THOUGHTS ON AFRICAN COLONIZATION

Table of Contents

THOUGHTS

ON

AFRICAN COLONIZATION

SECTION OF A SLAVE SHIP. From Walsh's Notes of Brazil.

PREFACE.

I dedicate this work to my countrymen, in whose intelligence, magnanimity and humanity I place the utmost reliance. Although they have long suffered themselves to be swayed by a prejudice as unmanly as it is wicked, and have departed widely from the golden rule of the gospel, in their treatment of the people of color, to suppose that they will always be the despisers and persecutors of this unfortunate class is, in my opinion, to libel their character. A change in their feelings and sentiments is already visible—a change which promises, ere long, to redeem their character from the bloody stains which slavery has cast upon it, and to release the prisoner from his chains. May they be ashamed to persist in a mean and thievish course of conduct, and afraid to quarrel with the workmanship of God! May a righteous indignation be kindled in their breasts against a combination which is holding them up, for the scorn and contempt of other nations, as incorrigible oppressors, whom neither self-respect, nor the opinions of mankind, nor the fear of God, can bring to repentance! Their duty is plain, and it may easily be done. Slavery must be overthrown either by their own moral strength, or by the physical strength of the slaves. Let them imitate the example of the people of Great Britain, by seeking the immediate overthrow of the horrid system. Let a National Anti-Slavery Society be immediately organized, the object of which shall be, to quicken and consolidate the moral influence of the nation, so that Congress and the State Legislatures may be burdened with petitions for the removal of the evil—to scatter tracts, like rain-drops, over the land, on the subject of slavery—to employ active and eloquent agents to plead the cause incessantly, and to form auxiliary societies—to encourage planters to cultivate their lands by freemen, by offering large premiums; to promote education and the mechanical arts among the free people of color, and to recover their lost rights. Religious professors, of all denominations, must bear unqualified testimony against slavery. They must not support, they must not palliate it. No slaveholder ought to be embraced within the pale of a christian church; consequently, the churches must be purified 'as by fire.' Slavery in the District of Columbia is sustained in our national capacity: it ought, therefore, to be prostrated at a blow. The clause in the Constitution should be erased, which tolerates, greatly to the detriment and injustice of the non-slaveholding States, a slave representation in Congress. Why should property be represented at the impoverished south, and not at the opulent north?

To impair the force of this exposition, the ardent advocates of the Colonization Society will undoubtedly attempt to evade the ground of controversy, and lead uncautious minds astray in a labyrinth of sophistry. But the question is not, whether the climate of Africa is salubrious, nor whether the mortality among the emigrants has been excessive, nor whether the colony is in a prosperous condition, nor whether the transportation of our whole colored population can be effected in thirty years or three centuries, nor whether any slaves have been [Pg xx]emancipated on condition of banishment; but whether the doctrines and principles of the Society accord with the doctrines and principles of the gospel, whether slaveholders are the just proprietors of their slaves, whether it is not the sacred duty of the nation to abolish the system of slavery now, and to recognise the people of color as brethren and countrymen who have been unjustly treated and covered with unmerited shame. This is the question—and the only question.

With such a mass of evidence before them, of the pernicious, cruel and delusive character of the American Colonization Society, I leave the patriot, the philanthropist and the christian to judge of the fitness of the following inflated and presumptuous assertions of its advocates:—'The plan is of heavenly origin, against which the gates of hell shall never prevail'—'a circle of philanthropy, every segment of which tells and testifies to the beneficence of the whole'—'addressing its claims alike to the patriot, and the christian, it being emphatically the cause of liberty, of humanity, of religion'[A]—'so full of benevolence and the hallowed impulses of Heaven's own mercy, that one might, with the propriety of truth, compare its radiant influences to a rainbow, insufferably bright, spanning the sombre clouds of human wrong, that have accumulated on the horizon of our country's prosperity, and beating back, with calm and heavenly power, the blackening storm that always threatens, in growling thunders, a heavy retribution'[B]—'that citizen of the United States who lifts a finger to retard this institution, nay, that man who does not use his persevering efforts to promote its benevolent object, fails, in our opinion, to discharge his duty to his God and his country'[C][1]—'nothing but a distinct knowledge and a calm consideration of the facts in the case, is wanting to make every man of common intelligence, common patriotism, and common humanity, the earnest friend of the Colonization Society'!![D]

There is one important consideration, which, owing to the contractedness of my limits, I have omitted to enforce in this work. It is this: the serious injury which our interests must inevitably suffer by the removal of our colored population. Their labor is indispensably necessary and extremely valuable. By whom shall the plantations at the south be cultivated but by them? It is universally conceded that they can resist the intensity of a southern sun, and endure the fatigues attendant on the cultivation of rice, cotton, tobacco and sugar-cane, better than white laborers: at least, their bodies are now inured to this employment. I do not believe that any equivalent would induce the planters to part with their services, or white laborers to occupy their places. In the great cities, and in various parts of the southern States, free persons of color constitute a laborious and useful class. In a pecuniary point of view, the banishment of one-sixth of our population,—of those whom we specially need,—would be an act of suicide. The veriest smatterer in political economy cannot but perceive the ruinous tendency of such a measure.

THOUGHTS
ON
AFRICAN COLONIZATION.

PART I.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

In attacking the system of slavery, I clearly foresaw all that has happened to me. I knew, at the commencement, that my motives would be impeached, my warnings ridiculed, my person persecuted, my sanity doubted, my life jeoparded: but the clank of the prisoner's chains broke upon my ear—it entered deeply into my soul—I looked up to Heaven for strength to sustain me in the perilous work of emancipation—and my resolution was taken.

