a barrel of lard on board, he would have troubled me to prove property? He apologized by saying, that they had been imposed on by white men, who put slaves on board, under the pretence that they were free; and that the owners of the line had been obliged to pay six thousand dollars for fugitive slaves. I noticed there were no colored hands on board.

“On arriving at Buffalo, we put up at the Mansion House; and the first object that caught my eye was an advertisement, dated LIBERTY, in Missouri, offering three hundred dollars reward for three fugitive slaves. This is a free state with a vengeance! No stage riding for colored people here; moreover, it was with great difficulty I could obtain breakfast for my companions, though I had paid for it. I hope abolitionists will keep clear of such a pro-slavery atmosphere as surrounds the Mansion House.

“On board the cars, Colorophobia again began to rage; but the agent soon quelled it, by finding other seats for two persons, who thought better of themselves than others did of them. In the stage to Auburn, difficulty again occurred, and the driver wanted to return my money, when some of the passengers objected to the complexion of some of my companions. I told him the stage was too crowded to hold us at any event; but unless he sent us on to Auburn in good season, I should teach the company a lesson they would not soon forget. He did so; and I arrived safely at my own house, after an absence of twenty-six days, and a travel of one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five miles. The whole cost of redemption, including our travelling expenses, was three thousand five hundred and eighty-three dollars and eighty-one cents. (£807.)

“We had not been long there before Harriet said to my wife, ‘Madam, I return you a thousand thanks for letting your gentleman fetch us;’ and I believe she said no more than she felt, and I felt the force of her grateful acknowledgments.

“After two days’ rest, we proceeded to Gerrit Smith’s; where, as thou mayest well believe, we received the friendly welcome which those are wont to receive who visit his house.

“Skaneateles, 9th Month 14th, 1841.”

Appendix K. Page 159 — The Society of Friends in America and the Colonization Society

The “Friends” alluded to in the text as supporting the Colonization Society in a collective capacity, are those of North Carolina. In 1832 two influential “Friends” appeared at the Annual Meeting of the Colonization Society, as delegates from the Society of Friends in North Carolina. One of the resolutions passed at the time, is as follows:—“That the thanks of this Meeting be presented to the Society of Friends in North Carolina, for the aid they have liberally bestowed and repeatedly rendered to the cause of African Colonization.” The Yearly meeting of Friends in North Carolina stands among the donors of that year, as having contributed five hundred dollars to the Colonization Society. I fear no change has since taken place in the favorable disposition of “Friends” of that region towards this institution, for during one of my visits to Philadelphia, I was informed by a “Friend,” just returned from North Carolina, that an agent of the Colonization Society had been recently permitted to make an appeal before the members of the “Meeting of Sufferings” of that Yearly Meeting, which had afterwards granted him two hundred dollars out of the common stock of the Society. Nothing is more certain than that approbation of the principles and measures of the Colonization Society, cannot co-exist with any lively desires for the extinction of slavery, by the only practical means—emancipation; and accordingly I was not surprised to find it urged by some prominent individuals as a reason for their own inactivity, and that of the Society at large, on this subject, that “Friends” living within the slave States, urged their brethren at the North not to unite with the Anti-slavery Societies. It appears, however, that “Friends” of North Carolina do not, at all events, object to uniting or co-operating with those of other denominations, in promoting an object which they approve. Their objection to abolition societies evidently rests on quite different grounds.

I must here be permitted to say a few words, respecting the character and objects of the society, thus officially patronized by the Friends of North Carolina.

The greatest objection to this society, is its representing slavery, and the prejudice against color, as necessary and incurable evils, for which its own mockery of a remedy is the only palliative; and thus administering an opiate to the consciences, not only of slave-holders, but of others who are unwilling to part with their sinful prejudices, and to enter into that fellowship of suffering with the enslaved, without which no efforts for the removal of slavery will be effectual.

The following extracts, elucidating this subject, are from a printed letter written by a friend of high station and extensive influence, then residing in North Carolina, but now of the State of Indiana, in defence of the Colonization Society. It is dated “Third Month 4th, 1834,” and I suppress his name, because time and reflection have, I believe, in some degree modified his views.

