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[[BOLD]] 78  |: T H E   L I B E R A T O R. :|  | VOLUME XV. -- NO. XX. :|
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imminent.  Western Congressmen, who are out of the way of risk, may bluster in their seats in Congress, and southern gentlemen may talk of chivalry, and nominate their Quattlebums; but in a war, the middle and eastern States will have to sustain the cause of the nation, and suffer the losses that result from the contest.

We are told that Mexico will be [[italics]] passive [[/italics]] in a war--that is the language of a Locofoco paper upon the news now before us--passive, because she has no ships.  Cannot the same sources that supply vessels for the slave-trade of South America, yield ships for the producers of Mexico?

Is it likely that the people of Europe, alive to all the advantages to be derived from a 'right' to intercept the rich scattered commercial ships of the United States, will not hasten to the spoils?  And will Mexico remain passive in a war which she will declare of herself, and which, at a small risk, may be made twice as profitable as her mines have ever been?

But the United States will declare, by act of Congress, that persons engaged in war upon the commerce of this country, and not natives of Mexico, shall be regarded as pirates, and treated as such, when taken in the act.  That sounds very well--it looks well on paper.  But will France and England stand quietly by, and see their citizens strung up like fish, for accepting [[italics]] place [[/italics]] in the Mexican service?  England and France have both too much to do in the quarrels of weak nations, to admit of such a course.

In a war with the United States, Mexico would be more active than any power we know of--active we mean, against the commerce of our country; and no law which the Congress at Washington could pass, would materially interfere with the commissioning of privateers, for any persons who would accept them.  We say nothing now of the swarms of picaroons which would infest the West India Islands, and sweep the Gulf of Mexico.  People may sit down and smile at the idea of a war, but a war with any nation is an evil, which our government should avert, and which every man who has hope of honest gain, or relish for the enjoyment of what he has acquired, should earnestly deprecate.

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  |: WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES :|

If we go to war with the United States, we must rouse their slaves against them--must land black regiments in their territories and make it, in all respects, a war of institutions--the most tremendous of all wars.  We must distribute arms among the blacks of Carolina, and Florida, and Virginia, and Alabama, and teach the cruelty of the United States a lesson which may produce a good effect upon the world in general.  Of course, we shall be slow to enter upon this dreadful contest.  But if it must come with all its direful consequences, it must.--We have much less to dread from it than they who will be our enemies.  It may cost us money--it may call upon many of us to lay down our lives--but it will be in a cause which will mitigate the pangs of death; the cause of freedom and humanity against the most cruel oppression of both which the history of mankind can adduce.  We shall be called upon for no sacrifice of national honor.  We shall not  be fighting to secure to ourselves the hellish privilege of selling and torturing our fellow-creatures; while the United States will be standing forward bloodstained, and branded with the ineffaceable tokens of her hereditary crimes.  Let war with the Union, therefore, come when it may, we shall enter upon it manfully if the pusillanimity of our Tory leaders will permit us, and chastise our base brethren beyond the Atlantic for the infamy with which they have covered the English name in that part of the world.--[[italics]] London Times. [[/italics]]
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  |: From the Dublin Freeman. :|
  |: HIBERNIA ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. :|

On Wednesday evening, a meeting was held at the Royal Exchange by some of the committee of the above society.

JAMES HAUGHTON, Esq-, in the chair.

The Chairman, in the course of a lengthened address, dwelt on the enormity of the system of sla- exists.  showed its ruinous effects wherever it

Mr. R. D. Webb followed--In the course of his address, he quoted some extracts illustrative of the cruelties and deep injustice inseparable from holding man in slavery.

Mr. R. Allen, in proposing the resolutions which follow, expressed his deep regret that it was necessary to have thus to hold up to public reprobation that country which professed to be the greatest in the world.  He eulogized the conduct of those noble and faithful individuals who have stood forward to shield the down-trodden slave.  He concluded by moving the following resolutions, which were seconded by Mr. R. D. Webb, and passed unanimously:

[[italics]] Resolved [[italics]], That we have heard with sorrow and indignation, that in several of the slave States of the North American Union there are individuals in prison, found guilty of no other offence against the laws than that of rendering assistance to some of our fellow-men who fled from slavery, and were endeavoring to secure for themselves their 'inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'  That for this [[italics]] crime [[/italics]], which in all other civilized countries is considered an ennobling [[italics]] virtue [[/italics]], some of the judicial tribunals in the slave States have condemned to an incarceration for many years, several noble-minded individuals; and that in one case the torture of the branding-iron was resorted to, to designate the victim as a slave-stealer.

[[italics]] Resolved. [[italics]] That we convey to the American people the expression of our regret, that their fine country and otherwise free institutions should be degraded in the eyes of mankind by laws so utterly opposed to all that is manly, honorable, and just, which make it penal to render assistance to a brother fleeing from bondage, and punish with long years of imprisonment him who offers to the poor fugitive a cup of water or mouthful of food, and that we entreat the American states to expunge those enactments from their statute books.

[[italics]] Resolved, [[/italics]] That we tender to those innocent sufferers under cruel laws, the expression of our heartfelt sympathy, (if it be permitted to enter their prison walls,) and that we offer them our best wishes for heavenly comfort and consolation.  Their sufferings are unjust, the action for which they are punished merits praise instead of blame, and the consciousness of this will alleviate the irksomeness of their imprisonment, which we trust will be of short duration; as we hope, for the honor of the American name, soon to hear of their liberation and restoration to their families and friends.