In opposing the American Colonization Society, I have also counted the cost, and as clearly foreseen the formidable opposition which will be arrayed against me. Many of the clergy are enlisted in its support: their influence is powerful. Men of wealth and elevated station are among its contributors: wealth and station are almost omnipotent. The press has been seduced into its support: the press is a potent engine. Moreover, the Society is artfully based upon and defended by popular prejudice: it takes advantage of wicked and preposterous opinions, and hence its success. These things grieve, they cannot[Pg 2] deter me. 'Truth is mighty, and will prevail.' It is able to make falsehood blush, and tear from hypocrisy its mask, and annihilate prejudice, and overthrow persecution, and break every fetter.

I am constrained to declare, with the utmost sincerity, that I look upon the colonization scheme as inadequate in its design, injurious in its operation, and contrary to sound principle; and the more scrupulously I examine its pretensions, the stronger is my conviction of its sinfulness. Nay, were Jehovah to speak in an audible voice from his holy habitation, I am persuaded that his language would be, 'Who hath required this at your hands?'

It consoles me to believe that no man, who knows me personally or by reputation, will suspect the honesty of my skepticism. If I were politic, and intent only on my own preferment or pecuniary interest, I should swim with the strong tide of public sentiment instead of breasting its powerful influence. The hazard is too great, the labor too burdensome, the remuneration too uncertain, the contest too unequal, to induce a selfish adventurer to assail a combination so formidable. Disinterested opposition and sincere conviction, however, are not conclusive proofs of individual rectitude; for a man may very honestly do mischief, and not be aware of his error. Indeed, it is in this light I view many of the friends of African colonization. I concede to them benevolence of purpose and expansiveness of heart; but in my opinion, they are laboring under the same delusion as that which swayed Saul of Tarsus—persecuting the blacks even unto a strange country, and verily believing that they are doing God service. I blame them, nevertheless, for taking this mighty scheme upon trust; for not perceiving and rejecting the monstrous doctrines avowed by the master spirits in the crusade; and for feeling so indifferent to the moral, political and social advancement of the free people of color in this their only legitimate home.

In the progress of this discussion I shall have occasion to use very plain, and sometimes very severe language. This would be an unpleasant task, did not duty imperiously demand its application. To give offence I am loath, but more to hide or[Pg 3] modify the truth. I shall deal with the Society in its collective form—as one body—and not with individuals. While I shall be necessitated to marshal individual opinions in review, I protest, ab origine, against the supposition that indiscriminate censure is intended, or that every friend of the Society cherishes similar views. He to whom my reprehension does not apply, will not receive it. It is obviously impossible, in attacking a numerous and multiform combination, to exhibit private dissimilarities, or in every instance to discriminate between the various shades of opinion. It is sufficient that exceptions are made. My warfare is against the American Colonization Society. If I shall identify its general, preponderating and clearly developed traits, it must stand or fall as they shall prove benevolent or selfish.

I bring to this momentous investigation an unbiassed mind, a lively sense of accountability to God, and devout aspirations for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Unless He 'in whom there is no darkness at all,' pours light upon my path, I shall go astray. I have taken Him at His word: 'If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, and it shall be given him.' Confessing my own foolishness, I have sought that knowledge which cannot err.

I would premise, that, like many others, I formerly supposed the Colonization Society was a praiseworthy association, although I always doubted its efficiency. This opinion was formed for me by others, upon whom I placed implicit confidence: it certainly was not based upon any research or knowledge of my own, as I had not at that time perused a single Report of the Society, nor a page in its organ, the African Repository. My approval was the offspring of credulity and ignorance. I am explicit on this point, because my opponents have accused me of inconsistency—though it ought not surely to disgrace a man, that, discovering himself to be in error, he promptly turns to the embrace of truth. As if opinions, once formed, must be as irrevocable as the laws of the Medes and Persians! If this were so, accountability would lose its hold on the conscience, and the light of knowledge be blown out, and reason degenerate into brutish instinct. Much stress has been[Pg 4] laid upon the fact, that, in 1828, I delivered an address in Park-street meeting-house on the Fourth of July, on which occasion a collection was made in behalf of the American Colonization Society. It is true—but whereas I was then blind, now I see. My address, however, was far from being acceptable to the friends of colonization who were present, not only on account of my denunciation of slaveholders, but because I inserted only a single sentence in favor of the Society. In all my writings, I have never commended this combination in as many sentences as I have used in making this explanation. So much for my marvellous apostacy!

It is only about two years since I was induced to examine the claims of the Colonization Society upon the patronage and confidence of the nation. I went to this examination with a mind biassed by preconceived opinions favorable to the Society, and rather for the purpose of defending it against opposition than of bringing it into disrepute. Every thing, apart from its principles, was calculated to secure my friendship. Nothing but its revolting features could have induced me to turn loathingly away from its embrace. I had some little reputation to sustain; many of my friends were colonizationists; I saw that eminent statesmen and honorable men were enlisted in the enterprise; the great body of the clergy gave their unqualified support to it; every fourth of July the charities of the nation were secured in its behalf; wherever I turned my eye in the free States, I saw nothing but unanimity; wherever my ear caught a sound, I heard nothing but excessive panegyric. No individual had ventured to blow the trumpet of alarm, or exert his energies to counteract the influence of the scheme. If an assailant had occasionally appeared, he had either fired a random shot and retreated, or found in the inefficiency of the Society the only cause for hostility. It was at this crisis, and with such an array of motives before me to bias my judgment, that I resolved to make a close and candid examination of the subject.