Speaking of the opposition of Friends in England to the Colonization Society, he says, “I have supposed that they would think it more consistent with Christian principles to emancipate them in the Southern States, and let them remain there, as they have done in the Northern States. I apprehend that Friends in England are not fully apprised of some important circumstances, which place the Southern States in a very different situation from the Northern. In the first place, there never were so many people of color in the Northern States, as there are in the Southern; and another circumstance that diminished them there, and increased them greatly here, was while the Northern States were legislating on the subject of gradual emancipation, avaricious masters sent them by thousands to the Southern markets, before the emancipating laws were actually passed, which left a small proportion in those States, in comparison to the whites; not many more, perhaps, than they were willing to have for laborers, waiting men, waiting women, et cet. And notwithstanding they have freed their slaves, for which they are entitled to applause, yet they never dreamed of raising them to equal citizenship and privileges with the white people. No, my friend, they can no more reconcile to themselves the idea of sitting down by the side of a colored African, (American?) in any legislative or judiciary department, than the high spirited Southern slaveholder; and not only so, they never intend to admit them to these privileges, while the State Government, and the United States’ Government continue in existence.” Again, after stating various objections to emancipation, he goes on to say, “I need not dwell much upon the subject of universal emancipation, in stating the best, or the worst, or most probable results of such a measure, because the Southern people have no more idea of the general emancipation of slaves, without colonizing them, than the Northern people have of admitting the few among them to equal rights and privileges. Not even the friends of humanity here, think that a general emancipation, to remain here, would better their condition,” et cet.

The inferences plainly to be drawn from all this, and from much besides to the same purport, are, that the wicked determination of the white people to retain their sinful prejudices, is, like the laws of the Medes and Persians, immutable; and must, therefore, be accommodated by the transportation of the unoffending objects of their intense dislike. On this point I will observe that, if it be so, the remedy is worse than the disease; but that Christian principle is powerful enough, as daily experience testifies, to combat and destroy this unholy prejudice. The next inference is, that because the slave population in the Southern States is much more numerous than it was in the Northern, therefore the same reasons for emancipation do not exist. Is not the true conclusion from such premises, the very reverse of this? The motives to abolition increase, both in weight and number, in proportion to the absolute and relative increase of the slave population. The British West Indies present an example of the safety and advantages of the measure in a community, where the whites are a mere handful compared to the colored population.

That state of feeling from which the Colonization Society sprung, is well illustrated by this writer, in giving, in natural language, a picture of his own mind. After again repeating his statement of the vast proportion which the colored population bears to the white, in the Slave States, he says, “Now, my friend, the general emancipation of such a number of these poor, degraded creatures, say more than two millions, always to remain here with the white people, even if the Government should take the necessary care for their education and preparation for freedom and civilized life, which to be sure it ought, they must or will be a degraded people, while the reins of government remain in the hands of the whites. Supposing the very best consequences that could follow such a measure, even that both classes should generally exercise Christian feelings towards each other, which is very improbable, if not morally impossible, the peculiarly marked difference of features and color, will be always an insurmountable barrier to general amalgamation.” Again, “Were they of the same color and features that we are, in an elective republican government like this, where talents and merit are the common footsteps to esteem and preferment, there would be no difficulty in universal emancipation, without a separation. I have no idea that they are at all inferior to the white people in intellect; give them the same opportunity for enterprise and improvement.” Their only sin, it appears, after all, is being “guilty of a skin not colored like our own.” I may observe, in passing, that amalgamation, the bugbear of anti-abolitionists, is the necessary result of slavery, not of emancipation.

The preceding extracts present a faithful picture of colonization principles, though it is not every colonizationist who would avow them with so much simplicity. The writer notwithstanding, manifests some benevolent feeling towards the slaves. His conscience cannot be satisfied with the present state of things, and he, like too many others, takes refuge in the pleasing delusion that it would be practicable to convey these colored Americans across the Atlantic and make them comfortable in Africa, because their ancestors were born there. As reasonably and as justly might he talk of transporting the white Americans to England because their ancestors removed from this country.

It is very easily demonstrable, that this could not possibly be accomplished—that neither the means of transport could be found, nor the means of settlement provided; and were these impossibilities removed, it might also be shown, very easily, that it would be suicidal policy to remove the entire laboring population of the Southern States from a soil and climate for which they only are adapted. Yet emancipation by removal is the theory of the Colonization Society, and in this point of view that Society must be characterized as a grand imposture. What must be the power of that delusion which can render intelligent and philanthropic men the victims of such a fallacy? If the whites, who hold the reins of government, could but be brought to exercise Christian feelings towards the people of color, which this worthy friend thinks is perhaps “morally impossible,” how rapidly would all difficulties vanish? To accomplish this desirable end is the object of the abolitionists; they feel it to be difficult, but they know it to be not impossible.

The writer of this pamphlet uniformly couples “ultra slaveholders” and “northern manumissionists” in the same censure. They are the two objectionable extremes; colonizationists and moderate slave-holders being, I suppose, the golden mean. One illustration more of the animus with which he regards a black population.