[[italics]] Resolved, [[/italics]] That copies of the foregoing resolutions be signed on our behalf by the chairman, and forwarded by him to the editors of the [[italics]] Liberator, [[/italics]] the [[italics]] National Anti-Slavery Standard, [[/italics]] the [[italics]] American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, [[/italics]] and the [[italics]] Emancipator, [[/italics]] so as to ensure their extensive circulation throughout the United States of America.
  | JAMES HAUGHTON, [[italics]] Chairman. [[/italics]] :|
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  |: TRIBUTE TO HENRY C. WRIGHT. :|

AMERICAN SLAVERY--CHURCH COMMUNION.--The following resolutions on these subjects were recently adopted by the Belfast Eastern Reformed Presbytery.-- [[italics]] Edinburgh Scotsman, April [[/italics]] 12, 1845.

'That the Rev. H. C. Wright is, in our humble opinion, entitled to the thanks of every denomination of Christians, and that we as a Presbytery do hereby return to him our best thanks and warmest acknowledgements for his tremendous exposure of the evils of the slave trade.  In the anti-Christian system, as described in the book of Revelation, two articles of merchandise are specified, "slaves, and souls of men," or, as it is in the original, "souls and bodies of men."  This we regard as one of the strong features of the anti-Christian system.  With such an infamous traffic we are fully convinced that no Christian church should have any connection.  What! souls and bodies of men!  A traffic in the souls and bodies of men!  Can any traffic be more infamous than this?  Can any churches, calling themselves Christian churches, have any connection with such a traffic?  Can they stretch out the right hand of fellowship to those who are making merchandise of the souls and bodies of men?  That the slave trade is a traffic in the souls and bodies of men, Mr. Wright has clearly demonstrated.  He calls, he loudly calls, on the various CHURCHES in Ireland to condemn the traffic.  The call is fair.  It is the call of God.  We respond to it.  We condemn the traffic.  Mr. Wright also calls upon the various churches in Ireland to refuse to hold communion with those who make merchandise of the souls and bodies of men.  This call we also regard as quite fair.  We regard it as the call of God.  We respond to it.  We renounce all communion with those who are engaged in this abominable traffic; we should rather say that we renounced such connection nearly fifty years ago.  We record
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our gratitude to the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America and to the Society of Friends for doing long ago what Mr. Wright calls on Christian churches to do now.  We trust they will all respond to the call.  We are anxious for this; because we believe that the slave trade tyranny and persecution are 'great mountains before Zerubabel.'  They are formidable barriers to the progress of the gospel.  They frustrate the labors of our missionaries, and obstruct the progress of the Redeemer's kingdom.  There is no principle of the importance of which the Eastern Reformed Presbyterian Synod are more fully convinced than this--that it is quite absurd to make slaves of men--to oppress men and to persecute men--and then try to convert men!  We regard this as not only absurd, but the greatest of all absurdities.  We therefore thank Mr. Wright for his exertions, not only in behalf of the slaves, but in behalf of the gospel--not only in behalf of the bodies but the souls of men.

[[italics]] Resolved, [[/italics]] That this vote of thanks be presented to Mr. Wright at the public breakfast to be given to him in the town of Belfast on the 15th day of January, 1845, by the enemies of slavery.

REV. DR. ALEXANDER, [[italics]] Moderator. [[/italics]] JOHN PAUL, D. D., [[italics]] Clerk. [[/italics]]
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MR. CLAY AND THE MEHTODIST DIVISION.

A large Convention of the preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from the slaveholding States of the Union, are in session at Louisville, Ky., for the avowed purpose of affecting a division of the government of the South and South-West, from those of the North and North-East.  In view of this Convention, letters have been addressed to Mr. Polk and Mr. Clay, as follows:--

  |: FROM THE SOMERVILLE, TENNESSEE, REPORTER. :|

  | SOMERVILLE, April, 1845. :|

MESSRS. EDITORS:--It is known to those acquainted with the part I have acted in the controversy now agitating the Methodist Church, that the main ground of my opposition to its division was its tendency to produce a dissolution of the Union.'

     I have argued this point in an article devoted exclusively to its consideration.  I determined, however, previous to the publication of this article, to procure the opinions of the leaders of the two great political parties.  To this end, I addressed Mr. Polk and Mr. Clay the following queries:

     'Will the division of the Methodist Episcopal Church into two separate organizations, (slavery being the cause of division and the dividing line,) be likely to affect the civil connection between the slave and the non-slaveholding States.

     If so, will it strengthen or weaken the bonds of their Union?

     Mr. Polk has not answered me, but it will be seen by the perusal of the following letter, that my views are endorsed by the great name of Henry Clay.  Will Methodist ministers, or Southern Methodist editors, call the sage of Ashland '[[italics]] too young [[/italics]]'?

  |: Respectfully, :|
  | WM. A. BOOTH. :|
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  | ASHLAND, April 7, 1845. :|

DEAR SIR:--Our mutual friend, Mr. Mitchell, of Frankfort, delivered to me the day before yesterday your letter, with several publications under your name, in regard to the unfortunate controversy which has arisen in the Methodist episcopal Church of the United States, all of which I have attentively perused.  You desire an expression of my opinion on certain inquires communicated in your letter.

     I have long entertained for that church, sentiments of profound esteem and regard, and I have the happiness in numbering, among its members, some of the best friends I have in the world.  I will add, with great truth, that I have witnessed, and with much satisfaction, the flourishing condition of the church, and the good sense and wisdom which have generally characterized the administration of its affairs, as far as I have observed it.