I went, first of all, to the fountain head—to the African Repository and the Reports of the Society. I was not long in discovering sentiments which seemed to me as abhorrent to humanity as contrary to reason. I perused page after page, first[Pg 5] with perplexity, then with astonishment, and finally with indignation. I found little else than sinful palliations, fatal concessions, vain expectations, exaggerated statements, unfriendly representations, glaring contradictions, naked terrors, deceptive assurances, unrelenting prejudices, and unchristian denunciations. I collected together the publications of auxiliary societies, in order to discern some redeeming traits; but I found them marred and disfigured with the same disgusting details. I courted the acquaintance of eminent colonizationists, that I might learn how far their private sentiments agreed with those which were so offensive in print; and I found no dissimilarity between them. I listened to discourses from the pulpit in favor of the Society; and the same moral obliquities were seen in minister and people.

These discoveries affected my mind so deeply that I could not rest. I endeavored to explain away the meaning of plain and obvious language; I made liberal concessions for good motives and unsuspicious confidence; I resorted to many expedients to vindicate the disinterested benevolence of the Society; but I could not rest. The sun in its mid-day splendor was not more clear and palpable to my vision, than the anti-christian and anti-republican character of this association. It was evident to me that the great mass of its supporters at the north did not realise its dangerous tendency. They were told that it was designed to effect the ultimate emancipation of the slaves—to improve the condition of the free people of color—to abolish the foreign slave trade—to reclaim and evangelize benighted Africa—and various other marvels. Anxious to do something for the colored population—they knew not what—and having no other plan presented to their view, they eagerly embraced a scheme which was so big with promise, and which required of them nothing but a small contribution annually. Perceiving the fatality of this delusion, I was urged by an irresistible impulse to attempt its removal. I could not turn a deaf ear to the cries of the slaves, nor throw off the obligations which my Creator had fastened upon me. Yet in view of the inequalities of the contest, of the obstacles which towered like mountains in my path, and of my own littleness, I trembled, and exclaimed in[Pg 6] the language of Jeremiah,—'Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.' But I was immediately strengthened by these interrogations: 'Is any thing too hard for the Lord?' Is Error, though unwittingly supported by a host of good men, stronger than Truth? Are Right and Wrong convertible terms, dependant upon popular opinion? Oh no! Then I will go forward in the strength of the Lord of Hosts—in the name of Truth—and under the banner of Right. As it is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God, that great moral changes are effected, I am encouraged to fight valiantly in this good cause, believing that I shall 'come off conqueror, and more than conqueror'—yet not I, but Truth and Justice. It is in such a contest that one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. 'The Lord disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.' 'Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.'

Little boldness is needed to assail the opinions and practices of notoriously wicked men; but to rebuke great and good men for their conduct, and to impeach their discernment, is the highest effort of moral courage. The great mass of mankind shun the labor and responsibility of forming opinions for themselves. The question is not—what is true? but—what is popular? Not—what does God say? but—what says the public? Not—what is my opinion? but—what do others believe? If people would pin their faith upon the bible, and not upon the sleeves of their neighbors, half of the heresies in the world would instantly disappear. If they would use their own eyes, their own ears, their own understandings, instead of the eyes, and ears, and understandings of others, imbecility, credulity and folly would be as rare as they are now common in community. But, unhappily, to borrow the words of Ganganelli, a large majority of mankind are 'mere abortions:' calling themselves rational and intelligent beings, they act as if they had neither brains nor conscience, and as if there were no God, no accountability, no heaven, no hell, no eternity.[Pg 7]

'My minister,' says one, 'is a most worthy man. He supports this Society: therefore it is a good institution.' 'Christians of all denominations are enlisted in this enterprise,' says another: 'therefore it cannot be wrong.' 'Do you think,' says a third, 'that honest, godly men would countenance a scheme which is not really benevolent?' But it is unwise for beings, who are accountable only to God, to reason in this manner. All the good men upon earth cannot make persecution benevolence, nor injustice equity; and until they become infallible, implicit reliance upon their judgment is criminal. Ministers and christians, a few years since, were engaged in the use and sale of ardent spirits; but they were all wrong, and they now acknowledge their error. At the present day, a large proportion of the professed disciples of the Prince of Peace maintain the lawfulness of defensive war, and the right of the oppressed to fight and kill for liberty; but they hold this sentiment in direct opposition to the precepts of their Leader—'I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.' Surely 'the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.'

I must pause, for a moment, and count the number of those with whom I am about to conflict. If I had to encounter only men-stealers and slaveholders, victory would be easy; but it is not the south alone that is to be subdued. The whole nation is against me. Church after church is to be converted, and the powerful influence of the clergy broken. The friendship of good men is to be turned into enmity, and their support into opposition. It is my task to change their admiration into abhorrence; to convince them that their well-meant exertions have been misdirected, and productive of greater evil than good; and to induce them to abandon an institution to which they now fondly cling.

To those who neither fear God nor regard man—who have sworn eternal animosity to their colored countrymen, and whose cry is, 'Away with them, we do not want them here!'—I make no appeal. Disregarding as they do that divine command, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' it would be idle for[Pg 8] me to direct my arguments to them. I address myself to high-minded and honorable men, whose heads and hearts are susceptible to the force of sound logic. I appeal to those, who have been redeemed from the bondage of sin by the precious blood of Christ, and with whom I hope to unite in a better world in ascribing glory, and honor, and praise to the Great Deliverer for ever. If I can succeed in gaining their attention, I feel sure of convincing their understandings and securing their support.