“And so it is with the New England immediate manumissionists; they have so few people of color that they do not consider them an evil; and hence they conclude that the Southern States may do as they have done—free them at once; but I have no doubt at all, if there was as large a proportion of colored people in the New England States as in the Southern, there would be but one voice, and that would be for colonizing them somewhere.”

The following passage is historically interesting:

“The Yearly Meeting of Friends of North Carolina have sent several hundreds of those they have had under their care to Liberia, for whose emancipation in this State they could never obtain a law, though they petitioned for it oftentimes for the space of fifty years, always finding the chief objection of the legislature to be that of the great number and degraded and low character of the free persons of color already in the State. We prefer sending them to Africa rather than to any of the free States or to Canada—because we believe that is their proper home. We sent some to the State of Ohio; and since then hundreds of blacks have been in a manner compelled, by the laws of that State, or the prejudices of some of its citizens, to leave it and go to Canada. We have sent some to Indiana, but that State has passed laws, we hear, to prevent any more coming. We have sent some to Pennsylvania, but, about two years ago, we shipped near one hundred from Newbern and Beaufort to Chester; they were not suffered to land, neither there nor at Philadelphia, nor yet on the Jersey shore opposite, but had to float on the Delaware river until the Colonization Society took them into possession; then they were landed in Jersey, ten miles below Philadelphia, and re-shipped for Africa. North Carolina Yearly Meeting has contributed thousands of dollars to the Colonization Society; it has probably done more for it than any other religious community has in America, not merely because it has provided us an asylum for the people of color under our care, but upon the ground of our belief that it is a great, humane, and benevolent institution. I am not informed of a single member of the Society of Friends in this country, not even in any of the slave States, who is not in favor of colonizing them in Africa. We believe generally that colonizing them there gradually is the most likely way to put a peaceful end to slavery, and place them in the great scale of equality with the rest of the civilized world.”

I have devoted a space to this letter for several reasons; first, because the writer is a man of note and influence in his own country, and has plainly uttered what many of the Society of Friends even now feel, secondly, he has shown what was the prevalent sentiment among Friends not longer than seven years since, though I hope and believe a considerable change has taken place in the interval; and lastly, because, within a few months past, a well-known American, a zealous agent of the Colonization Society, has privately employed this very letter to induce abolitionists in England to look favorably on that Society.

I would add, also, that I learn, on the authority of an English “Friend,” who has lately visited the various Yearly Meetings in America, that in those parts of the slave States in which “Friends” chiefly reside, their influence is very perceptible in mitigating the treatment of the slaves in their neighborhood. This, I willingly believe; indeed the example of a body who refuse to hold slaves, cannot but be highly beneficial.

Appendix L — Page 96 — “Memorial of Citizens of Boston, United States, to the Lords of the Admiralty, Great Britain

“To the Right Honorable the Lords of the Admiralty of Great Britain.

“The undersigned, the citizens of Boston, in the United States of America, of different religious denominations, respectfully represent—

“That by existing arrangements for the sailing of the Cunard line of steamers between Boston and Liverpool, it becomes necessary for them to leave this port on the Sabbath, whenever that happens to be the regular day appointed for sailing; and that this occurs a number of times in the course of a year. That the sailing of a steamer on that day is a source of deep regret to many good citizens, who are compelled, whenever the event happens, either to defer their departure to a future day, or to yield to an arrangement which violates their Christian feelings. And what is still more to be lamented, as a consequence growing out of the present regulation, is that aside from the tumult necessarily attendant on the sailing of these vessels on the Lord’s day, it furnishes an occasion for the needless profanation of the day by thousands who assemble as spectators on our wharves to witness their departure.

“The undersigned regard a proper observance of the Sabbath as vital to the general peace, good order, and welfare of society; and they are deeply impressed with the belief that nothing of a secular or worldly nature should be done on that day by individuals, by governments, or by any of their departments, Which is not in the strictest sense a work of necessity or mercy; and they most respectfully represent, that they are unable to perceive any reasons which render the sailing of steamers from this port on the Lord’s day such a work. And believing as they do, that it will be the pleasure of your lordships at all times to cherish and promote, so far as you may be able, a due observance of the Sabbath, they respectfully and earnestly request your lordships so to vary the present arrangements as to the times for the sailing of these steamers, that their departure from this port shall be changed to another day, whenever the appointed day for sailing shall fall upon the Christian Sabbath. And they venture to express their confident belief that not only the public welfare, but also the private advantage of individuals concerned in the enterprize, would be ultimately promoted by the arrangements here prayed for.