     It was therefore with the deepest regret that I heard, in the course of the past year, of the danger of a division of the church, in consequence of a difference of opinion existing on the delicate and unhappy subject of slavery.  A division, for such a cause, would be an event greatly to be deplored, both on account of the church itself and its political tendency.  Indeed, scarcely any public occurrence has happened, for a long time, that gave me so much real concern and pain as the menaced separation of the church, by a line, throwing all the free States on one side, and all the slave States on the other.

     I will not say that such a separation would necessarily produce a dissolution of the political union of these States; but the example would be fraught with imminent danger, and, in co-operation with other causes unfortunately existing, its tendency on the stability of the confederacy would be perilous and alarming.

     Entertaining these views, it would afford me the highest satisfaction to hear of an adjustment of the controversy, a reconciliation between the opposing parties in the church, and the preservation of its unity.

     I limit myself to the political aspect of the subject without expressing any opinion on either of the plans of compromise and settlement which have been published, which I could not do without exposing myself to improper imputations.

     With fervent hopes and wishes that some arrangement of the difficulty may be devised and agreed upon, which shall preserve the church in union and harmony,

     I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
  | H. CLAY. :|

[[image: hand pointing right]] Only think of the advice of a politician, like Henry Clay, being sought by the Church of Christ(!) for its guidance in the path of duty!!

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  |: FROM THE LOUISVILLE COURIER. :|
  |: METHODIST CONVENTION. :|
  | MONDAY MORNING, May 5. :|

Dr. W. A. Smith offered the following resolution, which he begged to have laid on the table until tomorrow:

Resolved by the Delegates of the several Annual Conferences in the South and southwestern States, in General Convention assembled,--That we cannot sanction the action of the late General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church on the subject of slavery, by remaining under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of that body, without deep and lasting injury to the interests of the Church and the country:  we, therefore, hereby instruct the committee on organization that if, upon a careful examination of the whole subject, they find that there is no reasonable ground to hope that the northern majority will recede from their position and give some safe guaranty for the future security of our civil and ecclesiastical rights, that they report in favor of a separation from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the said General Conference.

  | TUESDAY, May 6. :|

Dr. Boring rose and remarked that he wished to correct a report which he understood was in circulation, that the Alabama delegation was opposed to separation, but were specially instructed to vote for it.

Dr. Smith, of Virginia, rose in his place and called up the resolution which he, in conjunction with Dr. Pierce, yesterday offered, instructing the committee on organization to bring in a report in favor of separation.  Dr. Smith spoke for over two hours in a very plain but eloquent style, in support of the resolution which they had offered.

He read the provisional rule of the discipline, (tenth section,) on the subject of slavery, and showed that, interpreted according to constitutional principles, laid down in the 23d article of religion, under which it was made, it did not warrant the action of the Conference in the cases of our honored Bishop Andrew, and the unfortunate Harding.  He particularly defined the action of the General Conference in these cases, and showed that, according to the constitutional principle referred to, whatever is in violation of the civil policy of the country is equally in violation of the discipline of the church when correctly interpreted.  He showed that the action of the late General Conference was in violation of the civil policy--not of the slave States alone--but of the whole country on the subject of slavery.  His position on this point struck us as novel, but his arguments were clear and unanswerable, if we may judge from their apparent effect upon the assembly.  He remarked that however unauthorized by the constitution of the church, or by the conventional rules of the discipline, the action of the General Conference was nevertheless the law of the church; as such he maintained that we could not submit to be governed by it without inflicting deep and lasting injury to the church, and upon the country.
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  |: SPIRIT OF THE LIBERTY PARTY. :|

Every day brings confirmation of the fact which so many have been reluctant to believe, that the most venomous foe of genuine abolitionism in this country is Liberty party.  See what a developement is made in the articles which occupy the 'Refuge of Oppression.'  Read, also, the following article from the Emancipator:

  |: ROGERS AND GARRISON. :|

A controversy is now going on between N. P. Rogers, of Concord, N. H., editor of [[italics]] The [[/italics]] Herald of Freedom, and W. L. Garrison, of Boston, editor of the Liberator, which is conducted with much of the spirit appertaining to the men; and which the actors appear to regard as one of the most momentous things of the age.  From the style of the bulletins on either side, one would infer that the struggle could be adequately celebrated only by the pen of another Homer, and that at least all living men, and a considerable part of posterity, were looking on with wonder at the blows they inflict, and with intense solicitude to see which beats, as though themselves had a whole suit of clothes, or some other great interest at stake on the issue.  Rogers has been one of the most devoted and thoroughgoing supporters of Garrison, and has laid on his flattery without stint or bounds; and is now getting his pay, and he does not like it quite.  In his paper of April 18, he refers to a letter of sympathy from that generous soul, Augustus Wattles, of Ohio, and remarks:--

  'I can assure the noble writer I love the [[italics]] memory [[/italics]] of William Lloyd Garrison too dearly to need his kindly caution.  Still I thank him for it.  I shall never detract an iota from the character I have again and again awarded William Lloyd Garrison.  He deserved it all--I never overrated him.  I [[italics]] remember [[/italics]] him with all my former affection for him.  But when something, I know not what, and do not care to know, transformed him into a tyrant--when he suddenly displayed himself against me with all the gloomy ambition of Oliver Cromwell--I could no more brook it, than I could understand it.  And I cannot now humor it.  If he can subdue it, and be himself again--not what he seemed, but what he [[italics]] was [[/italics]]--for he did not [[italics]] feign [[/italics]] it--he [[italics]] was [[/italics]] all to me he ever [[italics]] appeared [[/italics]] to be--the very soul of affection and truth--if he can recover [[italics]] himself [[/italics]], I am his, and he mine again.  If not, I stand where I did in my letter to him.  'His hand has touched the band that united us, and it is severed.'  [[italics]] Can [[/italics]] I stand otherwise?  Could he, or anybody, respect me if I did?  He must abandon his Cromwellism towards me--or we are forever two.  Yet I will not disparage him.  His fame I will leave on high, where [[italics]] I placed it [[/italics]].  Other hands may pluck it down--not mine.