Besides the overwhelming odds which are opposed to me, I labor under other very serious disadvantages. My efforts in the cause of emancipation have been received as if they were intended to bring chaos back again, and to give the land up to pillage and its inhabitants to slaughter. My calls for an alteration in the feelings and practices of the people toward the blacks have been regarded as requiring a sacrifice of all the rules of propriety, and as seeking an overthrow of the established laws of nature! I have been thrust into prison, and amerced in a heavy fine. Epithets, huge and unseemly, have been showered upon me without mercy. I have been branded as a fanatic, a madman, a disturber of the peace, an incendiary, a cutthroat, a monster, &c. &c. &c. Assassination has been threatened me in a multitude of anonymous letters. Private and public rewards to a very large amount, by combinations of individuals and by legislative bodies at the south, have been offered to any persons who shall abduct or destroy me. 'Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.' This malignity of opposition and proximity of danger, however, are like oil to the fire of my zeal. I am not deliriously enthusiastic—I do not covet to be a martyr; but I had rather die a thousand deaths, than witness the horrible oppression under which more than two millions of my countrymen groan, and be silent. No reproaches, no dangers shall deter me. At the north or the south, at the east or the west,—wherever Providence may call me,—my voice shall be heard in behalf of the perishing slave, and against the claims of his oppressor. Mine is the frank avowal of the excellent Wilberforce:—I can admit of no compromise[Pg 9] when the commands of equity and philanthropy are so imperious. I wash my hands of the blood that may be spilled. I protest against the system, as the most flagrant violation of every principle of justice and humanity. I never will desert the cause. In my task it is impossible to tire: it fills my mind with complacency and peace. At night I lie down with composure, and rise to it in the morning with alacrity. I never will desist from this blessed work.

Now that the concentrated execration of the civilized world is poured upon those who engage in the foreign slave trade, how mild and inefficient, comparatively speaking, seem to have been the rebukes of Pitt, and Fox, and Wilberforce, and Clarkson! Yet these rebukes were once deemed fanatical and outrageous by good men—yea, like flames of fire, threatening a universal conflagration! So the denunciations which I am now hurling against slavery and its abettors,—which seem to many so violent and unmerited,—will be considered moderate, pertinent and just, when this murderous, soul-destroying system shall have been overthrown.

Fanaticism has been the crime alleged against reformers in all ages. 'These,' it was said of the apostles, 'that have turned the world upside down, come hither also.' Luther was a madman in his day: what is he now in the estimation of the friends of civil and religious liberty? One of

That base and desperate men should thus stigmatize those who endure the cross as good soldiers, and walk as pilgrims and strangers here, is not wonderful; but that the professed followers of Jesus Christ should join in this hue-and-cry is lamentable. Singular enough, I have been almost as cruelly aspersed by ministers of the gospel and church members, as by any other class of men. Unacquainted with me, and ignorant of my sentiments, they have readily believed the accusations of my enemies. The introduction of my name into conversation has elicited from them contemptuous sneers or strong denunciations. I have a right to complain of this treatment, and I do strongly[Pg 10] protest against it as unchristian, hurtful and ungenerous. To prejudge and condemn an individual, on vague and apocryphal rumors, without listening to his defence or examining evidence, is tyranny. Perhaps I am in error—perhaps I deserve unqualified condemnation; but I am at least entitled to a privilege which is granted to the vilest criminals, namely, the privilege of a fair trial. I ask nothing more. To accuse me of heresy, madness and sedition, is one thing; to substantiate the accusation, another.

Should this work chance to fall into the hands of those who have thus ignorantly reprobated my course, I appeal to their sense of rectitude whether they are not bound to give it a candid and deliberate perusal; and if they shall find in my writings nothing contrary to the immutable principles of justice, whether they ought not to be as strenuous in my defence as they have been hitherto in seeking my overthrow.

To show that I do not vacate any pledge which I have given to the public, I shall here insert all the specifications, which, from time to time, I have brought against the American Colonization Society. In 'The Liberator' of April 23, 1831, is the following serious compend:

[Pg 11]

The following is copied from an editorial article of July 9, 1831:

In 'The Liberator' of July 30, 1831, alluding to the present work, I used the following language:

The following paragraph is extracted from 'The Liberator' of November 19, 1831:

The following passages are taken from my Address to the People of Color, delivered in various places in June, 1831:

The foregoing accusations are grave, weighty, positive—involving a perilous responsibility, and requiring ample and irrefragable proof. They are expressed in vehement terms: but[Pg 15] to measure the propriety of language, we must first examine the character of the system, or the nature of the object, against which it is directed. If we see a person wilfully abusing the goods of an individual, we may reprehend him, but with comparative mildness. If we see him maiming, or in any way maltreating another man's cattle, we may increase the severity of our rebuke. But if we see him violating all the social and sacred relations of life,—daily defrauding a number of his fellow creatures of the fruits of their toil, calling them his property, selling them for money, lacerating their bodies, and ruining their souls,—we may use the strongest terms of moral indignation. Nor is plain and vehement denunciation of crime inconsistent with the most benevolent feelings towards the perpetrators of it. We are sustained in these positions by the example of Christ, and the apostles, and the prophets, and the reformers.

So, also, if there be an institution, the direct tendency of which is to perpetuate slavery, to encourage persecution, and to invigorate prejudice,—although many of its supporters may be actuated by pure motives,—it ought to receive unqualified condemnation.

It is proper to call things by their right names. What does the law term him who steals your pocket-book, or breaks into your dwelling, or strips you on the highway? A robber! Is the charge inflammatory or unjust? or will it please the villain? The abuse of language is seen only in its misapplication. Those who object to the strength of my denunciation must prove its perversion before they accuse me of injustice.

Probably I may be interrogated by individuals,—'Why do you object to a colony in Africa? Are you not willing people should choose their own places of residence? And if the blacks are willing to remove, why throw obstacles in their path or deprecate their withdrawal? All go voluntarily: of what, then, do you complain? Is not the colony at Liberia in a flourishing condition, and expanding beyond the most sanguine expectations of its founders?'

