anti-slavery cause, has not, I fear, advanced much the last year; the separation in the National Society, and the truckling to the South of the politicians of both sides, during the late Presidential election, has for a time marred the work; but the anti-slavery banner of a third party is still displayed, and it will probably continue to nominate till it seriously influences the elections. In the mean time, the individual States, one after another, are freeing the colored people from part of their civil disabilities. A hard battle is to be fought, but mighty is truth, and must prevail.'”]
“The fourth of July,” the anniversary of the independence of the United States, fell this year on the first day of the week, and was therefore celebrated the day following. It is still marked by extravagant demonstrations of joy, and often disgraced by scenes of intemperance and demoralization. The better part of the community wisely counteract the evil, to a great extent, by holding, on the same day, temperance meetings, school examinations, opening their places of worship, et cet. I accompanied my friend Lewis Tappan to attend an anti-slavery meeting at Newark, in which Theodore Weld was expected to take a part for the first time after an interval of five years’ discontinuance of public speaking. Several years before, he had been carried away by the stream in crossing a river, and had very narrowly escaped drowning. This accident caused an affection of the throat, and eventually disqualified him for public labor except with the pen, to which, though deemed a great loss at the time by his fellow-laborers in the anti-slavery cause, we probably owe the invaluable works before referred to. It was on the same anniversary, five years ago, that he had spoken last, a circumstance to which he made a touching allusion: he spoke very impressively for more than half an hour without serious inconvenience, and I hope it may please Providence to restore his ability to plead, as he was wont to do with great power, for the cause of the oppressed.
In the afternoon there was a public examination of the scholars belonging to the place of worship in which the preceding meeting was held, and in connection with this a little incident occurred, which may serve to illustrate the state of public feeling. Newark, from its extensive trade with the south, is much under pro-slavery influence. But the congregation of this chapel are generally anti-slavery, and have several colored children in their school. One of these, a little black girl, was qualified to take part in the public examination; but this, in the estimation of some of the parents of white scholars, and several even of the trustees, could not be borne. Others, on the contrary, resolved to battle with the prejudice of caste, and to call for her, if she were not brought forward; and, finally, I suppose, by way of compromise, she was brought on the platform to recite alone, after the little scholars who could rejoice in the aristocratic complexion had performed their parts, without suffering the indignity of a public association with a colored child. Even this was, however, considered a victory by the anti-prejudice party.
I left on the seventh for Niagara, being desirous to see the celebrated Falls, and to visit some friends living in the western part of this State, as well as to find relief from the oppressive and tropical heat. I hoped also to fall in with my friends and fellow laborers, J. and M. Candler, who had gone with a party in the same direction. I need not describe a route so often traversed by Europeans. One of its agreeable incidents was an accidental meeting with John Curtis, of Ohio, on his way, on a free trade mission, to Great Britain, from motives which I believe to be disinterested and philanthropic. His labors, which are principally intended to show the evils of our taxes upon food, will not be in vain; though he will find many in England, as I found in America, who have no ear for truth when it opposes their prejudices or imaginary self-interest. He gave me a most cheering account of the march of abolition in Ohio, and said he had lately attended a meeting held at the invitation of the abolitionists, on the 5th of July, at which there were three thousand persons, who had come to the place of meeting in nine hundred vehicles of different kinds. He said he had never witnessed a more enthusiastic meeting. Another gentleman and his wife made themselves known to me, in the railway carriage, as warm abolitionists, and spoke favorably of the prospects of the cause in this part of the State of New York. The gentleman said he had lately had a discussion with a deacon of a church he attended, who defended the admission of slave-holders to the communion. On being asked, however, whether he would admit sheep-stealers, he acknowledged this was not so great a crime as man-stealing, and pleaded no further in favor of church-fellowship with slave-holders.
The journey from New York to the Falls of Niagara, a distance of 480 miles, is performed in about forty-eight hours, and when the railway communication is further completed, and the speed raised to the standard of the best English lines, it will probably be accomplished in less than thirty hours. The railway passed for many miles through the original forest, in which I observed very lofty trees, but none of an extraordinary girth. In many places the ground was crowded with fallen trees, in every stage of decay. I found my friends at the Eagle Hotel, at Niagara, where I remained till the twelfth, enjoying with them the views and scenery of “the Falls,” a spectacle of nature in her grandest aspect, which mocks the limited capacity of man to conceive or to describe.
On the eleventh, being the first day of the week, we held a meeting for worship, at our hotel, and were joined by an Irish lady and her three daughters, who had been living here some months. This lady told me she was present when M’Leod was arrested in this hotel. From all I have been able to learn, there are a number of reckless men on both sides the border line, who are anxious to foment war for the sake of plunder; but the great bulk of the American people, I am persuaded, are for peace, and especially for peace with England, a feeling which time is strengthening.
On the twelfth, our whole party left for Buffalo, by railway, getting a transient view of Lake Ontario before entering the city. Here we parted company, they proceeding to Toronto, by steam packet, and I to Syracuse by coach. The American vehicle of this name, carries nine inside passengers on three cross seats. It is hung on leather springs, so as to be fitted to maintain the shocks of a _corduroy_ road. Wishing to see the country, I mounted the box, by the side of the coachman, but at times had some difficulty in retaining my seat. The value of land in this part of the country, when cleared and in cultivation, I understood to be from thirty to fifty dollars per acre. A large breadth of wheat is grown, of which the yield is generally good; but this year there will be, in many cases, a short crop, from the extreme drought in the two preceding months. I went forward from Syracuse to Rochester by railway, and thence, with the exception of twelve miles by coach, by the same conveyance to Auburn, where we arrived at two o’clock in the morning. One of my fellow-passengers had been a soldier in the so-called “patriot” army, which enlisted against Santa Anna, in the revolt of Texas. He stated, that some planters were emigrating from Mississippi, with as many as two hundred “hands,” (slaves,) and plainly said, it was intended to plant the Anglo-Saxon flag on the walls of Mexico. If half what he asserted was true, the worst apprehensions of the abolitionists are too likely to be realized by the Texian revolution, and the establishment of a new slave-holding power on the vast territory claimed by that piratical band of robbers, and forming the South-western frontier of the United States.
At Auburn I paid a visit to the celebrated State Prison, and though, from want of time to call upon a gentleman in the city for whom I had a letter, I was unprovided with an introduction, I was politely admitted by the superintendent, who refused to receive the fee customarily paid by visitors, when he found, from the entry of my name and address, I was an Englishman. I passed through the different workshops, in which nearly all handicraft trades are carried on, and very superior work is frequently executed by the prisoners. Besides other less complicated machines, one complete locomotive engine has been constructed within these walls. As the system of discipline adopted here is the same as at Sing Sing, also in this State, I defer for the present, any remarks upon its character and success.
I left Auburn, in a hired carriage, for Skaneateles, to pay a visit to my friend, James Cannings Fuller. He has a rich farm of 156 acres, with a good house upon it, about a quarter of a mile west of the large and flourishing village of Skaneateles, which overlooks a beautiful lake of the same name, sixteen miles in length, and in some places two miles wide. James C. Fuller left England about seven years ago, and has carried his abolition principles with him to his adopted country. He told me that there had been a great change for the better in the public mind since his residence in this neighborhood. Abolitionism was once so unpopular, that he has been mobbed four times in his own otherwise quiet village. On one occasion he was engaged in a public discussion on slavery, and a mob so much disturbed the meeting, by the throwing of shot, and yells the most discordant the human voice could make, that his opponent moved an adjournment, and afterwards accompanied him on his way to his own house, with many other persons, as a body-guard. They were followed by a large number of other persons, who attempted to throw him down, and were very free in the use of missiles and mud; the mob were so vociferous, that their shoutings were heard two and a half miles distant, many persons leaving their houses to endeavor to ascertain the cause of such an uproar. On James C. Fuller’s entering his house, the mob surrounded his parlor windows, and these would, most probably, have been smashed in pieces, and the building defaced, had not one of the assailants been seized with a fit, and in that state conveyed into James C. Fuller’s parlor, where he lay insensible for three quarters of an hour. This sudden seizure diverted the attention of the mob from my friend and his property to their own companion.
James C. Fuller informed me that mobs in America are generally, if not always, instigated by “persons of property and standing;” and the most blameable, in his case, were not those who yelled, et cet., et cet., but others who prompted the outrage. Happily this state of things is now altered: as much order and decorum, with fixed attention, is now witnessed at an abolition lecture as at any other lecture; and a colored man can now collect a larger meeting in Skaneateles than a white man, and the behavior of the audience is attentive, kind, and respectful. My friend, John Candler, who was here a fortnight before me, collected a large assembly to hear his account of the effects of emancipation in our West India Islands, and many expressed themselves much gratified with his narrative.
Being anxious to proceed to Peterboro’, to visit Gerrit Smith, I accepted James C. Fuller’s kind offer to take me in his carriage. The distance is nearly fifty miles, and the roads were, in some parts, very rough; but they intersect a fine country. Much wheat is grown in many places, and here the crop appeared generally good.
Having started rather late in the afternoon, we were benighted before we reached Manlius Square, where we lodged. Though my kind friend would not permit me to pay my share of the bill, yet, to gratify my curiosity, he communicated the particulars of the charge, as follows: Half a bushel of oats for the horses, 25 cents; supper for two persons, 25 cents; two beds, 25 cents; hay and stable-room for the two horses, 25 cents; total, one dollar, or about 4s. 2d. sterling.
We arrived at Peterboro’ early the following morning, where I remained till the sixteenth, at the house of Gerrit Smith. He was once a zealous supporter of the Colonization Society, but when convinced of the evil character and tendency of that scheme, he withdrew from it, and became a warm and able advocate of the immediate abolition of slavery. He is one of the few Americans who have inherited large property from their parents, and he has contributed to this cause with princely munificence. Gerrit Smith and Arthur Tappan have, each on one or more occasions given single donations of ten thousand dollars (upwards of two thousand pounds sterling) to promote anti-slavery objects. His wife, Ann Carroll Smith, who is a native of Maryland, and his daughter, an only child, share in my valued friend’s ardent sympathy for the sufferings of the slave. During my stay, he received a letter from Samuel Worthington, of Mississippi, who held in slavery Harriet Russell. Harriet was formerly the slave of Ann Carroll Smith, having been given to her when they were both children. Ann C. Smith was but twelve years old when, with her father’s family, she removed from Maryland to New York. Harriet was left in Maryland. Shortly after Ann C. Smith’s marriage, and when she was about eighteen years of age, her brother, James Fitzhugh, of Maryland, wrote to ask her to give Harriet to him, stating that she was, or was about to be, married to his slave, Samuel Russell. She consented: and her brother soon after emigrated to Kentucky, taking Samuel and Harriet with him. After this Samuel and Harriet were repeatedly sold.