There are many who feel as Mr. Rogers does, in the wish that Mr. Garrison could 'subdue' his unhappy 'Cromwellism,' and recover himself as he [[italics]] seemed [[/italics]] in the early days of abolition, who yet are not quite so sure that his [[italics]] nature [[/italics]] has undergone a change.  Mr. Rogers must be deeply disappointed.  He once placed Mr. Garrison on the same pinnacle with Clarkson, and went to England to see how they would look together; but he found that the English people thought that there was quite a difference between the two.  He also called Mr. Garrison the [[italics]] Napoleon [[/italics]] of the anti-slavery enterprise.  And he must admit, however grievously it may bear upon his own feelings, that it is quite in character for Napoleon to repudiate his earliest and most devoted friend, his [[italics]] plebeian [[/italics]] benefactor, who made him what he was, that he might throw himself and his honors at the feet of the high-born [[italics]] Maria. [[/italics]]

The same article contains a remark on the curious position of the self-styled non-resistant Garrisonians, in the clamor they are raising about a dissolution of the Union:--

  'No union with the slaveholders,' is a sonorous cry--but it goes only to the ear, the political ear, and even to that with an uncertain sound.  It might be the cry of Liberty party, with whom politics is the panacea for social evils.  Yet it is but a war-cry--a cry for civil war.  The Union of the States cannot be peaceably dissolved.  While the States are [[italics]] disposed [[/italics]] to be at peace, they never would dissolve it.  It must be dissolved in war.  It is not a civil partnership, formed in peace, and dissolvable at pleasure of the parties.  It was formed of the war of the revolution, and cemented in the blood of that war.  And the dissolution of it must be like its formation,--and like the dissolution of Union that preceded it--the Union with the mother country.  They were eight years dissolving that 'Union.'  Could a moral suasion abolitionist have taken a part in that dissolution, and uttered the cry of it?  Could he have shouted, 'No Union with' Britain?  Could he have signed the old Declaration of Independence?

The fling at 'Liberty Party,' of course did not hit, for they have no such cry.  But the sentiment that this Union was sealed in blood, and cannot be dissolved but by civil war, we believe to be perfectly just and philosophical.  'WHILE THE STATES ARE DISPOSED TO BE AT PEACE, THEY NEVER WOULD DISSOLVE IT.'  It is therefore marvellous, not that a pugnacious non-resistant, like Mr. Garrison, should raise the cry, but that a truly pacific peace-man, like Judge Jay, should join in the cry.

Mr. Leavitt having assisted in 'the capture of the Emancipator,' it is very natural that he should sympathize with Mr. Rogers in the dishonorable course which he has pursued in regard to the Herald of Freedom.  'A fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind.'

I shall make no comment on the vanity displayed by Mr. Rogers, in his flourish about his leaving my 'fame' on high where [[italics]] he [[/italics]] placed it--none on his logic or 'philosophy' in regard to a dissolution of the Union--and none on his childish charge against me, of being 'transformed into a tyrant,' and displaying 'all the gloomy ambition of Oliver Cromwell'!!--Let him see in what company he is now found--how he is furnishing the deadliest enemies of the anti-slavery cause, old betrayers and apostates, a fresh supply of slang phrases, to be hurled at myself and the 'old organization' for our common overthrow--how he has the entire sympathy and support of the Liberty party press.  If this can give him any consolation, let him make the most of it.  I sincerely pity him.

Here is a paragraph from the pen of James C. Jackson, of the Albany Patriot, one of the many who have treacherously lifted up their heels against me:

  [[italics]] Plain Dealing. [[/italics]]--N. P. Rogers, of New-Hampshire, says W. L. Garrison displayed towards him 'all the gloomy ambition of Oliver Cromwell.'  He insists that Garrison must somehow or other get cured of his Cromwellism, or they twain can never be one heart.  Poor Rogers has contributed more perhaps than any other man to swell Garrison into the dimensions of a foolish Cromwell; he flattered his miserable vanity to satiety, and nourished his pride and self-will to his ruin.

Here, too, is another characteristic paragraph from the pen of the Methodist priest, who edits that most venomous of all Liberty party journals, the Utica Liberty Press:

  'MANAGEMENT.'--It seems the 'organization' movement of Garrison, by which the Herald of Freedom was 'organized' out of the hands of Rogers & French into the hands of Stephen S. Foster's Committee, does not work well.  A week ago the weekly receipts of [[italics]] The [[/italics]] Herald were over $55.  The receipts for the week in the number which has just come to hand, amount to over $120.  This is more than the old Herald used to receive in a month.  Not very encouraging to the Boston Regency.