Pertinent questions deserve pertinent answers. I say, then, in reply, that I do not object to a colony, in the abstract—to use the popular phraseology of the day. In other words, I am[Pg 16] entirely willing men should be as free as the birds in choosing the time when, the mode how, and the place where they shall migrate. The power of locomotion was given to be used at will; as beings of intelligence and enterprise,

The emigration from New-England to the far West is constant and large. Almost every city, town or village suffers annually by the departure of some of its adventurous inhabitants. Companies have been formed to go and possess the Oregon territory—an enterprise hazardous and unpromising in the extreme. The old States are distributing their population over the whole continent, with unexampled fruitfulness and liberality. But why this restless, roving, unsatisfied disposition? Is it because those who cherish it are treated as the offscouring of all flesh, in the place of their birth? or because they do not possess equal rights and privileges with other citizens? or because they are the victims of incorrigible hate and prejudice? or because they are told that they must choose between exilement and perpetual degradation? or because the density of population renders it impossible for them to obtain preferment and competence here? or because they are estranged by oppression and scorn? or because they cherish no attachment to their native soil, to the scenes of their childhood and youth, or to the institutions of government? or because they consider themselves as dwellers in a strange land, and feel a burning desire, a feverish longing to return home? No. They lie under no odious disabilities, whether imposed by public opinion or by legislative power; to them the path of preferment is wide open; they sustain a solid and honorable reputation; they not only can rise, but have risen, and may soar still higher, to responsible stations and affluent circumstances; no calamity afflicts, no burden depresses, no reproach excludes, no despondency enfeebles them; and they love the spot of their nativity almost to idolatry. The air of heaven is not freer or more buoyant than they. Theirs is a spirit of curiosity and adventurous enterprise, impelled by no malignant influences, but by the spontaneous promptings of[Pg 17] the mind. Far different is the case of our colored population. Their voluntary banishment is compulsory—they are forced to turn volunteers, as will be shown in other parts of this work.

The following proposition is self-evident: The success of an enterprise furnishes no proof that it is in accordance with justice, or that it meets the approbation of God, or that it ought to be prosecuted to its consummation, or that it is the fruit of disinterested benevolence.

I do not doubt that the Colony at Liberia, by a prodigal expenditure of life and money, will ultimately flourish; but a good result would no more hallow that persecution which is seeking to drag the blacks away, than it would if we should burn every distillery, and shut up in prison every vender of ardent spirits, in order to do good and to prevent people from becoming drunkards. Because Jehovah overrules evil for good, shall we therefore continue to do evil?

If ten thousand white mechanics, farmers, merchants, &c. &c. were to emigrate to Africa, does any man doubt whether permanent good would result from the enterprise—good to that benighted continent, which would counterbalance all the sacrifices and sufferings attending it? And yet is there a single mechanic, farmer or merchant, who feels it to be his duty, or would be willing to go? Suppose the people of color should get the power into their hands to-morrow, and should argue that the whites must not be admitted to equal privileges with themselves; but that, having so long plundered Africa, and oppressed her children, justice demanded that they should be sent to that desolate land to build up colonies, and carry the light of civilization and knowledge, as a sort of reparation—and that, having superior instruction in literature and science, they were peculiarly qualified for such a mission—how would this doctrine relish? 'It is a poor rule that will not work both ways,' says the proverb. Yet this logic would be more sound than is our own with regard to the colonization of the blacks.

On this point, deception is practised to a great extent. The advocates of the Colonization Society are constantly aiming to divert public attention from the only proper subject of inquiry, namely, 'Is it based upon benevolence and justice?'—to the[Pg 18] success of the colony. Granting all that they assert, it proves nothing; but of this success I shall have occasion, doubtless, to speak hereafter. Fine stories are trumpeted all over the country, of the happiness, intelligence, industry, virtue, enterprise and dignity of the colonists; and changes, absolutely miraculous, are gravely recorded for the admiration and credulity of community. 'The simple,' says Solomon, 'believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.'

The doctrine, that the 'end sanctifies the means,' belongs, I trust, exclusively to the creed of the Jesuits. If I were sure that the Society would accomplish the entire regeneration of Africa by its present measures, my detestation of its principles would not abate one jot, nor would I bestow upon it the smallest modicum of praise. Never shall the fruits of the mercy and overruling providence of God,—ever bringing good out of evil and light out of darkness,—be ascribed to the prejudice and sin of man.

It is certain that many a poor native African has been led to embrace the gospel, in consequence of his transportation to our shores, who else had lived and died a heathen. Is the slave trade therefore a blessing? Suppose one of those wretches who are engaged in this nefarious commerce were brought before the Supreme Court, and being convicted, should be asked by the Judge, whether he had aught to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him? And suppose the culprit should espy some of his sable victims in court, whom he knew had made a profession of faith, and he should boldly reply—'May it please your Honor, I abducted these people away from their homes, it is true; but they were poor, miserable, benighted idolators, and must have inevitably remained as such unto the hour of their death, if I had not brought them to this land of christianity and bibles, where they have been taught a knowledge of the true God, and are now rejoicing in hope of a glorious immortality. I therefore offer as a conclusive reason why sentence should not be pronounced, that I have rescued souls from perdition, and thus enlarged the company of the saints in light.' Would the villain be acquitted, and, instead of a halter, receive the panegyric of the Court for his conduct?[Pg 19]

Our pilgrim fathers, not being able to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences in the mother country, were compelled by ecclesiastical despotism to seek a refuge in this rude and barbarous continent. Wonderful have been the fruits of their expulsion! A mighty republic established—the freest, the wisest, the most religious on earth!—influencing the world by its example, and exciting the emulation of all nations! Now suppose we should occasionally find in the pages of the Edinburgh or Quarterly Review, or in the columns of the English newspapers, not only a full justification of this oppressive treatment in view of its astonishing consequences, but a claim to approbation on account of its exercise. Would not such effrontery amaze us? Would not an honest indignation burn within us? Should we look with a more complacent aspect upon the bigots who kindled those fires of persecution around the Puritans, which, but for the interposition of Heaven, had consumed them to ashes?