Some years ago, Gerrit and Ann C. Smith having become deeply impressed with the great sin of slavery, were anxious to learn what had become of Harriet. But they did not succeed in ascertaining her residence, until the letter received during my visit informed them of it, and which also stated that Harriet and her husband were living, and that they had several children. The price put upon the family was four thousand dollars.
James C. Fuller having kindly offered to go into Kentucky, where Samuel Worthington then resided, to negotiate with him for the purchase of the family, G. Smith gladly accepted the offer of one so well qualified for this undertaking. James C. Fuller succeeded in purchasing the family for three thousand five hundred dollars, exclusive of his travelling expenses, and those of the slave family, which amounted to about two hundred and eighty dollars. He has published a very interesting account of his journey, in a letter addressed to myself, from which some extracts are given in the Appendix.[A] Eighteen months ago, G. and A.C. Smith united with other children of her father, the late Col. Fitzhugh, in purchasing, at the cost of four thousand dollars, the liberty of ten slaves, who, or their parents, were among the slaves of Colonel Fitzhugh when he left Maryland. I have recently learned that they are negotiating the purchase of the liberty of other slaves, who formerly belonged to Colonel Fitzhugh. It is nearly seven years since Gerrit Smith and his family adopted the practice of total abstinence from all slave produce, thus additionally manifesting the sincerity of those convictions which have induced him to contribute so largely of his wealth both to the anti-slavery funds, and for the liberation of all slaves with which his family property had the most remote connection.
[Footnote A: See Appendix I.]
Here, I had some expectation of again meeting my friend, James G. Birney, who was gone on a journey to Ohio, and is well known to English abolitionists, by his able assistance at the great Anti-Slavery Convention, as one of its vice-presidents, and by his subsequent labors, which are thus acknowledged, on his return to America, by the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society:–
“That this committee are deeply sensible of the services rendered to the anti-slavery cause by their esteemed friend and coadjutor, James Gillespie Birney, Esq., whilst in this country, in a course of laborious efforts, in which his accurate and extensive information, his wise and judicious counsels, and his power of calm and convincing statement, have become eminently conspicuous.
“The committee also take the present occasion to record their sense of his zealous and disinterested labors in defence of the rights of outraged humanity in his own country, during a period of great excitement and opposition: and of the proof he has given of his sincerity, in having twice manumitted the slaves that had come into his possession; a noble example, which they trust others will not be slow to follow.”
Whilst J.G. Birney was in this country, in addition to his arduous labors, in addressing large assemblies in many of the cities of the United Kingdom, he prepared and published his excellent work, “The American Churches the Bulwark of American Slavery,” which is eminently deserving of the attentive perusal of all Christian readers. The estimation in which James G. Birney is held by American abolitionists, is marked by his having been twice unanimously selected by the “Liberty Party,” as a candidate for the Presidential chair.
I found G. Smith as much interested in the subject of temperance, as in that of slavery. No person in the whole of the township in which he lives is licensed to sell drams. For an innkeeper to sell a glass of spirits, or even of strong beer, is illegal, and exposes him to a heavy fine.
The next morning I left early for Utica, where I had the pleasure of again meeting the friends I had parted from at Buffalo, with whom I paid a visit to the Oneida Institute, about two miles from Utica. This college was the first in the United States to throw open its doors to students, irrespective of color. It was also one of the earliest institutions to combine manual labor with instruction. The principle is adopted partly from a motive of economy, but principally because intellectual vigor is believed to depend on bodily health, and that these can be best secured and preserved by exercise and labor, especially out of door and agricultural employments. The labor of the students defrays a considerable part of the expense of their support, but as the severe pressure of the times has limited the means of many liberal benefactors of Oneida, the establishment, which usually comprises one hundred young men, is now limited to about one-third of the number. Several of these are colored. The Oberlin Institute in Ohio is on a much larger scale than this, and is on an equally liberal footing with regard to color. I much regretted being unable, from want of time, to comply with the urgent request of my friend, Wm. Dawes and others, to visit this important and interesting establishment. The number of students at Oberlin last year was five hundred and sixty, including those in the department for females.
I was much pleased to have the opportunity of becoming further acquainted with the President of Oneida, Beriah Green, and with his friend, Wm. Goodell, who resides in the neighborhood. Their names will be reverenced by the abolitionists of America as long as the memory of anti-slavery efforts shall survive. Before we left, we had an opportunity of meeting the students together, who appeared much interested with my friend John Candler’s details of the results of emancipation in Jamaica. I was disappointed in not finding at home Alvan Stewart, one of the ablest and most zealous friends of the Anti-Slavery cause; but Beriah Green kindly accompanied me to call upon several of their abolition friends in the city.
My limited time prevented my paying a visit to Henry B. Stanton, who was residing not far from Utica, and whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making in England. He also will be remembered for his able assistance at the Convention, and by his eloquent addresses at public meetings in this country. The following record of his services is made by the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society:–
“That this Committee, in taking leave of their friend and fellow-laborer in the cause of universal emancipation, Henry Brewster Stanton, Esq., record their high estimate of the valuable services rendered by him to that cause, whilst in Great Britain, by his eloquent and powerful advocacy; and, in tendering him their thanks, they express their sincere desire for his success in the great work to which he has devoted himself.”
The name of Henry B. Stanton previously occurs in conjunction with that of Theodore D. Weld, as having left Lane Seminary with many other students, rather than be silent on the abolition question: becoming from that time a strenuous and powerful anti-slavery advocate.
I proceeded in the evening to Albany, and thence to New York the next morning; where I remained from the 17th to the 26th instant, and, during this time, I put in circulation the following address:–
“_To the Members of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States of America_.
“Dear Friends,–Having for many years believed it my duty to devote a considerable portion of my time and attention to the promotion of the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade, I have acted in cordial co-operation with the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society since its formation. The principles of that Society may be briefly explained by the following extract from its constitution: ‘That so long as slavery exists, there is no reasonable prospect of the annihilation of the slave-trade, and of extinguishing the sale and barter of human beings: that the extinction of slavery and the slave-trade will be attained most effectually by the employment of those means which are of a moral, religious, and pacific character: and that no measures be resorted to by this society in the prosecution of their objects, but such as are in entire accordance with these principles.’
“My visit to this country had reference, in a great measure, to the objects for which this society was established; but, although I left my native land with the general approbation and full unity of my friends, they concurred with me in opinion, that any _official_ document, beyond a certificate from ‘my monthly meeting,’ expressive of sympathy with my engagement, might rather obstruct than promote the end I had in view. I was desirous of a personal interchange of sentiment with many of the abolitionists in this land, upon matters having an important bearing upon our future exertions. The warm attachment which I have ever felt to the religious society with which I am connected, and the ready co-operation of its members with their Christian neighbors in promoting this cause in Great Britain, inclined me to embrace every suitable opportunity to communicate with Friends in this country. And I have been encouraged, not only by the great personal kindness I have received from them generally, but also by the lively interest expressed by most, on the subject of emancipation, wherever I have introduced it.
“A further acquaintance with Friends in the compass of the three or four ‘Yearly Meetings,’ in which my lot has been cast, and my inquiries respecting the state of the other Yearly Meetings, has convinced me that a large number of their most consistent members, including many aged and universally respected Friends, are desirous of embracing every right opening, both individually and collectively, for the promotion of the abolition cause. And while they are fully aware that there are reasons growing out of the existing state of things, which render great circumspection necessary, they can see no good ground for believing that the manner in which Friends of this country, of a former generation, labored for the liberation of the slave, was not under the guidance of the Spirit of truth.
“This is now the course pursued by Friends generally in England. That there may be no misapprehension as to the conduct of Friends, with regard to this subject, in Great Britain, I may mention, that I am the bearer of a document expressive of unity with my visit, signed by William Allen, Josiah Forster, William Forster, George Stacey, Samuel Fox, George W. Alexander, and Robert Forster, who declare themselves fellow members with myself of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Committee. This committee is composed of persons of various religious denominations, amongst whom it will be seen are many of the prominent members of our meeting for sufferings. Upon the list of delegates to the late Anti-Slavery Convention, in London, are the names of nearly one hundred well known Friends, including those of four who are, or have been clerks of the yearly meeting; and the present clerk of that meeting, my esteemed friend, George Stacey, took an active part, and rendered essential service in the Convention. The meeting house in Gracechurch Street was freely granted by Friends in London, who have charge of it, for the use of the Convention, and the concluding sittings of that body were held in it.
“In fact, Friends generally in England think it their duty to render every aid in their power to the anti-slavery cause, whether in their collective capacity, or individually uniting with their fellow-citizens, when they can do so without any compromise of our religious principles and testimonies. I speak more explicitly on this point, because I have ascertained with much concern, that there is an influential portion of the Society, including, I have no doubt, some sincere abolitionists, who have been so fearful that the testimonies of the Society might suffer by any union with others, that they have not only avoided such a co-operation themselves, but have dissuaded those of their brethren, who have believed it incumbent upon them to act otherwise; and in one ‘Yearly Meeting,’ at least, I have too much reason to fear they have tacitly, if not actively sanctioned the omission of the names of Friends on meeting appointments,–however consistent in their conduct, and concerned for the welfare of the society–simply because they have felt it their duty to act with persons of other denominations in promoting the abolition of slavery; thus, in appearance at least, throwing the whole weight and influence of the society, in its collective capacity, against a movement, which, although doubtless partaking of the imperfections attendant upon all human instrumentality, has already aroused the whole country to a sense of the wrongs of the slave, and secured to the nominally free colored citizens, in many of the States, rights of which they have been so long and so unjustly deprived.
“Though I can hardly expect that any thing from one entertaining my view of the subject, can have much weight with those Friends, who, with a full understanding of the heavy responsibility they were assuming, have discountenanced anti-slavery exertions, and the use of our meeting houses, even by consistent members, for the purpose of giving information on the subject:[A] yet, as it has occasioned me no small degree of anxiety, both in reference to the anti-slavery cause, and the Society of Friends itself, I believe I cannot return to my native land with peace of mind, without earnestly and affectionately pressing upon such Friends, the great importance of a careful examination of the ground which they have taken. Our unwearied adversary is sometimes permitted to lead us into the most fearful errors, when he assumes the appearance of an angel of light. And is there not great danger, in encouraging the young and inexperienced to suppose that the maintenance of any of our testimonies may be neglected, except when we feel a Divine intimation to uphold them, and may it not open the door to great laxity in our practice? While I fully believe that the true disciple of Christ will be favored with the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit whenever it is needful to direct his steps; it appears to me especially important, that, in matters of self-sacrifice and conflicting with our worldly interest or reputation, we should guard against being deluded into a neglect of duty, by waiting for this direct Divine intimation, where the path of duty is obvious and clearly understood, and when testimonies are concerned, which we have long considered it our duty, on all occasions, to support. If, under such a view of the subject, we do believe it our duty to cease to act ourselves, and discourage our brethren from laboring in the cause of the slave; a close self-examination surely is needful, in order to ascertain if we are consistently carrying out the same principle in our daily walk in life–in our mercantile transactions–our investments of property–in our connection with public institutions,–and with political parties.