But here is the climax!  In the proceedings of the New-York Eastern Anti-Slavery Society, (new organization,) Alvan Stewart, a canting politician, figured conspicuously, and said--

  The resolutions I am about to introduce, if I consulted my own comfort, or what some call popularity, I should not offer; but the time is come when we must state we have no connection with the dogmas and wild speculations of the day--they belong to the other party, and I for one am unwilling to bear the load any longer.  I offer you, therefore, the following preamble and resolutions:--

  |: PREAMBLE. :|

Whereas, the whig and democratic parties, with a view of misrepresenting the liberty party abolitionists in the United States, calumniating their principles, and rendering their measures odious, often assert, in their newspapers, that the liberty party--the voting abolitionists, hold as sentiments, that the Union should be dissolved on account of slavery and the annexation of Texas, and that the Constitution is a pro-slavery document, originating in cruelty and blood--and that the churches of this country ought to be destroyed, as no longer the abodes of vital Christianity, but as the homes of hypocrites and dens of thieves--and the only apology of said whig and democratic parties for such vile slander is, that a [[italics]] clique [[/italics]] of philosophers in this country, of some one or two thousand persons, known as non-resistants, no human govern-
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ment, no-voting, Garrisonian abolitionists, (whose sentiments we utterly repudiate, as we have so done for years,) hold and affirm these strange dogmas, that the Constitution is a pro-slavery document, and that the Union should be dissolved, and that the churches of this country are dens of thieves and hypocrites, and no longer entitled to the confidence of the people.  To define our position as the voting abolitionists on these questions, by which it has been attempted to injure us in the opinion of our countrymen--Therefore

Resolved, That we believe that the Constitution of the United States, when interpreted in that benignity of spirit which its own language justifies, is an anti-slavery document in its principles and tendencies.

Resolved, That we hold the Union as a grand bond of public and private faith, to which we are solemnly pledged, and which we will not and cannot recall; and whether slavery is in or out, or Texas in or out, we will stand by the Union, for its purification and exaltation, being determined to employ our entire moral and political power to the overthrow of slavery, in all and every shape, by which we can constitutionally reach the same through the ballot-box.

Resolved, That we regard the attempt of secession, nullification, or dissolution of this confederacy, as high treason to the best hopes of mankind, and as the most wretched of all antidotes by which to exonerate ourselves from the crime of slavery.

Resolved, That it is our solemn duty to sustain this Union, as the most efficient and powerful means for the extirpation of slavery, and further to show our love to our cherished colored brother, whom we will never desert, for we owe him deliverance as a duty, and we will hold to the Union as the means of its accomplishment; and not turn our back upon him as a cheap mode of being discharged from an unpleasant duty, by alleging the criminality of his master as an excuse for our want of humanity.

Resolved, That it is no part of the mission of the liberty party to overthrow churches, vote for slaveholders, or dissolve this Union; but it is their distinct undertaking, by all moral, legal, lawful and constitutional power, to drive slavery from this land.

Mr. STEWART--Yes, Mr. President, I am for the Union  I would fight and die for this land, whether it is the swamps of Georgia or the mountains of Vermont.

More disgusting servility toward an ungodly, proslavery Church and a blood-stained Constitution, than is shown in the foregoing cringing resolutions, the annals of low political cunning do not furnish.

Now let James Gordon Bennett speak!  Hear!

  There is one feature which presents itself in the anniversaries this year, which we contemplate with a good deal of anxiety.  That is the increased virulence and recklessness of the abolition movement.  The dissolution of the Union is openly, undisguisedly and insolently announced as the object of one of the fanatical 'conventions.'  A number of circumstances conspire at the present moment to give to this movement an unusual degree of interest, mingled with dread of the future.  This potent element of mischief has introduced itself extensively into the Methodist and Baptist churches--two of the largest religious denominations in the country.  It has torn the Methodists into two opposing sections.  It threatens to rend, and doubtless soon will rend, the Baptist church.  When such large and influential Christian bodies are thus distracted, and divided, and rent asunder, the most fearful consequences in the State may well be apprehended.  Then we have the recent extraordinary movement of the colored people in this State, in conjunction with the revolutionary project of a State Convention.  Altogether, we cannot help regarding the abolition meetings this year with more than usual interest.
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  |: FROM THE NATIONAL ANTI-SLAVERY STANDARD. :|

  |: LETTER OF HARRIET MARTINEAU. :|

  |: [[italics]] To the friends who have sent me the beautiful gift :|
  |: which lies before me. [[/italics]] :|

  | BIRMINGHAM, April 1st, 1845. :|

'MY DEAR FRIENDS:--Your previous token of remembrance has just reached me,--owing chiefly to my being on my travels among my family, after my long imprisonment.  I am not afraid of your supposing me indifferent to so touching a proof of your affection for me.  You must be aware of the exquisite pleasure brought from such a messenger from your hearts to mine.  While my family are exclaiming around me at the beauty of the pages of this singular volume of nature, I, while no less enjoying that beauty, have a higher and deeper pleasure in contemplating it, than can be shared by any who have not trod your gardens and shores, and held your friendly hands, and sympathized on the spot in the mighty cause which unites your hearts.

The more the times darken with you,--the more I hear your country and people reviled and despised,--the oftener my heart and mind turn to you with sympathy and hope.  On no object in life and the world do I repose with so confident a hope, as on the little band of righteous men and women in America.  When I am disposed to mourn--almost to repine--that I can do nothing that is apparent to aid you,--it does comfort me to think that it may be some small service to uphold here, with all my means, the assertion that there [[italics]] is [[/italics]] hope for your country,--that there is virtue there, of such quality as may absorb and consume all the evil at which the world is wondering,--a virtue that

[[indented]]
   |: 'Feeds :|
A calm, a beautiful, a silent fire
From the membrances of mortal life,
From error, disappointment, nay, from guilt;--
And sometimes, (so relenting Justice wills,)
From palpable oppressions of despair.' [[/indented]]

To keep up a trust in and expectation from you in the rest of the world, seems to me, in my calmest moments, almost as important a work as can be done in your cause.  In as far as I can aid in it, I humbly trust never to relax.  I do, and will uphold you, your cause, and your hope, while I have life and breath.  I will assert to my latest day, your title to brotherly sympathy and reverence from all the upright in every country of the world.  Happy shall I if be I can thus impart to you the least portion of strength and comfort.  And happy am I, to-day, and always, in the certainty that you will forever justify the reliance of the wise and good who will admit the appeal.