The death of our Lord Jesus Christ was essential to the salvation of the world. Suppose Judas, at the judgment day, should build upon this fact in extenuation of his dreadful crime. What would be the decision of the assembled universe? Yea, what was the condemnation passed upon him by the Illustrious Sufferer? 'Wo to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born!'

Let not, then, any imaginary or real prosperity of the settlement at Liberia lead any individual to applaud the Colonization Society, reckless whether it be actuated by mistaken philanthropy, or perverted generosity, or selfish policy, or unchristian prejudice.

I should oppose this Society, even were its doctrines harmless. It imperatively and effectually seals up the lips of a vast number of influential and pious men, who, for fear of giving offence to those slaveholders with whom they associate, and thereby leading to a dissolution of the compact, dare not expose the flagrant enormities of the system of slavery, nor denounce the crime of holding human beings in bondage. They dare not lead to the onset against the forces of tyranny; and if they shrink from the conflict, how shall the victory be won? I do[Pg 20] not mean to aver, that, in their sermons, or addresses, or private conversations, they never allude to the subject of slavery; for they do so frequently, or at least every Fourth of July. But my complaint is, that they content themselves with representing slavery as an evil,—a misfortune,—a calamity which has been entailed upon us by former generations,—and not as an individual CRIME, embracing in its folds robbery, cruelty, oppression and piracy. They do not identify the criminals; they make no direct, pungent, earnest appeal to the consciences of men-stealers; by consenting to walk arm-in-arm with them, they virtually agree to abstain from all offensive remarks, and to aim entirely at the expulsion of the free people of color; their lugubrious exclamations, and solemn animadversions, and reproachful reflections, are altogether indefinite; they 'go about, and about, and all the way round to nothing;' they generalize, they shoot into the air, they do not disturb the repose nor wound the complacency of the sinner; 'they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean.' Thus has free inquiry been suppressed, and a universal fear created, and the tongue of the boldest silenced, and the sleep of death fastened upon the nation. 'Truth has fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter.' The plague is raging with unwonted fatality; but no cordon sanitaire is established—no adequate remedy sought. The tide of moral death is constantly rising and widening; but no efforts are made to stay its desolating career. The fire of God's indignation is kindling against us, and thick darkness covers the heavens, and the hour of retribution is at hand; but we are obstinate in our transgression, we refuse to repent, we impiously throw the burden of our guilt upon our predecessors, we affect resignation to our unfortunate lot, we descant upon the mysterious dispensations of Providence, we deem ourselves objects of God's compassion rather than of his displeasure. 'Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord. Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?'

Were the American Colonization Society bending its energies directly to the immediate abolition of slavery; seeking to enlighten and consolidate public opinion, on this momentous[Pg 21] subject; faithfully exposing the awful guilt of the owners of slaves; manfully contending for the bestowal of equal rights upon our free colored population in this their native land; assiduously endeavoring to uproot the prejudices of society; and holding no fellowship with oppressors; my opposition to it would cease. It might continue to bestow its charities upon those who should desire to seek another country, and at the same time launch its thunders against the system of oppression. But, alas! it looks to the banishment of the free people of color as the only means to abolish slavery, and conciliate the feelings of the planters.

The popularity of the Society is not attributable to its merits, but exclusively to its congeniality with those unchristian prejudices which have so long been cherished against a sable complexion. It is agreeable to slaveholders, because it is striving to remove a class of persons who they fear may stir up their slaves to rebellion; all who avow undying hostility to the people of color are in favor of it; all who shrink from acknowledging them as brethren and friends, or who make them a distinct and inferior caste, or who deny the possibility of elevating them in the scale of improvement here, most heartily embrace it. Having ample funds, it has been able to circulate its specious appeals in every part of the country; and to employ active and eloquent agents, who have glowingly described to the people the immense advantages to be reaped from the accomplishment of its designs. With this entire preoccupancy of the ground, and these common though unworthy dispositions in its favor, the wonder is, that it is not more popular.

Much cleverness is not requisite to tell a fine story; and a fine story is always agreeable to a credulous listener. An agent of the Society goes into a place, and finds no difficulty in procuring a pulpit from which to address a congregation. The benevolent pastor, who, perhaps, has had neither time nor opportunity to examine the principles of the Society, readily officiates on the occasion, and, in the fulness of his heart, believing that he is not asking amiss, supplicates the benediction of Heaven upon the object of the meeting. This co-operation of the pastor with the agent makes an impression decidedly fa[Pg 22]vorable to the latter upon the minds of the audience, and prepares them to receive his statements with confidence. He first dwells upon the miserable condition of Africa—desolated with civil wars—the prey of kidnappers—given up to idolatry—full of intellectual darkness and spiritual death—and bleeding at every pore. He next depicts the horrors of the slave trade, and shows how inefficient have been the laws enacted for its suppression. He finally expatiates upon the evils and dangers of slavery; and is particularly minute in describing the degradation of the free people of color, which he declares to be irreclaimable in this land of gospel light. 'Now, my christian brethren and friends,' he continues, 'the object of the American Colonization Society is to stay the effusion of blood, to give light to them who sit in darkness, and to make reparation for the wrongs which have been inflicted upon the sable sons of Africa. As the people of color must evidently be a distinct and degraded class while they reside in this country, and as they are threatened with universal proscription, the Society benevolently proposes to send them back to their native country, by their own voluntary consent, together with those slaves who may be emancipated for this purpose, where they may enjoy equal rights and privileges, nor longer retain any sense of inferiority to the whites. Every emigrant will go as a missionary to reclaim the poor natives from their barbarism, and to spread the tidings of salvation throughout the African continent. By forming a chain of colonies along the coast, a speedy check will be given to the accursed slave trade,—a trade which cannot be destroyed in any other manner. Who does not desire to see Africa civilized and evangelized? Whose heart does not leap in view of the suppression of the slave trade? Who does not pray for deliverance from the evils of slavery? Who does not wish to behold the free people of color,—cursed with ineffectual freedom here,—recalled from their banishment, and placed where no obstacles will impede their march to affluence, preferment and honor? The Colonization Society, then, powerfully commends itself to the christian, the philanthropist and the patriot—to every section of our country and to all denominations of men.'[Pg 23]

Exquisite! The picture is crowded with attractions, delightful to the eye. The story is skilfully told, and implicitly believed; but, like every other story, it has two sides to it. So complete is the delusion, however, that many good people are ready to class those who denounce the Colonization Society, among the opposers of foreign missions, bible and tract societies, and the other benevolent operations of the age!