[Footnote A: “It is right to state, that I was much encouraged by the lively expression of sympathy in the anti-slavery cause in the Yearly Meetings of Philadelphia and New York: that at the former place Friends opened a room at the meeting house for my friend John Candler to give some information on the subject, and at New York the large meeting house was not only readily granted to him and me for the same purpose, but the clerks of the Yearly Meeting kindly gave notice and invited Friends to attend.”]
“It should be borne in perpetual recollection, that we are in no small danger of shrinking from a faithful maintenance of those testimonies which are unpopular with the world, as well as of not seeing our own neglect of duty, while censuring the zeal or supposed indiscretion of others. Besides, if this good cause be really endangered by popular excitement, and the indiscretion of its imprudent advocates, the obligation of consistent Friends to be found at their posts, faithfully maintaining the testimony of truth on its behalf, is greatly increased; and it is under such circumstances that I think I have seen the peculiar advantage and protection to our young friends in England, of having their elder brethren with them, aiding them by their sympathy, as well as by their advice and counsel. I am persuaded that those who are called to occupy the foremost ranks in society cannot be too careful not to impose a burden upon tender consciences, by discouraging, either directly or indirectly, a course of conduct which is sanctioned by the precepts and examples of our Divine Master, lest they alienate from us some of His disciples, and thereby greatly injure the society they are so laudably anxious to ‘keep unspotted from the world.’
“We are told, on the highest authority, that ‘by their fruits’ we are to judge of the laborers in the Christian vineyard; and, while I am fully aware of the greater difficulties in the way of emancipation _here_, as compared with Great Britain, I have been almost irresistibly led to contrast the difference in the results of the course pursued by Friends in the two countries. In America, during the last twenty-five years, it is evident that slavery and the slave-trade have greatly increased; and even where the members of our society are the most numerous and influential, the prejudice against color is as strong as in any part of the world,[A] and Friends themselves, in many places, are by no means free from this prejudice. In Great Britain, Friends, by society action, and by uniting with their fellow-countrymen, not only contributed, under Providence, in no small degree, to the passage of the act of 1834, for the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies; but, when it was found that the system of apprenticeship which this act introduced, was made an instrument of cruel oppression to the slaves, a renewal of similar labors for about twelve months, resulted in the _complete_ emancipation of our colored brethren in those colonies.
[Footnote A: “I should, I believe, do wrong to conceal the sorrow which I have felt that the scheme of African colonization, the great support of which, at the present time, appears to be hostility to anti-slavery efforts and an unchristian prejudice against color, still has the sympathy and the active aid of some members of our society.”]
“In closing this letter, I wish to address a few words to that numerous and valuable class of Friends, previously alluded to, with whom I deeply sympathize, who are only deterred from more active exertion by their reluctance to give dissatisfaction to those whom they respect. The sorrow which I feel, under the consideration that, in parting with many of you, we never probably shall meet again in mutability, is softened by the persuasion, that the difficulties by which you are surrounded are lessening, and that some who are now opposing you, will, ere long, join you in efforts, which shall remove from the minds, both of abolitionists and slave-holders, the belief so generally entertained, that the Society of Friends in this country are not earnestly engaged for the _total and immediate_ abolition of slavery. No one regrets more than myself that any friends to the cause of abolition should connect other topics with it, which, however suitable to be discussed on their own merits, must necessarily interfere with this simple and momentous object. You are aware of some of the circumstances which may have led to the state of feeling, with many in our society, which we so much deplore. And it is my fervent desire that none of you, in any steps you may consider it your duty to take, may afford just cause of uneasiness, by any compromise of Christian principle, any improper harshness of language, or by the introduction of any subject not strictly belonging to the anti-slavery cause. Your situation is one of peculiar difficulty and delicacy. Both from a regard to your own religious society and the suffering slave, you have need to exercise great watchfulness, and to cultivate feelings of brotherly love and that ‘charity which suffereth long, and is kind.’ The beautiful example of John Woolman, in this respect, is worthy of your imitation. His labors were, for years, far less encouraged by the leading influences of society than your own at the present time; yet we find, in reading his invaluable journal, no traces of bitterness or uncharitable feeling.
“Finally, dear friends of all classes,–In thus freely addressing you, I have written, not only with a strong attachment to our religious society, but, I trust, under a feeling of a degree of that love, which is not confined to geographical boundaries, or affected by color or by clime. The prayer of my heart is, that each of you may be willing to be made instrumental, in the Divine Hand, in faithfully maintaining our Christian testimony against slavery; bearing in mind, that the labors of your ancestors have greatly increased your responsibility, by separating you from those influences which so deaden the feelings and harden the heart against the claims of our brethren in bonds. May these considerations, viewed in connection with the difficulties which obstruct the progress of emancipation in this land, stimulate you to increased exertion; and when you are summoned to the bar of that final tribunal, towards which we are all hastening, may you have the inexpressible consolation of reflecting, that you have performed all you could towards ‘undoing the heavy burden and letting the oppressed go free.’
“I am, very sincerely,
“Your friend,
“JOSEPH STURGE.”
“New York, Seventh Month 17th, 1841.”
The above letter so fully embodies my view of the state of the Society in reference to the anti-slavery cause, that I shall think it needless, after a few general observations, again recur to this subject. I feel bound to acknowledge that this public mode of making my sentiments known was disapproved by some Friends; yet of all the objections that were made to the proceeding, none tended to impugn the accuracy of my representation of the existing state of things. This is approved by some, and deplored by others, but my statement has not been denied by any. In consequence of a remonstrance made to me on special grounds in the kindest and most Christian manner by two beloved friends, I felt called upon to subject my motives and conduct, in issuing such an address, to deliberate reconsideration; and the result was, that I not only felt myself clear of just censure, but that in no other way could I have discharged my duty according to my own interpretation of its dictates. Of other objectors, I may add, that simply to enumerate their reasons, stated to me in private conference, would be the severest public animadversion that could be made, either on the individuals themselves, or on the Society whose views they professed to represent.
In the present state of this great controversy, the abolitionists may justly say, “he that is not with us, is against us,” while the pro-slavery party can witness, “he that is not against us, is on our side.” Hence the praise bestowed on the neutrality of the Society of Friends by the great slave-holding senator, Henry Clay. Hence also the suspicious compliments of the late President Van Buren, the first act of whose administration was a pledge to refuse his signature to any bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. I fear it is undeniable that in the last eight years the collective influence of the Society has been thrown into the pro-slavery scale, and this notwithstanding the existence of much diffused and passive sympathy and right feeling on behalf of the slave, in the breasts of probably a large majority of individual members. The abolitionists of the United States have been treated by too many influential Friends, as well as by the leading professors of other denominations, as a party whose contact is contamination; yet to a bystander it is plainly obvious that the true grounds of offence are not always those ostensibly alleged, but the activity, zeal, and success with which they have cleared themselves of participation in other men’s sins, and by which they have condemned the passive acquiescence of a society making a high profession of anti-slavery principles. I do not intend to defend all the proceedings of the anti-slavery societies. That they have sometimes erred in judgment and action,–that they have had unworthy men among their members, I have little doubt. But, the same objections might have been raised to the old anti-slavery societies, in which the leading Friends of the United States took an active part with their neighbors of other denominations, and, with far greater force against the Colonization Society, which is patronized, even to this day, both by individual members and by at least one Meeting of Sufferings.[A] The causes that have produced the state of things I have attempted to describe, derive their origin, I believe, from one source–inaction. After the Society of Friends had purified itself from slave-holding, it gradually subsided into a state of rest, and finally lapsed into lethargy and indifference on this question. In the world we live in, evil is the quick and spontaneous growth, while good is the forced and difficult culture. Good principles can only be preserved bright, pure, and efficient, by watchful care and constant use; if laid aside, they rust and perish. These are the necessary effects of the fall of man by disobedience from that state of happiness and holiness in which he was formed by a beneficent Creator. In a state of inaction, Friends have been exposed to the influences of a corrupt public sentiment; they have, to a considerable extent, imbibed the prejudice against color, while some of them have been caught by the gilded bait of southern commerce.
[Footnote A: See Appendix K.]
In a former part of this work I have briefly alluded to that memorable reformation, which, in the latter part of the preceding century, purged the Society of Friends from the heinous sins of slave trading and holding slaves. This reformation in Great Britain, with perhaps a few individual exceptions, consisted merely in the adoption of new convictions, and the abandonment of lax opinions; but, on the American continent, it was sealed by the willing sacrifice of an immense amount of property. One can scarcely avoid looking back with regret to times when convictions of duty had such power, when Christian principle was carried out, whatever the cost. Then, indeed, was exhibited, by the American Friends, the fruit of a world-overcoming faith. It must be confessed that the present position of their descendants presents an unpleasing contrast; yet I trust, that from all I have written, the conclusion will be drawn, that I look forward to the future with hope; though it is a hope chastened with fear. Next to a fervent desire that slavery may be speedily abolished, it is one of the warmest wishes of my heart, that the “Society of Friends” in America, may be among the chiefly honored agents in accomplishing, in the wisdom and power of Jesus Christ, so great a work, thereby contributing to the fulfilment of the angelic prophecy of “Glory to God, and good will to man.”
I subsequently visited, in company with a colored gentleman, one of the principal colored schools in New York, in which there were upwards of three hundred children present. All the departments appeared to be conducted, under colored teachers, with great order and efficiency, and the attainments of the higher classes were very considerable. On the whole, this school would bear comparison with any similar school for white children which I ever visited.
Having received from Great Britain the minutes of a special meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society, called to consider the time of holding a second General Convention, I met some of the friends of the cause in New York, together with John G. Whittier and Elizur Wright, of Boston, to obtain an interchange of their sentiments on the same subject. After considerable discussion, they unanimously concluded to leave the decision as to the time of holding a future Convention to the London Committee–the question of time being the summer of 1842 or 1843.
The numerous persons on whom I called, before leaving New York, concurred uniformly in the belief that public opinion was steadily, and somewhat rapidly advancing, in favor of emancipation, and that the prejudice against color was lessening.
The unanimity I found in the opinion that public feeling in favor of peace was continually strengthening, was very encouraging. All whom I consulted, approved of the suggestion of Judge Jay, already mentioned, though I had no suitable opportunity of obtaining the collective sentiments of the friends of peace in New York upon it.