I have written as an abolitionist speaking to abolitionists,--for this is our chief bond of sympathy.  There is nothing in the gravest of missions to forbid our delighting in the lilies of the field, and seeing how they grow; but, while one great idea of duty animates our minds and hearts, every object on earth, air, and sea, moves us to speak out of the abundance within.  Thus have your flowers led me naturally to speak of our mission.  May Heaven still guide and bless your labors!

Your affectionate friend and servant,
HARRIET MARTINEAU.'
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FIRES IN BOSTON, ON SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT.  About half past 2 o'clock, on Sunday afternoon, as the bells were ringing for church, a fire broke out in a Carpenter's shop, rear of South Cedar-street, destroying in whole, or in part, about twenty buildings.  The Methodist Meeting-House on Church-street was several times on fire, but by extraordinary exertions was saved, although supposed to be damaged to the amount of $2000.  The total loss at this fire cannot be less than $50,000.

About 12 o'clock at night, a fire broke out in a Caulker's and Graver's establishment in East Boston, which was consumed.

A third fire was in Crescent Place--a shed was destroyed, together with a brick and wooden house on Pitts-street.

A fourth fire soon commenced in Garden-street--some eight or ten houses were destroyed.  Loss not less than $25,000.

At 6 o'clock Monday morning, a fire was discovered in the office of the Boston Courier, and at 7 o'clock, another in the Looking-Glass Factory of Mr. Curtis, both of which were soon extinguished.  Some of these fires were doubtless the work of incendiaries.
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[[italics]] Death of the Hon. Leverett Saltonstall. [[/italics]]--The Hon. Leverett Saltonstall, who has for some months past been afflicted with an affection of the heart, died at his residence in Salem, this morning at 4 o'clock, at the age of 64 years.  Mr. S. was one of the most gifted sons of Massachusetts, having filled various important offices in the State Legislature, and having been twice elected a member of Congress, in which capacity his influence was important and beneficial.  His death has left a void in his native city of Salem, which will long be felt.  He was a man of extensive learning, and great urbanity in his social deportment.  He graduated at Harvard University in 1802, and was a classmate of Gov. Lincoln, Samuel Hoar, J.T. Austin, Wm. Minot, Dr. Flint, of Salem, Dr. Codman of Dorchester, and other distinguished men.--[[italics]] Boston Transcript, 8th inst. [[/italics]]
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 |: T H E  L I B E R A T O R . :|
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 |: [[bold]] BOSTON, MAY 16, 1845. [[/bold]] :|
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 |: ELEVENTH ANNIVERSARY. :|

The eleventh anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society was duly celebrated in the city of New-York on the 6th, 7th and 8th instant, and excited in the public mind quite as much interest, to say the least, as any other of the many important meetings held during that week.  It demonstrated that, notwithstanding the formidable secession which took place in 1840, and the many trying vicissitudes through which it has been called to pass, the Society still concentrates in itself the vital power and unconquerable spirit of the anti-slavery movement, and continues to be both feared and hated alike by those who support slavery without any disguise, and those who do the same thing in the garb of a spurious antislavery profession.  It occupies a position so far in advance of the existing Church and State, as to render it morally certain that few, if any, except those who are actuated by the purest philanthropy, the most disinterested motives, and the strongest faith, will rally under its standard, or attempt to direct its operations.  While the pseudo Liberty party is depending on numerical strength for success, and endeavoring to conciliate a pro-slavery church, and yielding to the guidance of a truckling priesthood, and joining with the slave traders of the South and their Northern allies in shouting, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!' 'the Constitution as it is!' 'the Union forever!' the American Anti-Slavery Society, true to its principles and professions, pays no regard to the number of its adherents, never stops to ask whether this or that measure will tend to increase or diminish its numerical strength, seeks only to know where duty leads, anticipates nothing but reproach and persecution to the end of the conflict, sternly refuses to make any compromise with the slave power, and does not hesitate to pluck out the right eye or cut off the right hand, rather than 'bate one jot' of its righteous demands on the whole country, in behalf of one sixth part of the population now held in the galling chains of slavery.  The Church may not hope to curb its freedom of thought or action: the Church is under its feet!  The State may not think to reduce it to a servile allegiance: the State quails beneath the flash of its indignant eye, and trembles before the majesty of its moral power!

Six public meetings were held by the Society--the first in the Broadway Tabernacle, which was very numerously attended, though undoubtedly a still larger audience would have been convened, if a notice of the meeting had been placarded through the city.  The clergy were pretty numerously represented on the occasion, curious to see and hear what might be said and done, especially in regard to their position; and they were most intelligently and eloquently addressed, not directly, but in a vivid exposition of the religious obstacles which impede the progress of the anti-slavery cause, by Wendell Phillips.  [It is due to the New-York Evangelist and the Observer to say, that they have given a very fair report of Mr. P's speech, which we have copied from their columns, making a few slight alterations of our own.]  We trust that exposition will not be lost upon them.  It was discriminating, it was just, it was historically exact, it was religiously impressive.  We also observed among the audience, the celebrated Robert Owen of England, now on a visit to this country to propagate his peculiar views on social reform; Ralph Randolph Gurley, formerly the secretary of the American Colonization Society, but now the chaplain to some 'floating hell,' alias naval vessel--looking troubled and desperate in mind; Alvan Stewart, a [[italics]] patriotic [[/italics]] Liberty party leader, who goes for the Union, 'slavery in or slavery out of it,' and for 'the Constitution as it is,' be it what it may;--&c. &c.