Far be it from me to accuse the agents of the Society of intentionally perverting the truth or deliberately imposing upon the credulity of the public. Some—perhaps all of them, are men of sincerity and probity; but, deluded themselves, they help to delude others. Their vision is imperfect; and 'if the blind lead the blind,' we may expect to find them in the same ditch together.

Great complacency has been manifested on various occasions, by the advocates of the Society, on the ground that it was at first suspected of sinister designs, both at the north and the south, but is now receiving the countenance of both. This exultation is premature. The opposition formerly manifested to the Society by the holders of slaves, grew out of their ignorance of its purpose; but a very large majority of them now perceive that it is their devoted servant, crouching down at their feet, shielding them from reproach, dragging those away whom they dread, allowing them to sin with impunity, and generously granting them and their children whole centuries in which to repent, and to surrender what they have stolen! It dissuades them from emancipating their slaves faster than they can be transported to Africa; and thus regards their persistance in robbery and oppression as evidence of wisdom, benevolence and sanity! It is natural, that, discovering their mistake, they should now rally in a body around the Society; and, consequently, we find that the legislatures of the several slaveholding States are passing encomiums upon it, and in some instances appropriating sums of money to be paid over to it by instalments.

The people of the north have been shamefully duped by this scheme; but, like the slaveholders, they begin to discover their error. Unlike them, however, they are withdrawing their sup[Pg 24]port, in obedience to the injunction of the Apostle: 'Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.'

To Africa this country owes a debt larger than she is able to liquidate. Most intensely do I desire to see that ill-fated continent transformed into the abode of civilization, of the arts and sciences, of evangelical piety, of liberty, and of all that adds to the dignity, the renown, and the temporal and eternal happiness of man. Shame and confusion of face belong to the Church, that she has so long disregarded the claims of Africa upon her sympathies, and prayers, and liberality—claims as much superior as its wrongs to those of any other portion of the globe. It is indeed most strange that, like the Priest and the Levite, she should have 'passed by on the other side,' and left the victim of thieves to bleed and sicken and die. As the Africans were the only people doomed to perpetual servitude, and to be the prey of kidnappers, she should have long since directed almost her undivided efforts to civilize and convert them,—not by establishing colonies of ignorant and selfish foreigners among them, who will seize every opportunity to overreach or oppress, as interest or ambition shall instigate,—but by sending intelligent, pious missionaries; men fearing God and eschewing evil—living evidences of the excellence of christianity—having but one object, not the possession of wealth or the obtainment of power or the gratification of selfishness, but the salvation of the soul. Had she made this attempt, as she was bound to have made it by every principle of justice and every feeling of humanity, a century ago, Africa would have been, at the present day, 'redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled,' and the slavery of her children brought to an end. No pirates would now haunt her coast to desolate her villages with fire and sword, in order to supply a christian people with hewers of wood and drawers of water. How much has been needlessly lost to the world by this criminal neglect![Pg 25]

The conception of evangelizing a heathenish country by sending to it an illiterate, degraded and irreligious population, belongs exclusively to the advocates of African colonization. For absurdity and inaptitude, it stands, and must forever stand, without a parallel. Of all the offspring of prejudice and oppression, it is the most shapeless and unnatural. But more of this hereafter.

History is full of instruction on the subject of colonization. The establishment of colonies, in all ages, with scarcely an exception, has resulted either in their subversion by the vices or physical strength of the natives, or by a fatal amalgamation with them; or else in the rapid destruction of the natives by the superior knowledge and greedy avarice of the new settlers. It is presumption to suppose that the colony at Liberia, composed of the worst materials imaginable, will present an example of forbearance, stability and good faith, hitherto unwitnessed in the world.

Soon after its establishment, the colony narrowly escaped a bloody extirpation, and was the cause of a murderous warfare in which several of the colonists and a large number of the natives were slain. The steady growth of the colony excited the jealousy and alarm of some of the neighboring tribes; and, accordingly, a consultation was held, at which King George, Governor, and all the other head men, contended that 'The Americans were strangers who had forgot their attachment to the land of their fathers; for if not, why had they not renounced their connexion with white men altogether, and placed themselves under the protection of the kings of the country? King George had already been under the necessity of removing from his town, and leaving the Cape in their hands. This was but the first step of their encroachments. If left alone, they must, in a very few years, master the whole country. And as all other places were full, their own tribe must be without a home, and cease any longer to remain a nation.'[E] This appeal (which evinces an intimate acquaintance with human nature and much foresight) induced the attack to which allusion has been made. A[Pg 26] single paragraph from the Rev. Mr Ashmun's account of the battle with the natives may suffice to give the reader an idea of its destructiveness:

The above (which cannot be perused without a thrill of horror) is one of the legitimate fruits of foreign colonization. Subsequent to this bloody affair, another battle took place, which resulted in the defeat of the natives and the loss of many lives. It is true, the colony since that period has received little molestation, and has succeeded, moreover, in making some amicable treaties with the natives; but in proportion to its means of defence and numerical force will be its liability to encroach upon the rights of the Africans, and thus to provoke hostilities. If this prophecy should not be fulfilled, history will[Pg 27] have spoken in vain, and human nature experienced a total regeneration.