The Secretary of the Vigilance Committee, an association existing in several of the Northern cities, formed to aid runaway slaves in escaping to a place of safety, as well as to protect the free colored people from kidnappers, informed me that the number of slaves who applied for assistance was constantly on the increase. He said that, only a few days before, a man, who was a preacher of the gospel, who was escaping to Canada, called upon him; and on being asked why he was fleeing from slavery, he exposed his naked back, lacerated with a recent flogging, and said that he had received that punishment for going to his place of worship.
On the evening of the 24th I went up the river Hudson to Sing Sing, in company with Lewis Tappan. Our object was to spend the next day, which was the first day of the week, in this celebrated state prison. We lodged at a quiet hotel, on an eminence above the village; and next morning, about eight o’clock, we went to the prison, where we were very kindly received by the superintendent, J.G. Seymour, and by the chaplain. Soon afterwards, we had the opportunity of seeing all the male prisoners, about seven hundred and fifty, in the chapel, when they were addressed by a minister of the Presbyterian persuasion, whom we had met on board the steamer, and whom Lewis Tappan had invited to be there. We were informed that about one-third of the prisoners were colored: these did not sit separate, but were intermixed with the rest. In general, however, the striking language of De Beaumont, a late French traveller in the United States, will be found true. “The prejudice against color haunts its victim wherever he goes,–in the hospitals where humanity suffers,–in the churches where it kneels to God,–_in the prisons where it expiates its offences_,–in the grave-yards where it sleeps the last sleep.”
From hence we proceeded to the female department, where about eighty were assembled, some of whom seemed much affected by an address from my friend, Lewis Tappan. He told them he saw at least one present who had been a scholar in his colored Sabbath School at New York. The white women were placed in the front seats, and the colored behind them. We next went to the Sabbath School for the male prisoners, held in the chapel, where the attendance is general, though perfectly voluntary. Twenty-five of the best educated and most orderly prisoners are allowed to teach classes: the other teachers were officers of the prison, and other persons attracted hither by benevolent motives; and I was told the teachers selected among the convicts had not once been detected in the abuse of this privilege, by entering into conversation on other topics. On the breaking up of the school, Lewis Tappan addressed them, and I added a few words. We were kindly invited to dine with the matron. She mentioned one instance of complete reformation in a female, which was to be attributed she believed, under the Divine blessing, to the ministry of Joseph J. Gurney, who visited Sing Sing, in the course of his religious labors in the United States.
After dinner we were permitted to visit the male prisoners at their cells, list shoes being provided for us that we might walk along the galleries without noise. Those who wished to do so, were suffered to speak to us through their grated doors, in a low voice. A number embraced this opportunity; of the sincere repentance and reformation of some of whom, I could scarcely doubt. One prisoner, a man of color, appeared to enjoy a state of perfect happiness, under a sense of being at peace with his Maker. Another manifested such a feeling of his spiritual blessings, and especially of that change of heart he had been favored to experience, as scarcely to have a desire for his liberation, though his health was visibly sinking under the confinement, and there appeared little other prospect but that of his dying in the prison, as he had been condemned for ten years, of which three yet remained. Several were Englishmen, who were mostly under feigned names, keeping their real names secret, from a natural unwillingness to disgrace their families. Some of these were men of education, and communicated to me in confidence their family names. One referred to gentlemen standing deservedly high in the estimation of the British public, as well knowing him. Two or three of this class wept much, when speaking of their situation, and of the offences that had brought them there.
I gathered from the prisoners themselves that a great change had been introduced, both in the affairs and in the management of the prison, within the last eighteen months, by the present excellent superintendent and chaplain and their coadjutors, and with the happiest effects. The former system was one of brutal severity; now, without any relaxation of discipline, needless severity is discarded, and the floggings have been reduced nine-tenths, the great object being the reformation of the prisoners. One of these, speaking of the superintendent and chaplain, said: “there was not a prisoner in the jail, but rejoiced to hear the sound of their feet.”
J.G. Seymour mentioned one of the English prisoners to me, whose heart had been softened, and his reformation commenced, through the kindness of his prosecutor, who had spent both time and money in endeavoring to procure his release. This statement was fully confirmed in an interesting conversation I had with the individual himself, who was subsequently permitted, as well as another Englishman, to send letters by me to their relations in this country.
An extract from the correspondence of one of my unfortunate fellow-countrymen, which I am permitted to make, will afford an interesting view of the internal administration of the Sing Sing prison, by one of its inmates. After alluding to the absolute monotony of prison life, he gives one day as a specimen of every day. “Monday morning, the large prison bell rings at five o’clock, when we all rise; half an hour after, we all go out to work, to our respective shops, till breakfast, the keepers all the time seated upon a high seat, overlooking–seeing that everything is ordered and going on in a proper manner: no talking allowed upon any occasion, or under any pretence whatever. When the breakfast-bell rings, we all go in to breakfast, each one to a separate room, (which are all numbered, one thousand in all;) every man’s breakfast is ready for him in his room,–one pint of coffee, with plenty of meat, potatoes, and rye bread. After one hour, the prison opens again, and we work in a similar manner till twelve–dinner hour–when we go in again. Dinner is set ready as before,–an ample quantity of meat, potatoes, and bread, with a cup of water, (the best beverage in the world–would to God I had never drank any thing else, and I should not have been here;) one hour allowed for dinner, when we go out and work again till six o’clock, when we come in and are locked up for the night, with a large bowl of mush, (hasty pudding with molasses,) the finest food in the world, made from Indian meal. Thus passes each day of the week. Sundays we rise at the same hour; each man has a clean shirt given him in his room, then goes to the kitchen, brings his breakfast in with him, the same as before, and is locked up till eight, when Divine service is performed by a most worthy and able chaplain. After service, through the pious and benevolent efforts of Mr. Seymour, we have an excellent Sabbath School. Bible classes, where from three to four hundred attend, about half to learn to read, and the others to receive instruction in the way to attain everlasting life, under the immediate inspection of Mr. Seymour; and I am happy to say, that the greatest attention is paid by scholars of both classes: many, very many, know how to appreciate the value of these privileges, and benefit by them accordingly. Mr. Seymour has obtained a large library for us, and one of the prisoners is librarian. At eleven o’clock we are locked up for the day, with an extra allowance of food and water sufficient. The librarian and an assistant are left open, to distribute the books; that is to go to each man’s cell, get the book he had the previous Sunday, and give him another in exchange, generally supplying them with a small tract, of which we mostly have a great plenty.”
A large proportion of the prisoners work in a stone quarry without the walls; and the most painful sight I saw at Sing Sing were the sentinels placed on prominent points commanding the prison, with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, who have orders at once to shoot a convict who may attempt to escape, if he does not obey the order to return. I was told, however, an occurrence of the kind had not happened for years.
A number of the female domestics in different families in the village of Sing Sing, have been prisoners, and are now reformed and generally conducting themselves to the entire satisfaction of their employers.
There are few subjects more interesting to a civilized and Christian community, than that of prison discipline. It will scarcely, at the present day, be denied that the only motives on which, in such a government, criminal law can be administered, are the public safety, and the reformation of the criminal himself. Vengeance has not been delegated to man under the Christian dispensation. It is too evident, nevertheless, that the principle of retaliatory punishment, irrespective of any considerations of public safety, or the benefit of the offender, pervades our criminal jurisprudence, both in theory and practice, and just so far as this is the case, is the last great object defeated, for his feelings are deadened, and his heart hardened by it. The most depraved wretch has that within him which testifies that his fellow worm has no right to inflict pain upon him solely as a _punishment_, and his heart rebels against what he feels to be oppression. On the more enlightened, the effect is equally unfavorable, for he contrasts the practice of his persecutors with their profession, and is perhaps conducted thereby to infidelity and despair. One of the prisoners at Sing Sing, while contrasting the former with the present management, said, “We used to hear the gospel preached to us on the Sabbath, but see its doctrines trampled upon in all the conduct pursued towards us the whole week besides.” How different the result where the law of love reigns! At Sing Sing there are numerous recent instances where conviction on the minds of the prisoners that the authorities of the prison have no other object than their temporal and spiritual benefit, has softened their hearts, and thereby disposed them to the reception of that consoling faith in a crucified Saviour, which is the only foundation of true amendment of life. How important is it that all the offices in a prison should be filled by persons of true piety; and where can such be more usefully employed?
In a former part of this work, I have expressed a somewhat unfavorable opinion on “the separate system,” adopted in the Philadelphia Penitentiary. One of my objections to this system is this, that to deprive man so entirely of human society, is to do violence to the strongest instinct of his nature, and thereby to inflict suffering far more severe than corporeal pain or privation. If the severity of this system does not obviously tend to carry out the legitimate objects of prison discipline, it cannot be defended. The small number of recommittals is no proof of the efficacy of this system; since, in a country like the United States, a liberated felon may very easily choose another locality for his sphere of action. In favor of the “separate system,” it is occasionally pleaded that the prisoner is under a veil of secresy; and that when he goes forth, neither the censorious public, nor his fellow-prisoners, can point him out; and thus, his character being comparatively unblemished, he can, with less difficulty, procure employment. It is obvious that this would induce, in many cases, a degree of dishonest concealment from an employer, and encourage dissimulation. It would be much better that the prisoner should depend for a situation on the good character which the superintendent would give him if reformed; and I was glad to find at Sing Sing guarded situations had been procured, in numerous instances, for the liberated prisoners, and that their employers, with very little exception, represented them to be most valuable servants. I could hear of no case, in either of the prisons I visited, of any permanent injury to the health of a prisoner from the entire disuse of intoxicating drinks, however intemperate their previous habits might have been. The same remark is true with regard to tobacco. I will only add, that it is notorious that the prison discipline of Great Britain, notwithstanding all its recent improvements, is yet lamentably deficient; and that though the United States justly claim precedence of us in this respect, they have, by no means reached perfection. The greatest deficiency of all, however, in each nation, is that of institutions like the Philadelphia Refuge, co-extensive with the wants of the community, for the reformation of juvenile delinquency; thus suppressing crime in its small beginnings. So long as this want is unsupplied, and the juvenile offender is contaminated by contact with the hardened criminal, the statesmen and those who control the legislatures of both countries, dishonor their profession of Christianity.
On the 26th, I accompanied my friends, J. and M. Candler, to the steamer which was to convey them on board the “Roscius” packet, to sail for Liverpool this afternoon. I afterwards called upon Charles Collins, who, for many years past, has dealt exclusively in articles of free labor produce, and for which he said he had found the demand to increase of late. I am more and more convinced that this branch of the abolition question has not received the attention it deserves from the friends of the cause. Before leaving New York, I ought not to omit to record a visit that was on a previous occasion paid us at our hotel, by William Cullen Bryant, whose name on this side of the water is associated with some of the most beautiful productions of American literature. He is the editor of the _New York Evening Post_, a leading democratic paper, and, to his credit be it said, he has always advocated the rights of the abolitionists. He has a thin, pale, thought-worn countenance, and his manner is quiet and unassuming. I also formed an agreeable acquaintance with Lydia Maria Child, known in both hemispheres as one of the most pleasing of American writers. She is editor of the _National Anti-Slavery Standard_. Her services in the cause of the slave have been of great value, and have been given at the risk of destroying her interests and popularity as an author.