Wendell Phillips was succeeded by Jane Elizabeth Hitchcock, who, during the past year, has been laboring with the devoted Abby Kelley as a public lecturer in the cause, to great acceptance, and with growing usefulness.  It was the first time we had ever enjoyed the pleasure of listening to her, but we trust it will not be the last.  She at once commanded the respect and secured the fixed attention of the audience; and in a speech of considerable length demonstrated that she possessed talents of a high order, and was perfectly conversant with all the moral and political bearings of our great enterprise.  Her analysis of the American Constitution was remarkably keen and vigorous; the guilty compromises contained in that blood-stained instrument were held up by her to the abhorrence of the friends of freedom throughout the world; and she dissected its specious preamble, and showed its pretensions to be impudent and worthless, in a manner and with a just severity of satire mingled with righteous denunciation, not soon to be forgotten by those who listened to her.  It was a most interesting spectacle to see that delicate young woman, prompted by a strong philanthropy, and representing a million and a half of her sex held in slavery, standing up in the presence of a large and highly intellectual assembly, to record her testimony against the religion and politics, the Constitution and Government of the country, on account of their oppressive character--to see how, before the modesty and calmness of her demeanor, the clearness and cogency of her reasoning, the fervor and purity of her spirit, the absurd notions and usages of society, in regard to 'woman's appropriate sphere,' vanished, and became contemptible even in the eyes of those who came to scoff, but remained to admire.  It is true, some hisses were occasionally heard amidst the applause that greeted her; but these were extorted not contemptuously, but from fierce and malevolent spirits, inflamed to madness by the pungency of her rebukes, and the boldness of her assaults on some of their religious or political idols.

She was followed by William C. Bell, Esq. of Kentucky, who requested permission to make a brief speech.  He began by complimenting Miss Hitchcock for her spirit, and said she had not begun to depict the real evils and enormities of the slave system.  He spoke encouragingly of the growth of anti-slavery sentiment in Kentucky, and alluded to Cassius M. Clay and his forthcoming periodical, 'The True American,' for which he had been making a Northern tour to obtain subscribers.  His remarks were happily conceived and spiritedly uttered, and showed that, as an associate of Mr. Clay in his contemplated paper, he was in earnest in his opposition to slavery, and possessed an unusual amount of moral courage.  He was loudly applauded by the assembly.--One of the religious journals in New-York (either the Observer or Evangelist, we believe) reproachfully calls attention to the fact, that Mr. Bell presided at the 'Infidel Convention' held that week in the city--as if the American A. S. Society were responsible either for that fact, or for any thing that he said on its platform! as if an 'infidel' is not to be tolerated even when he espouses the cause of the oppressed, at the peril of his personal safety on his return home to Kentucky!  O, this is contemptible and base!  He who can give a fling like this shows that the object of his attack is incomparably nearer the kingdom of heaven than himself.

Here is an extract of a letter published in the Albany Patriot, a Liberty party paper, and dated New-York, written, we presume, by its recreant editor, James C. Jackson.  Alluding to our anniversary, he says--'The speeches were of a [[italics]] loose, declamatory character [[/italics]], and though occasionally eloquent, were exceedingly [[italics]] loose in reasoning [[/italics]].  Their business meetings were marked by [[italics]] ravings little short of those which lunatics sometimes utter [[/italics]].  W. C. Bell, C. M. Clay's agent, spoke at the anniversary, and then went to [[italics]] his Infidel Convention [[/italics]], and boasted, [[italics]] it is said [[/italics]], that he was heard with propriety, and that those persons composing the meeting proper,[[italics]] were rapidly progressing in the [[/italics]] TRUE [[italics]] faith [[/italics]]--Infidelity--a statement which, [[italics]] if [[/italics]] he made it, approximated much [[italics]] nearer to the truth [[/italics]] than some of his statements about the Bi-
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ble.'  Is this any thing better than Billingsgate?  Is it not exactly in the spirit and style of the most venomous pro-slavery journals in the land?  The story about Mr. Bell is manifestly a lie, manufactured for the occasion.  If he is an 'infidel,' he is certainly not a fool, and we do not believe that he is a knave.  He wanted to speak, as a Kentuckian, at the anniversary; and because the same freedom was granted to him that is uniformly allowed to all others, whether the friends or foes of the Society, he is said to have boasted that the meeting was 'rapidly progressing in the true faith, infidelity'!!  This is weak beyond silliness, except that it has an infernal venom infused into it by the writer.  As to the 'loose, declamatory character of the speeches,' no description of them could be more at variance with the truth, as every reader can determine by reading them as reported by those hostile in spirit to the Parent Society, and therefore anxious to do us as little justice as possible.