“The undersigned cannot conclude their memorial without adverting to the high and responsible station that has been assigned by Providence to the English and American people, in the great work which they and we rejoice to know is now so rapidly progressing, of improving the moral and religious character and condition of the world; nor can they be unmindful of the fact, that to the same extent as their standing before the world in this respect is permanent, so will be the influence of their example on the nations around them, whether it be good or bad.

“That the subject here presented may receive your Lordship’s favorable and Christian consideration is the sincere and earnest desire of your Lordships’ most respectful memorialists.”

The signatures to this document included the late mayor and one of the former ones, who was also Lieutenant-Governor of the State of Massachusetts, one bishop, upwards of forty clergymen of different denominations, nine gentlemen, upwards of one hundred and twenty merchants, seventeen presidents of insurance companies, the postmaster of Boston, five physicians, seven members of the legal profession, two editors of newspapers; and it was accompanied by the following memorandum from one of the gentlemen who had taken it round for signature.

“The undersigned having been personally engaged in obtaining the signatures to the memorial, asking a change in the sailing of the Cunard steamers, when the regular sailing day occurs on the Sabbath, hereby certifies that the memorialists are among the most respectable and influential of their respective professions, that the memorial was received with almost universal favor, and that, had time been allowed, and had it been deemed necessary to do it, thousands of names might have been obtained.

“AMOS A. PHELPS.”

“Boston, July 31, 1841.”

On my arrival in this country, I found that Lord Melbourne’s administration was about to resign; I therefore deferred forwarding the memorial until the present ministers had entered upon the duties of their respective offices; when I called at the Admiralty, and placed it in the hands of the Secretary, having little doubt the application would have been at once granted; but a few days after it was presented I received the following reply:—

“Admiralty, September 21, 1841.

“Sir,—Having laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty the communications of the citizens of Boston, United States, representing their wish that the departure of Mr. Cunard’s steamers on a Sunday, from their port, should, for the future be discontinued; I am commanded by their lordships to acquaint you, that after having given that attention to the subject, which their respect for the citizens of Boston, and for the religious opinions expressed by them, could not fail to dictate, my lords have, upon mature consideration, come to the conclusion, that, with a due regard to the exigencies of the public service, the proposed alteration cannot be carried into effect. My lords, therefore, beg you will have the goodness to convey their decision to the citizens of Boston, together with the assurance of their respect for the opinions they have expressed, and their consequent regret at being unable to comply with their request.

“I am, Sir,

“Your most obedient humble servant,

“JOHN BARROW.

“Joseph Sturge, Esq., Birmingham.”

---

1842 By JOSEPH STURGE.

Notes

A: “I cannot help copying into a note an anecdote from Thomas Story’s Journal for this year (1698). ‘On the 13th,’ says he, ‘we had a pretty large meeting, where several were tendered, among whom were some negroes. And here I shall observe, that Thomas Simons having several negroes, one of them, as also several belonging to Henry White, had of late come to meetings, and having a sense of truth, several others thereway were likewise convinced, and like to do well. And the morning that we came from Thomas Simons’s, my companion speaking some words of truth to his negro woman, she was tendered; and as I passed on horseback by the place where she stood weeping, I gave her my hand, and then she was much more broken: and finding the day of the Lord’s tender visitation and mercy upon her, I spake encouragingly to her, and was glad to find the poor blacks so near the truth and reachable.’ She stood there, looking after us and weeping, as long as we could see her. I had inquired of one of the black men how long they had come to meetings, and he said ‘they had always been kept in ignorance, and disregarded as persons who were not to expect any thing from the Lord, till Jonathan Taylor, who had been there the year before, discoursing with them, had informed them that the grace of God, through Christ, was given also to them; and that they ought to believe in and be led and taught by it, and so might come to be good Friends, and saved as well as others. And on the next occasion, which was when William Ellis and Aaron Atkinson were there, they went to meetings, and several of them were convinced.’ Thus one planteth and another watereth, but God giveth the increase.”

A: “One of the most active assistants was his brother Jesse, much younger than Elisha. He followed him to this State a few years after the arrival of the latter, was an active member of the Abolition Society, and continued, to the day of his death, to co-operate with Elisha.”

A: “See ‘Thelwall’s Iniquities of the Opium Trade,’ and ‘King’s Opium Crisis,’”

B: “This individual is in the new House of Commons, professedly as a reformer, and represents a borough which formerly sent to that House one of its most upright members, who has now retired from public life.

A: It is well known that the high rate of freights from Calcutta, in consequence of the shipping required for the Chinese expedition, greatly contributed to the late extravagant price of sugar.