I finally quitted this city, in the steamer, for Boston, on the 24th, accompanied by John G. Whittier.
I remained in Boston till the first of the Eighth Month, (August) when I embarked on board the “Caledonia” steamer for England.–During the interval, I made a number of calls upon the abolitionists in Boston; and, among others, saw Henry and Maria Chapman and Wendell Phillips; the former of whom had just returned from a visit to Hayti, and the latter from Europe. I had several interviews with Martha V. and Lucy M. Ball, secretaries of the Boston Female Emancipation Society, who have long been faithful and laborious abolitionists. I also met, as at New York, a number of the friends of the cause, again to consider the best time for calling a second general Convention, to whom I read the London minutes on that subject. A resolution was unanimously passed, of the same tenor as those of New York, lately noticed. While in this city, I had not only the pleasure of renewing my intimacy with my friend, Nathaniel Colver, who is known to many of the English abolitionists as their valuable and cordial coadjutor at the great Convention in London, but of becoming acquainted with many zealous and able friends of the slave. One of these was Amos A. Phelps, one of those who signed the original declaration issued by the American Anti-Slavery Society, on its foundation at Philadelphia, in 1833.
We also went to Salem, and met a number of “Friends” who were abolitionists, and who appeared desirous to embrace every suitable opportunity of promoting the cause.
Salem is a city of about fourteen thousand inhabitants, and I was told that the number of its population who went and returned to and from Boston, a distance of fourteen miles, weekly, was about five hundred–a striking proof of the locomotive energy of the Americans. Their gratification, in this respect, has been much facilitated of late by the rapid extension of railways. These, with few exceptions, are by no means so completely constructed as in England; but, owing to the cheapness of land, timber, et cet., and by making the lines generally single, and, on the average, the speed of travelling being about one-fourth less than is common in England, they answer the purpose of rapid transit, while the outlay is about as many dollars per mile as it is sovereigns with us. On this railway, and some others in New England, the lines are double, and the construction and speed are nearly equal to ours.
I was informed, the proportion of severe accidents is not larger than in Great Britain. The carriages are generally built to hold sixty or seventy persons, who are seated two by two, one behind another, on double rows of seats, ranged across the carriage, with room to walk between, along the centre. The carriage in which we returned from Salem had twenty-two seats on each side, to contain two each, or, in the whole, eighty-eight passengers. Yet the weight of this machine would be little more than that of an English first-class carriage, to hold eighteen persons, and it cost probably less. Their carriages are well ventilated in summer, and warmed by a stove in winter. Locomotive engines approach Boston near enough to prevent the use of horses; but, on arriving at the distance of a mile or two from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, the carriages and passengers are drawn in by horses. One carriage is often specially reserved for the ladies on the principal lines, into which gentlemen do not usually intrude, unless they have ladies under their care. It is common, however, for the latter to take their seats in any of the carriages. There is no distinction of price, and none of accommodation, except that an inferior and more exposed carriage, at the same fare, is purposely provided for persons of color; but this disgraceful relic of past times cannot survive long. The principal disadvantage that I observed on the American, as compared with the English railways, was the delay on meeting other trains, and on stopping for them at places where they could pass, and also the sparks from the wood, used for fuel instead of coke. On one occasion, my coat was set on fire in this way, though I was seated in a covered carriage. Very efficient locomotive engines are made in the United States. I visited a celebrated manufactory at Philadelphia, which has sent ten to England, for the use of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. At the time of my visit, they had many orders unexecuted from several European governments. As far as my inquiries went, the cost of making them is, upon the whole, about the same as in England.
Having been, for several years, a director on the Birmingham and London Railway, I felt some interest in these inquiries, and came to the conclusion, that there are several arrangements of economy, and some of convenience, in the construction and working of railways, which the English might borrow with advantage from the United States.
On the 29th instant, the secretary of the Peace Society convened a meeting of the members of that society, and of other influential gentlemen, including Alden Bradford, late secretary of the State of Massachusetts; Robert Rantoul, an eloquent and prominent member of the legislature, and S.E. Coues, of New Hampshire,[A] to take into consideration the best means of securing permanent international peace. A very harmonious and satisfactory discussion took place, and the following statement of the proceedings was subsequently handed to me by the gentleman who officiated as secretary to the meeting:
[Footnote A: Since elected President of the American Peace Society.]
“A meeting of the friends of peace was held in the city of Boston, on the evening of the 29th day of July, 1841.
“The meeting was called for the purpose of meeting Mr. Joseph Sturge, from England, and there were present most of the active members of the American Peace Society.
“Amasa Walker, Esq., was chosen chairman; and J.P. Blanchard, secretary.
“Mr. Sturge addressed the meeting, and suggested the expediency of calling, at some future time, a Convention of the friends of peace, of different nations, to deliberate upon the best method of adjusting international disputes; and, offered, for the consideration of the meeting, a plan proposed by Judge Jay, in which all the friends of peace could unite.
“The meeting was then addressed by several gentlemen, who cordially approved the plan proposed, and, subsequently, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.
“Resolved,–That this meeting receives with great pleasure the suggestion of our friend Joseph Sturge, of England, of a general conference of the friends of peace, at the earliest practical opportunity, at London, to consult on the measures which are best adapted to promote universal peace among the nations of the earth; and they respectfully refer the subject to the executive committee of the American Peace Society, for their decision, on correspondence and consultation with the friends of the cause in this and other countries.
“Resolved,–That the suggestion by Judge Jay, of the insertion of a clause in all conventional treaties between nations, mutually binding the parties to submit all international disputes, during the continuance of such treaties, to the arbitration of some one or more friendly powers, presents a definite and practicable object of effort, worthy of the serious attention of the friends of peace. And this meeting recommends to the friends of the cause, in different countries, to petition their respective Governments in favor of the measure.”
On the 30th, in company with John G. Whittier and C. Stewart Renshaw, I went over to Lowell, the chief seat of the woollen and cotton manufacture in America. Less than twenty years ago, there were not more than forty or fifty houses on the site of this flourishing city, which now contains upwards of twenty thousand inhabitants. Its numerous mills are all worked by water power, and belong to incorporated joint-stock companies. We were obligingly shown over two of the largest woollen and cotton factories, where every stage of the manufacture was in process, from the cotton, or sheep’s wool, to the finished fabric. We also visited works, where the printing of cottons is executed in a superior style, besides a new process for dyeing cotton in the thread, invented by an Englishman, now in the establishment. The following abstract of the manufacturing statistics of Lowell, on the first of January, 1841, will show the great importance to which this new branch of industry has attained with such unprecedented rapidity.
Ten joint-stock companies, with a capital of ten millions of dollars, having thirty-two woollen and cotton factories, besides print works, et cet., with one hundred and seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight spindles, and five thousand five hundred and eighty-eight looms, employing two thousand one hundred and seventy-two males, and six thousand nine hundred and twenty females, who made, in 1840, sixty-five millions eight hundred and two thousand four hundred yards of cotton and woollen cloths, in which were consumed twenty-one millions four hundred and twenty-four thousand pounds of cotton alone.
The average amount earned by the male hands employed, exclusive of their board, is four dollars and eighty cents, or about twenty shillings sterling per week, and of the females two dollars, or about eight shillings and sixpence per week.
But the most striking and gratifying feature of Lowell, is the high moral and intellectual condition of its working population. In looking over the books of the mills we visited, where the operatives entered their names, I observed very few that were not written by themselves; certainly not five per cent. of the whole number were signed with a mark, and many of these were evidently Irish. It was impossible to go through the mills, and notice the respectable appearance and becoming and modest deportment of the “factory girls,” without forming a very favorable estimate of their character and position in society. But it would be difficult indeed for a passing observer to rate them so high as they are proved to be by the statistics of the place. The female operatives are generally boarded in houses built and owned by the “corporation” for whom they work, and which are placed under the superintendence of matrons of exemplary character, and skilled in housewifery, who pay a low rent for the houses, and provide all necessaries for their inmates, over whom they exercise a general oversight, receiving about one dollar and one-third from each per week. Each of these houses accommodates from thirty to fifty young women, and there is a wholesome rivalry among the mistresses which shall make their inmates most comfortable. We visited one of the hoarding houses, and were highly pleased with its arrangement. A considerable number of the factory girls are farmers’ daughters, and come hither from Vermont, New Hampshire, and other distant States, to work for two, three, or four years, when they return to their native hills, dowered with a little capital of their own earnings. The factory operatives at Lowell form a community that commands the respect of the neighborhood, and of all under whose observation they come. No female of an immoral character could remain a week in any of the mills. The superintendent of the Boott Corporation informed me, that, during the five and a half years of his superintendence of that factory, employing about nine hundred and fifty young women, he had known of but one case of an illegitimate birth–and the mother was an Irish “immigrant.” Any male or female employed, who was known to be in a state of inebriety, would be at once dismissed.
At the suggestion of the benevolent and intelligent superintendent of the Boott Company, we waited to see the people turn out to dinner, at half-past twelve o’clock. We stood in a position where many hundreds passed under our review, whose dress, and quiet and orderly demeanor would have done credit to any congregation breaking up from their place of worship. One of the gentlemen with me, who is from a slave State, where all labor is considered degrading, remarked, with emotion, “What would I give if, (naming a near relative in the slave States,) could witness this only for a quarter of an hour!” We dined with one of our abolition friends at Lowell, who informed us that many hundreds of the factory girls were members of the Anti-Slavery Society; and that, although activity in this cause has been pretty much suspended by the division in the ranks of its friends, yet there is no diminution of good feeling on the subject. The following extracts, from a pamphlet published by a respectable citizen of Lowell, will further illustrate the moral statistics of the place, which, I believe, can be paralleled by no other manufacturing town in the world. The work is dated July, 1839:–
“There are now in the city fourteen regularly organized religious societies, besides one or two others quite recently established. Ten of these societies constitute a Sabbath School Union. Their third annual report was made on the fourth of the present month, and it has been published within a few days. I derive from it the following facts. The number of scholars connected with the ten schools at the time of making the report, was four thousand nine hundred and thirty-six, and the number of teachers was four hundred and thirty-three, making an aggregate of five thousand three hundred and sixty-nine. The number who joined the schools during the year, was three thousand seven hundred and seventy, the number who left was three thousand one hundred and twenty-nine. About three-fourths of the scholars are females. A large proportion of the latter are over fifteen years of age, and consist of girls employed in the mills. More than five hundred of these scholars have, during the last year, become personally interested in practical piety, and more than six hundred have joined themselves to the several churches. Now let it be borne in mind, that there are four or five Sunday Schools in the city, some of which are large and flourishing, not included in this statement. Let it be borne in mind, too, that a great proportion of these scholars are the factory girls, and furthermore, that these most gratifying results just given, have nothing in them extraordinary–they are only the common, ordinary results of several of the past years. There has been no unusual excitement; no noise, no commotion. Silently, quietly, unobtrusively, from Sabbath to Sabbath, in these little nurseries of truth, duty and religion, has the good seed been sowing and springing up–watered by the dews, and warmed by the smiles of heaven–to everlasting life….