In this connexion, we will notice a similar sneer, made by a New-York correspondent of the American Traveller.  He says of our anniversary--'It was attended by [[italics]] a motley group [[/italics]], mostly drawn together by [[italics]] idle curiosity [[/italics]] TO HEAR WOMEN SPEAK IN PUBLIC.'  This single sentence reveals the whole character of the writer.  It proves that every spark of humanity is extinct in his bosom--that the groans and sufferings of the millions toiling in captivity are nothing to him--that he stands 'on the side of the oppressor, where there is power.'  If his statement were true, it would only give a deeper shade to the religious inhumanity of the age.  The 'motley group' alluded to, was as intelligent and philanthropic an assembly as was ever convened in the Tabernacle.  Probably the writer is a clergyman, and meant to describe those of his own cloth as 'mostly drawn together by idle curiosity to hear women speak in public,' for many of them were present, actuated we presume by no higher or better motives.

Bennett's Herald undertakes to define the character of those who belong to the 'old organization,' as follows:--'They embrace in their wide-extended arms of charity, the Non-Resistants, Infidels, Socialists, Atheists, Grahamites, Pantheists, and all the disaffected materials afloat on the bosom of society.  [[italics]] They hold that the present legal institution of marriage should be abolished [[/italics]], and all the ceremonies now attendant on the holy tie dispensed with.'  Bennett is extensively known to be a very pious and pure-minded man--so conscientious as never to bear false witness against others--so veracious as never to be supposed capable of telling a falsehood, even by mistake!  He is deeply concerned, therefore, for the stability of 'our glorious Union,' and the reputation of the American church!

Surely the attempts of such papers as the New-York Observer and Bennett's Herald (in company with certain Liberty party journals) to make the American Anti-Slavery Society odious and impotent by describing (whether truly or falsely is immaterial) the peculiar views alleged to be entertained by some of its members, adverse to those which are popular or common in the community, are not only highly disingenuous, but utterly despicable.  That Society is to be held responsible for nothing but its own views and its own acts, proclaimed and carried into execution [[italics]] in its official character [[/italics]].  It takes no cognizance of the opinions of its members on religious or political subjects--on war or peace--on orthodoxy, heterodoxy, or 'infidelity'--on woman's rights, or human government [[italics]] per se [[/italics]]--on non-resistance, socialism, or Grahamism, but leaves every one free to hold such views on these matters as he thinks sound and rational.  Just as the American Temperance Society does--just as the Bible Society does.  Its bond of union is, 'that slaveholding is a sin against God, under all circumstances, and ought to be immediately abandoned.'  All who can subscribe to this doctrine can become members, and enjoy equal rights and privileges.  What impudence, what falsehood, what meanness, then, to make the Society responsible for that over which it has no control: to represent it as any thing but an Anti-Slavery Society!  Show us, ye revilers! what [[italics]] the Society [[/italics]] has done, incompatible with its avowed object, or endorsing the peculiar notions of any of its members on other subjects.  It has been faithful to the light vouchsafed to it--true to its original purpose--uncompromising in its warfare with the slaveholding power.  This its calumniators know--for this, [[italics]] and this alone [[/italics]], is it anathematized, feared and proscribed by the various religious sects and the [[italics]] three [[/italics]] political parties, particularly the Liberty party.

Of the business meetings of the Society, we have only room to add, that they were characterized by the right spirit, and excited the deepest interest to their close.  The delegates appeared to be 'of one heart and of one mind,' and we look for a great work to be done in our cause the ensuing year.
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  |: GEORGE THOMPSON. :|

In a letter received from this untiring philanthropist, dated London, April 17th, he says--'Things in the United States have reached a state that excites my most intense interest, and I want to learn the views and purposes of all parties.  I, as you once were, am alone in the work of battling with a huge system of oppression.  I am fighting the East India Company, through the medium of public opinion in England.'  We have received a copy of the British India Advocate, of April 2, containing the report of a very powerful speech, delivered by Mr. Thompson at a General Quarterly Court of Proprietors of East India Stock, held at the Company's House, in Leadenhall-street, March 19th.  It appears to have created intense excitement in the Court, and caused some of the remorseless Proprietors to gnaw their tongues for pain.  Extracts and a further notice of it in another number.
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  |: GENERAL AGENT. :|

We have the pleasure of informing our anti-slavery friends, that our valued coadjutor, CHARLES K. WHIPPLE, has consented to take upon himself, for a while at least, and we hope for a long while, the duties of General Agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.  His presence and able co-operation will be of great service to the cause, provided our friends in the various towns give him their aid.  All applications for lectures, for aid in county meetings, &c. should be made to him at Boston.
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  |: PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN. :|

The first number of Vol. 6 of the PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN, enlarged size, devoted to Truth and Righteousness--especially to Non-Resistance and other Reforms--is just published at Milford, (Hopedale,) Mass., by Adin Ballou.  Those subscribers to the late Non-Resistant, residing in Boston, who would like the Practical Christian, will be supplied by Bela Marsh, agent, at No.25 Cornhill.
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NEW-ENGLAND CONVENTION.  The spacious Marlboro' Chapel has been engaged three entire days for this Convention.  Our anti-slavery friends can, if they will--and we mean to entertain no doubt that they will--make this the largest and most important meeting ever held by them in this metropolis.  It will be a great occasion.  We see it stated in the Chicago Citizen, that Alanson Work, recently released from the Missouri Penitentiary, (whose pitiable case is so well known), is now on his way, with his wife and two youngest children, to Connecticut, where he will take us his residence for the future.  It is added that he will spend several months in visiting different parts of the eastern States.  We hope he will not fail to be at the N. E. Convention.
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MR. WILSON'S SPEECH.  This speech, delivered a short time since in the Massachusetts Senate, in favor of declaring all Texian slaves free who may escape to this State, should Texas be annexed to the Union, is given on our first page, and well deserves a careful perusal.  Honor to its fearless author!
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