“I shall now proceed to enumerate some of the influences which have been most powerful in bringing about these results. Among these are the example and watchful care and oversight of the boarding house keepers, the superintendents, and the overseers…. But a power vastly more active, all pervading and efficient, than any and all of these, is to be found in the jealous and sleepless watchfulness, over each other, of the girls themselves…. The strongest guardianship of their own character, as a class, is in their own hands, and they will not suffer either overseer or superintendent to be indifferent to this character with impunity.
“The relationship which is here established between the Sunday school scholar and her teacher–between the member of the church and her pastor–the attachments which spring up between them, are rendered close and strong by the very circumstances in which these girls are placed. These relationships and these attachments take the place of the domestic ties and the home affections, and they have something of the strength and fervency of these.”
The next extract shows their prosperity in a pecuniary point.
“The average wages, clear of board, amount to about two dollars a week. Many an aged father or mother, in the country, is made happy and comfortable, by the self-sacrificing contributions from the affectionate and dutiful daughter here. Many an old homestead has been cleared of its incumbrances, and thus saved to the family by these liberal and honest earnings. To the many and most gratifying and cheering facts, which, in the course of this examination I have had occasion to state, I here add a few others relating to the matter now under discussion, furnished me by Mr. Carney, the treasurer of the Lowell Institution for Savings. The whole number of depositors in this institution, on the 23d July, was nineteen hundred and seventy-six; the whole number of deposits was three hundred and five thousand seven hundred and ninety-six dollars and seventy cents, (about L60,000.) Of these depositors, nine hundred and seventy-eight are factory girls, and the amount of their funds now in the bank, is estimated by Mr. Carney, in round numbers, at one hundred thousand dollars, (about L20,000.) It is a common thing for one of these girls to have five hundred dollars (about L100 sterling) in deposit, and the only reason why she does not exceed this sum is the fact, that the institution pays no interest on any larger sum than this. After reaching this amount, she invests her remaining funds elsewhere.”
In confirmation of this description of the state of the Lowell population, I have obtained, through the kindness of a friend in Massachusetts, the following parallel statistics to a recent date:–
“PUBLIC SCHOOLS.–By the report of the school committee for the year ending on the 5th of Fourth Month (April) 1841, it appears that the whole number of pupils in the schools, who attended during the whole or part of the year, was 5,830. The whole amount expended by the city for these schools, during the year, was 18,106 dollars, 51 cents.
“SABBATH SCHOOLS.–The number of scholars and teachers in the Sabbath Schools, connected with the various religious societies in Lowell, during the year ending on the 5th of Seventh Month (July) 1841, was 5,493.
“SAVINGS BANK.–The Lowell Institution for Savings, in its report of Fifth Month (May), 1840, acknowledges 328,395 dollars, 55 cents, deposits, from 2,137 persons; together with 16,093 dollars, 29 cents, nett amount received for interest on loans and dividends in stocks, less expense and dividends paid–making in all, 344,488 dollars, 84 cents; nett amount of interest, 24,714 dollars, 61 cents. Within the year, 120,175 dollars, 69 cents, had been deposited, and 70,384 dollars, 24 cents, drawn out.
“PAUPERS.–The whole expense of the city for the support of the poor, during the year ending on the 31st of Twelfth Month (December) 1840, was 2,698 dollars, 61 cents.”
As a proof, slight yet significant, of the spread of intellectual cultivation, I ought not to omit a notice of the “Lowell Offering,” a little monthly magazine, of original articles, written exclusively by the factory girls. The editor of the _Boston Christian Examiner_ commends this little periodical to those who consider the factory system to be degrading and demoralizing; and expresses a doubt “whether a committee of young ladies, selected from the most refined and best educated families in any of our towns and cities, could make a fairer appearance in type than these hard-working factory girls.”
The city of Lowell has been distinguished by British tourists as the Manchester of the United States; but, in view of the facts above related, an American has declared it to be “_not_ the Manchester of the United States.”
Besides the general prosperity of the operatives, the shareholders in the different corporations divide from eight to fifteen per cent, per annum on their capital.
The inquiry naturally suggests itself, why the state of things in the manufacturing districts of Great Britain should be so widely different from this? Some may satisfy themselves by recollecting that England is an old and America a young country; though, to my mind, this affords no reasonable explanation of the contrast–since, from the possession of surplus capital, complete machinery, and facility of communication, et cet., the advantages for _commerce and manufactures_, under a system of perfectly unrestricted exchange, must preponderate greatly in favor of the former. But whatever the solution of the difficulty, it is quite evident that the statesman who would elevate the moral standard of our working population, must begin by removing the physical depression and destitution in which a large proportion of them, without any fault of their own, are compelled to drag out a weary and almost hopeless existence. To some peculiarly constituted minds, “over-production” is the explanation of the present appalling distresses of this country; and what they are pleased to consider a healthy state of things, is to be restored by a diminution of production;–yet nothing is more certain, than that the largest amount of production which has ever been reached, is not more than adequate to supply our increasing population with the necessaries of life, on even a very limited scale of comfort. A diminished production implies the starving down of the population to such a diminished number as may obtain leave to toil, and leave to subsist, from legislators, who, either in ignorance or selfishness, set aside nature’s laws, and disregard the plainly legible ordinances of Divine Providence. If we reflect on the part which commerce is made to perform in the moral government of the world, on the one hand as the bond of peace between powerful nations, by creating a perpetual interchange of temporal benefits; and, on the other, as the channel for the diffusion of blessings of an intellectual and spiritual kind; we are conducted irresistibly to the conclusion, that any arbitrary interruption of its free course must draw down its own punishment.
Though the laws of nature may not permit the limited soil of this country to grow food enough for its teeming population, yet while Great Britain possesses mineral wealth, abundant capital, and the largest amount of skilled industry of any nation in the world, the tributary supplies of other countries would not only satisfy our present wants, but would, I firmly believe, with an unfettered commerce, raise our working population, the most numerous, and by far the most important part of the community, to the same level of prosperity as the same class in the United States. Then would there be more hope for the success of efforts to elevate the standard of moral and intellectual cultivation among them, for as an improvable material they are no way inferior to any population upon earth. John Curtis of Ohio, a free trade missionary to this country, has published a pamphlet full of important statistical facts, illustrating the suicidal policy of Great Britain, from which I venture to take the following extracts:
“England already obtains luxuries in superabundance; but these can never supply the wants of her artizans–they demand substantial bread and meat, and a market where their labor can procure these necessaries. Tropical climates are not adapted to supply their wants. For this reason trade either with the East or West Indies cannot give effectual relief: it may furnish luxuries, but England is overstocked with them already. The food of tropical climates, with the exception of rice, is not calculated for export. The people of England, if they are to import food, need the production of a climate similar to their own. In this respect America is well adapted to supply them.
“All parts of the United States between thirty-seven and forty-four degrees of north latitude will produce wheat. But that part of the country best adapted to furnish an abundant supply is, beyond all question, the northern part of the Mississippi valley, and the contiguous country south of the great lakes. It has been styled _par excellence_ the wheat-growing region of America. Within its limits lie the six north-western States of the American Union, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Wiskonsan (including as States the two territories of Iowa and Wiskonsan, about to be admitted into the Union.) These States, exclusive of two hundred thousand square miles, the title to which is yet mostly in the Indian tribes, cover an area of two hundred and thirty-six thousand and eleven square miles. The country is, generally, an undulating prairie, interspersed with groves of trees, and unbroken by hill or mountain. The soil commonly rests upon a strata of limestone, is fertile beyond description, and abundantly watered by the finest springs and streams. Its climate is clear and salubrious, and the country as well calculated as any other on the globe to minister to the support and happiness of civilized man. As already explained, for an inland country, it possesses unequalled facilities for foreign intercourse and commerce, by means of its great lakes and rivers. The most distant parts of it are now reached in twenty days from Liverpool. The energies of the American people have been chiefly expended, during the last few years, in opening and taking possession of this region, which they consider destined to become the future seat of American wealth and greatness.
“Wheat once formed a leading article in the exports of the United States. The trade of that country with Great Britain was then double the present amount in proportion to the number of the population. Had the trade of the two countries continued free, it would have increased with the increase of population and capital. The legitimate exchange trade has decreased between England and America for thirty years. What part has the restrictive system had in producing this result? A few facts may enable us not only to answer this question, but to anticipate the consequences of a continuance of the same policy. From the time of the revolutionary war in America until 1812, the trade between the two countries regularly increased with the increase of the population. The average annual consumption of foreign merchandise in the United States for each inhabitant was,
From 1790 to 1800, 39s. 4d.
” 1800 to 1810, 41s. 8d.
“In 1812 came the second American war, and in 1815 the British corn law, which was promptly followed by the high American tariff of 1816. For ten years prior to 1830, the annual average consumption of merchandize had fallen to 22s. 6d., while the population of the States was nearly double, and their capital treble that of the ten years preceding 1810. Soon after 1830 followed the modification of the American tariff, and the importations based on the great transatlantic loans of that period. But, notwithstanding the stimulation and extravagance of the time, the average annual consumption amounted to only 31s. per head of foreign produce during the ten years prior to 1840. Abating the importation based on the loans of the last few years, and the trade of England with the United States has not increased in amount for the last thirty years, while the population of England has increased from eighteen to twenty-seven millions, and that of the States from seven to seventeen millions.
“Let the reader observe this, that in the Eastern States, in that of Massachusetts, for instance, in which State Boston is situated, the people bring a large part of their food from the Western States, where they obtain it in exchange for their manufactures. If free trade were allowed, is it possible for any man to give a reason why the manufacturer and laborer of Manchester would not be able to do as well as the manufacturer and laborer of Boston now does, abating the difference of transporting goods and grain across the Atlantic? At least, the consequence would be an extension of trade, and employment equal to the amount of food which would, in such case, be brought from America; and the limit to this quantity will be found only when the wants of Englishmen are supplied, and their ability to pay exhausted. The ability of America to supply any required quantity of food has already been shown. There lie the broad lands, ready for cultivation as soon as there shall be a demand for the produce. And if seventeen millions of people, sent chiefly from England, or descended from those who have been sent, are not sufficient to raise the requisite quantity of provisions demanded of them by those who remain in the parent country, then let more be sent, for the land lies equally open to the people of all nations.
“Then, as to the ability of Englishmen to pay for all they want, let us ask, what those who produce the food, or those who bring it, can want in exchange that England cannot furnish? Gold, it is said.[A] But for what do they want gold but to purchase other supplies than food? and as they would then have the means to pay, England would be the very country which, of all others, could supply them to advantage. Whatever was wanted which her own artizans do not produce themselves, they could still supply. Englishmen would not at all be confined to a direct sale or exchange of their goods with the wheat grower, but can give him the merchandize of India and China, and the fruits of the tropics, for which English manufactures would pay. If the idle mills and idle laborers of England could at once be set at work to produce food for the people, new activity would be imparted to trade in every part of the world–from India to the frozen regions of Greenland and Labrador. But, on the other hand, how is it possible for England to extend her foreign trade while the present restrictions continue? Even with such a country as India, reduced under British sway, it cannot be done except by diminishing the commerce with other countries to the same extent. England cannot, in her present condition, greatly increase her consumption of such merchandize as India can furnish, or dispose of such merchandize abroad, to any great extent, for the reasons already given.
[Footnote A: “Englishmen, reasoning from a restricted course of trade, are constantly prone to the belief that the purchase of foreign corn, from some unexplained necessity, must take away their gold. Americans, from the same cause, reason in the same manner respecting the purchase of foreign goods. Under the action of the restrictive system, there may be some truth in the reasonings of each party, but they certainly form a beautiful running commentary upon each other.”]
“As to any proposed gain by the Colonial trade, it is the very thing rejected by the restrictions on the trade with the United States. What are these States but the greatest colonies ever planted by Great Britain? and their independence does not at all prevent England from deriving all the advantage from them ever to be derived from colonies. The only good which England can derive from her extensive colonization is not to be gained by swaying a barren sceptre over distant colonies, but by spreading abroad her race, her language, her civilization, and thus enlarging the sphere of her commerce. Under a free system of intercourse England would not derive less benefit, at present, from the United States than if they had remained a part of the British dominions, for if trade were free, they would not trade the less because of their independence, or furnish less food, or at higher prices. England, however, seems determined to sacrifice all the advantages which naturally accrue to her from having colonized the finest part of the New World, and to refuse the abundance and relief thus providentially prepared by her own offspring.”
The great importance of these extracts is the best apology for their length–but there is yet another branch of the subject. A country whose population is beyond its means of supply from its own soil, has no resources but that of her manufactures and foreign trade; if these be dried up, her people must emigrate or starve. But the United States has an alternative;–her first and best resource,–and the most profitable application of her industry is in her broad and fertile lands, the superabundant produce of which would not only feed, but, by exchange, clothe her population, and supply them with all the comforts of civilized life. She cannot avail herself of this to its full extent without our aid. But, if we refuse to trade on equal terms, her wants will not, therefore, go unsupplied. She can manufacture for herself–her resources for manufactures and commerce are, at least, equal to our own, with the exception of capital and population, which the lapse of a few more years will supply.
“The present may justly be considered a crisis in the commercial policy of America. If it be decided that foreign markets are to continue closed against American corn–if England, which is the principal corn market of the world, refuse to exchange the produce of her mills and workshops for that of the fields of the Americans, they have no other alternative than to erect mills and workshops from which to supply themselves. The effect of such a course would prove decisive on the trade with England, and go far to complete the ruin so effectually begun by the British corn law and corresponding restrictions. If forced from employment on the land, which an abundant and fertile soil has naturally made their most profitable one, it will be found that the Americans lack neither the talent, the energy, nor the means, at once to extend their present manufactures to the full supply of their own wants. They have water-power, coal, and iron, in greater natural abundance and perfection than any other part of the world.”[A]
[Footnote A: “The United States are computed to contain not less than eighty thousand square miles of coal, or sixteen times as much as Europe. One of these coal fields extends nine hundred miles in length. The State of Pennsylvania has ten thousand square miles of coal and iron. Great Britain and Ireland have two thousand. All the north-western States of America contain large quantities of coal. The coal strata of the States generally lie above the level of the streams, and the coal is taken from the hill sides. The beds of coal and iron are to a great extent contiguous.”]
This is not mere theory. The developement is actually begun:
“A few years since, the country smiths, and the matrons with their daughters at the household wheel and loom, were the principal manufacturers of America. Now the cotton mills alone are computed at one thousand, and the capital invested in manufacturing machinery at L23,500,000. The estimated value of some of the principal articles of manufacture is as follows:
Woollens, L15,750,000
Cotton, 11,250,000
Leather, 9,000,000
Hats and Caps, 3,575,000
Linen, 1,350,000
Paper, 1,350,000
Glass, 1,125,000
Iron and Steel, 11,250,000
“Some idea of the rapidity with which the American manufactures are now capable of being extended, may be formed from the past progress of the cotton manufacture. The consumption of raw cotton was,
In 1833, 196,000 bales.
1835, 236,700 “
1837, 246,000 “
1839, 276,000 “
“The United States already supply two-thirds of their own consumption of cottons. At the above rate of increase–of nearly fifty per cent, in five years–America will much more than supply its own market in five years to come. Never has the manufacturing interest of the United States been in as prosperous and sound a condition as at present. They need no high tariff to protect them against British competition. _The English corn law is their best protection_.”
It is the restrictive policy of Great Britain that has called into existence Lowell and the manufacturing cities of the United States, producing an immense amount of articles which were once the sole products of British industry and skill. If the same policy is continued, the prosperity of the United States will be impeded, but that of England will be destroyed.
The following is an extract from the memorial of Joshua Leavitt to Congress, on the wheat interests of the North Western States:
“Should it, indeed, come to be settled that there is to be no foreign market for these products, the fine country under contemplation is not, therefore, to be despaired of. Let the necessity once become apparent, and there will be but one mind among the people of the North-west. The same patriotism which carried our fathers through the self-denying non-importation agreements of the revolution, will produce a fixed determination to build up a home market, at every sacrifice. And it can be done. What has been done already in the way of manufactures, shows that it can be done. The recent application of the hot-blast with anthracite coal to the making of iron, and the discovery of a mine of natural steel, would be auxiliaries of immense value. We could draw to our factories the best workmen of Europe, attracted less by the temptation of wages, than by the desire to leave liberty and land as the inheritance of their children. But it would take a long time to build up a manufacturing interest adequate to supply the wants of the Northwest, or to consume the produce of these wide fields; and the burden of taxation for internal improvements, uncompleted and unproductive, would be very heavy and hard to bear: and all the population that is concentrated upon manufactures, is so much kept back from the occupation of that noble domain; and the national treasury would feel the effects of the curtailment of imports and the cessation of land sales; and the amount of misery which the loss of the American market would occasion to the starving operatives and factory children on the other side of the Atlantic, is worthy to be taken into the account, by every statesman who has not forgotten that he is a man.”
If we refuse the Americans as customers, we compel them to become our rivals; and, after supplying their own wants, they will compete with us for the trade of the world, on more than equal terms. Our statesmen may yet employ America to build up the prosperity of our country whilst increasing her own, or they may suffer its rapidly developing and gigantic resources to work out our ruin: the alternative is before them and before the country–but decision must be prompt, for there is no pause in the march of events. However unwise the policy, we cannot be surprised that the American and Continental manufacturer are each applying to his government to follow our example, and protect home trade by fiscal regulations.
This question of trade with America has also most important anti-slavery bearings–and here, again, I find my own views anticipated by the able writer already quoted:
“The present policy of restricting the traffic with America so closely to cotton, gives a deceitful appearance to the stated imports and exports. From these statements there should, in fairness, be deducted the value of all the raw cotton which is returned to America; and, in fact, if the true exchange trade would be seen, all should be deducted that is exported from England. That portion of cotton goods which is of English origin, that is, their value above the raw material out of which they were made, is, in fact, the only real part of English export. Before exclusive importance was bestowed on cotton, the exchange with America was in a large proportion of articles not to be returned. It would be so again if trade were free.”
Again:
“To one effect which would be produced in America by the repeal of the corn and provision laws, no party or class in England can profess indifference, and that is, _its effect on slavery in the United States_. At the present time, England gives a premium to American slavery by admitting, at low duties, the cotton of the slave-holder, which is his staple production, and refusing corn, which is mostly the produce of free labor. The slave-holding States, to the productions of which Great Britain confines her American trade, are less populous and less wealthy than the free; yet of their produce England received in 1839, according to the American estimates, L11,600,000, while of that of the free States she received less than L500,000.”
“It should be remembered that the labor of the slave States, is almost wholly expended in agriculture, under the stimulus of a good market, while a large part of that of the free States is otherwise employed, for the want of such market. The effective laborers of the free States are double the number of those in the slave States; and were an opportunity given them, they would export in as great a proportion. Thus England, by her laws, fosters an odious institution abroad, which, in words, she loudly condemns, and spends millions to rid the world of; whilst she rejects more honorable, profitable, and wealthy customers, the fruits of whose free and active industry are in effect made contraband in England by law.
“Not only would England escape this inconsistency and reproach, by repealing the corn law, but she would strike a most effectual blow at the existence of slavery in the United States. Cotton, at present, from being made by the corn law the principal exchangeable article in the American trade, assumes an undue and unnatural importance in American commerce, legislation, and home industry. The slave-owner drives his slaves in its production, and purchases supplies of the northern freeman, whose interests are thus identified with those of the cotton grower, and the slave-holding interest becomes predominant in the country. From their habits, the people of the slave-holding States are constantly contracting more debts in the free States than they have the means of paying; so that, under the present system of intercourse, the slaveholders exercise over the free population of the north, the same control which an insolvent debtor frequently has over his creditor, by threatening to break and ruin him, if not allowed his own way. A repeal of the corn laws would release the free States from their present commercial and consequent political vassalage to the southern slave-holders, and thereby take from American slavery, the great citadel of its strength, and insure its overthrow by the influences which would arise to assail it from all quarters.
“But as free trade, in destroying the odious monopoly of the haughty slave-holder, would benefit and not injure him, so would its effects be found universally. It would give peace and plenty to England and the world,–it would enlarge and secure trade, bind the spreading branches of the Anglo-saxon race by natural affinity to England as their acknowledged head, and promote the liberty and civilization of the human family at large.”
In view of the whole spirit of this discussion of one of the most important questions bearing upon human interests, I would simply add, that a wise Providence has bound the duty and the interest, both of individual and social man, firmly together, but for the trial of his virtue the bands are concealed.
On the 31st, I took my luggage on board the steam packet “Caledonia,” for Liverpool, via Halifax, which was to sail the day following, although it was the first day of the week. The proprietors of the packets are bound in a heavy fine to sail on the appointed days, whether those fall on the first day of the week or not. By this arrangement the religious feelings of the people of Boston are offended, which is the more inexcusable, on the part of the British Government, as it does not suffer its own mails to depart, either from London or Halifax, on that day. Some gentlemen, who were interested in the subject, placed in my hands a memorial addressed to the Lords of the Admiralty in Great Britain, praying for such an alteration of the arrangements as would prevent this periodical violation of the first day of the week. A gentleman, who was active in getting it signed, assured me it was received with universal favor. The signatures, obtained on very short notice, are those of the most influential men in their respective stations in the city of Boston, and include the names of the mayor of the city, an ex-lieutenant governor of the State of Massachusetts, one bishop, upwards of forty ministers of religion, of different denominations, nine gentleman, upwards of one hundred and twenty merchants, seventeen presidents of insurance companies, the post-master of Boston, five physicians, seven members of the legal profession, and two editors of newspapers. After my arrival in this country, I presented this document, through the Secretary of the Admiralty, to the authorities to whom it is addressed, but regret to state that the request was not complied with. The memorial, and the reply of the Lords of the Admiralty are given in the Appendix[A]
[Footnote A: .See Appendix L.]
On leaving the shores of the United States, I left the following letter for publication:–
“_To the Friends of Immediate Emancipation in the United States_.
“Having visited your country as an humble fellow-laborer in the great cause in which you are engaged, and which, through trials and difficulties a stranger can scarcely appreciate, you have so zealously maintained, I have had a pleasing and satisfactory interview with many of you, with reference to future exertions, in cooperation with those of other lands, who unite with you in regarding slave-holding and slave-trading as a heinous sin in the sight of God, which should be immediately abolished. It is the especial privilege of those who are laboring in such a cause, to feel that ‘every country is their country, and every man their brother,’ and to live above the atmosphere of sectional jealousy and national hostility; and hence I feel an assurance, that you will receive with kindness a few lines from me on the eve of my departure to my native land.
“You concur generally in opinion, that in endeavoring to obtain the great object we have in view, it is very important that the friends of the cause should be united, not only in principle, but, as far as may be, in the character of the measures which they pursue; and I have been much encouraged in finding that you have generally adopted the sentiment so rapidly spreading on the other side of the Atlantic,–‘That there is no reasonable hope of abolishing the slave-trade, but, by the abolition of slavery, and that no measures should be pursued for its attainment, but those which are of a moral, religious, and pacific character.’ The progress of emancipation in Europe has been, beyond a doubt, greatly retarded by leaving slavery and the slave-holder unmarked by public reprobation, and concentrating all the energies of philanthropy upon a fruitless effort to abolish the slave-trade. And in this country the Colonization scheme, with its delusive promise of good to Africa, and its vague anticipations of putting an end to the slave-trade by armed colonies on the coast of that ill-fated continent, has been the means of obstructing emancipation at home, of unprofitably absorbing the energies and blinding the judgment of many sincere friends of the slave, and of strengthening the unchristian prejudice against color. The abolitionists of Europe, with few exceptions, have seen the error of their former course of action, and are now striking directly at the root, instead of lopping the branches of slavery; and if further evidence of the evil tendency and character of colonization is needed in the United States, the recent proceeding of a meeting of the Maryland Society at Baltimore, must convince all who are friendly to the true interests of the people of color, that it is a scheme deserving only the support of the enemies of freedom.[A]
[Footnote A: “The following resolution was passed at the meeting of the Maryland Society above alluded to:–‘That while it is most earnestly hoped that the free colored people of Maryland may see that their best and most permanent interests will be consulted by their emigration from this State; and while this Convention would deprecate any departure from the principle which makes colonization dependent upon the voluntary action of the free colored people themselves–yet, if, regardless of what has been done to provide them with an asylum, they continue to persist in remaining in Maryland, in the hope of enjoying here an equality of social and political rights, they ought to be solemnly warned, that, in the opinion of this Convention, a day must arrive when circumstances that cannot be controlled, and which are now maturing, will deprive them of choice, and leave them no alternative but removal,'”]
“The rapid progress of public opinion, as to the iniquity of slavery, and the entire safety, as well as advantage, of its immediate abolition–the attention which has been awakened to it in all parts of the civilized world–the movements in France, Spain, Brazil, and Denmark, and other countries with slave-holding dependencies, all indicating that the days of slavery are numbered, should serve to encourage and stimulate us to increased exertions; and while it is a cause of profound regret, that any thing should have disturbed the harmony and unity of the real friends of emancipation in this country–the hardest battle field of our moral warfare–I am not without hope, that, in future, those who,–from a conscientious difference of opinion, not as to the object, but the precise mode of obtaining it,–cannot act in one united band, will laudably emulate each other in the promotion of our common cause, and in Christian forbearance upon points of disagreement; and that, where they cannot praise, they will be careful not to censure those, who, by a different road, are earnestly pursuing the same end. Without entering into the controversies which have divided our friends on this side the water, I believe it would be nothing more than a simple act of justice for me to state, on my return to Europe, my conviction that a large portion of the abolitionists of the United States, who approve of the proceedings of the late General Anti-Slavery Convention, and are desirous of acting in unity with the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, from the general identity of their practice, as well as principles, with those of the British and Foreign Society, are entitled to the sympathies, and deserving of the confidence and co-operation of the abolitionists of Great Britain. It has been my pleasure to meet, in a kindly interchange of opinion, many valuable and devoted friends of emancipation; who, while dissenting from the class above-mentioned in some respects, are nevertheless disposed to cultivate feelings of charity and good will towards all who are sincerely laboring for the slaves. And in this connection I may state, that neither on behalf of myself, or of my esteemed coadjutors in Great Britain, am I disposed to recriminate upon another class of abolitionists, who, on some points, have so far differed from the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Committee, and the great majority of the Convention above mentioned, as to sustain their representatives in refusing to act with that Convention, and in protesting against its proceedings; and who have seen fit to censure the committee in their public meetings and newspapers in this country, as ‘arbitrary and despotic,’ and their conduct as ‘unworthy of men claiming the character of abolitionists.’
“As a corresponding member of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Committee, and intimately acquainted with its proceedings, I am persuaded that its members have acted wisely, and consulted the best interest of the cause in which they were engaged, in generally leaving unnoticed any censures that have been cast upon them while in the prosecution of their labors. Yet, before leaving this country, I deem it right to bear my testimony to the great anxiety of that committee faithfully to discharge the duties committed to their trust; and to state that it has never been my privilege to be united to any body more desirous of keeping simply to the one great object of their association–the total and immediate abolition of slavery and the slave-trade. I am persuaded that all candid minds, making due allowance for the imperfection pertaining to human associations, will feel their confidence in the future integrity of that committee increased in proportion as they closely investigate their past acts; and that, even when the wisdom of their course may have been questioned, they will accord to them a scrupulous honesty of purpose.
“The first public suggestion of a General Anti-Slavery Convention, like the one held last year in London, originated, I believe, on this side of the Atlantic, although the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society took upon themselves the heavy responsibility of convening it. At its close, they invited an expression of the opinion of the delegates, as to the desirableness of again summoning such an assembly. The expression was generally in the affirmative; and, after discussion, a resolution was passed, leaving it to the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, after consulting with the friends of the cause in other parts of the world, to decide this important question, as well as the time and place of its meeting, should another Convention be resolved upon.
“Since I have been in the United States, I have found those abolitionists who approved the principles and proceedings of the late Convention so generally in favor of another, and of London as its place of meeting, that the only question seemed to be whether it should be held in 1842 or 1843. This expression of opinion is, I know, so generally in accordance with the views of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Committee, and of many other prominent abolitionists in Europe, that I have little doubt they will feel encouraged to act upon it, probably at the latter period. There is abundant and increasing evidence of the powerfully beneficial influence of the late Convention upon almost every part of the world where slavery is still tolerated; and we are encouraged to hope that the one in anticipation will be still more efficient for the promotion of universal liberty.
“Painful as has been to me the spectacle of many of the leading influences of the ecclesiastical bodies in this country, either placed in direct hostility to, or acting as a drag upon, the wheel of the anti-slavery enterprise–and of the manifest preponderance of a slave-holding influence in the councils of the State–I am not one of those who despair of a healthful renovation of public sentiment which shall purify Church as well as State from this abomination. There are decided indications that all efforts of councils and synods to unite ‘pure religion and undefiled,’ with a slave-trading and slave-holding counterfeit of Christianity, must ere long utterly fail. And it is to me a matter of joy, as it must be to every friend of impartial liberty and free institutions, that the citizens of this republic are more and more feeling that the plague-spot of slavery, as with the increased facilities of communication its horrors and deformity become more apparent in the eyes of the world, is fixing a deep disgrace upon the character of their country, and paralyzing the beneficial influence which might otherwise flow from it as an example of a well-regulated free government. May each American citizen who is desirous of washing away this disgrace, to whatever division of the anti-slavery host he may attach himself, ever bear in mind that the cause is of too tremendous and pressing a nature to admit of his wasting his time in censuring and impeding the progress of those who may array themselves under a somewhat different standard from his own; and that any energies thus wasted, which belong to the one great object, so far as human instrumentality is concerned, is not only deferring the day of freedom to two and a half millions of his countrymen, but inasmuch as the fall of American slavery must be the death-blow to the horrid system, wherever it exists, the result of the struggle here involves the slavery or freedom of millions in other parts of the world, as well as the continuance or suppression of that slave-trade, to the foreign branch of which alone more than _one thousand victims are daily sacrificed_; and in reference to which it has justly been said, ‘that all that has been borne to Africa of the boasted improvements of civilized life, is a masterly skill in the contrivance, and an unhesitating daring in the commission of crimes, which the mind of the savage was too simple to devise, and his heart too gentle to execute.’ There are no doubtful indications that it is the will of Him, who has the hearts of all at His disposal, that, either in judgment or in mercy, this dreadful system shall ere long cease. It is not for us to say why, in His inscrutable wisdom, He has thus far permitted one portion of His creatures so cruelly to oppress another; or by what instrumentality He will at length redress the wrongs of the poor, and the oppression of the needy; but should the worst fears of one of your most distinguished citizens, who in view of this subject, acknowledged that he ‘trembled for his country, when he remembered that God was just,’ be finally realized, may each one of you feel that no exertions on his part have been wanting to avert the Divine displeasure, and preserve your land from those calamities which, in all ages, have rebuked the crimes of nations.
“Your sincere friend,
“JOSEPH STURGE.
“Boston, Seventh Month 31st, 1841.”
My dear friend John G. Whittier, whose pleasant company and invaluable aid I had enjoyed, as much as his health would permit, during my stay in the United States, kindly accompanied me on board. Had he been less closely identified with the transactions of which the present volume is a record, I should have felt it due to his station among the earliest