No man of refined sensibility can contemplate the fate of the aborigines of this country, without shuddering at the consequences of colonization; and if they melted away at the presence of the pilgrims and their descendants, like frost before the meridian blaze of the sun,—if they fell to the earth, like the leaves of the forest before the autumnal blast, by the settlement of men reputedly humane, wise and pious, in their vicinage,—what can be our hope for the preservation of the Africans, associated with a population degraded by slavery, and, to a lamentable extent, destitute of religious and secular knowledge? The argument, that the difference of complexion between our forefathers and the aborigines (which is not a distinctive feature between the settlers at Liberia and the natives) was the real cause of this deadly enmity, is more specious than solid. Conduct, not color, secures friendship or excites antipathy, as it happens to be just or unjust. The venerated William Penn and his pacific followers furnish a case in point.

I avow it—the natural tendency of the colony at Liberia excites the most melancholy apprehensions in my mind. Its birth was conceived in blood, and its footsteps will be marked with blood down to old age—the blood of the poor natives—unless a special interposition of Divine Providence prevent such a calamity. The emigrants will be eager in the acquisition of wealth, ease and power; and, having superior skill and discernment in trade, they will outwit and defraud the natives as often as occasion permits. This knavish treatment once detected,—as it surely will be, for even an uncivilized people may soon learn that they have been cheated,—will provoke retaliation, and stir up the worst passions of the human breast. Bloody conflicts will ensue, in which the colonists will be victorious. This success will serve to increase the enmity of the natives, and to perpetuate the murderous struggle. The extirpation of one generation may put the colonists in undisputed possession of the land.

This is not a fancy sketch—it is not improbable: on the contrary, it is the obvious and hitherto certain consequence of[Pg 28] bringing hastily together large bodies of civilized men with unlettered barbarians.

Jealousy will be another fruitful source of contention. The population of Africa is divided into a vast number of tribes, governed by petty kings,—sometimes indeed united by an amicable league, but commonly distinct and independent. Some of these tribes will form alliances with the colonists, either to obtain protection from their more formidable rivals or from motives of fear, curiosity or selfishness. In this manner, tribe will be arrayed against tribe throughout that vast continent; the tide of commotion, gathering fresh impetuosity in its headlong career, will rush from the mountains down to the ocean, devastating all that is beautiful, and swiftly defacing that which will require the labors of centuries to restore to its pristine excellence; there will be wars and rumors of wars, succeeded by deceitful and unstable treaties ratified only to be broken at a favorable moment; and these collisions will not cease until the colonists obtain an undisputed mastery over the natives.

Would to Heaven these fears might prove to be but the offspring of a distracted mind! May the colonists be so just in their intercourse with the Africans, as never to impeach their own integrity; so pacific, as to disarm retaliation and perpetuate good will; so benevolent, as to excite gratitude and diffuse joy wherever their names shall be known; and so holy, as to exalt the christian religion in the eyes of an idolatrous nation! But he must be grossly ignorant of human nature, or strangely infatuated, who believes that they will always, or commonly, exhibit this unexceptionable conduct.

It is my sober conviction, that no contrivance or enterprise could possibly be planned more fatally calculated to obstruct the progress of christianity in a heathenish country, than the establishment of a colony, or colonies, of selfish, ignorant, or even intelligent and high-minded men, on its shores. In every settlement of this kind,—no matter how choice the original materials,—vice will soon preponderate over virtue, intemperance over sobriety, knavery over honesty, oppression over liberty, and impiety over godliness. The natives will see just enough of christianity to hate and shun it; finding that its fruits are[Pg 29] generally bad—that it has no restraining influence upon the mass of its nominal professors,—they will not easily comprehend the utility of abandoning their own idolatrous worship; looking only to the pernicious examples of the intruders, they will spurn with contempt the precepts of the gospel. Their confidence will be abused—their lands craftily trafficked for nought—their ignorance cheated—their inferiority treated oppressively; and then what must naturally follow? Why—WAR—a war of retaliation. All the vices, and few of the virtues, of the instructers, will be faithfully copied; and thus barriers will be erected against the progress of the Christian religion, not absolutely insurmountable, it is true, but sufficiently tall and strong to retard its noble career—barriers not only of superstition and ignorance, but of hatred and revenge. These reflections might be extended to the size of a volume; but they are probably sufficient to convince every unprejudiced, discerning mind, that the establishment of foreign colonies in a barbarous land is the surest way to prevent its speedy evangelism and civilization.

In reply to this reasoning, some of the advocates of African colonization may argue, that schools and houses of worship, multiplying with the growth of the settlement at Liberia, will check the evil propensities and passions of the emigrants, and qualify them to act as missionaries or instructers among the natives; and thus great good will be bestowed upon Africa. This is at least a summary, if not a sure mode of obviating these difficulties.

In the first place, it is by no means certain—nay, it is not probable, especially if the number of emigrants annually exported to Liberia swell from hundreds to thousands, (and this increase of transportation is positively promised by the Parent Society, and absolutely necessary to cause a perceptible diminution in the annual enlargement of our colored population)—I say, it is neither certain nor probable that the multiplication of literary and religious privileges will keep pace with the unnatural and enormous growth of the colony. Nine years after the first settlement of Liberia, it appears by the following extract of a letter from a highly respectable colored emigrant, (the Rev. George M. Erskine,) there was but the 'remnant of a[Pg 30] school' left! This letter is dated 'Caldwell, Liberia, April 3, 1830.'

Subsequent accounts, I am happy to state, present a better aspect in relation to the education of this outcast and persecuted people: their wants, however, are only partially supplied.

The annual increase of the free colored and slave population in the United States is variously estimated from sixty to seventy-five thousand. The American Colonization Society proposes the annual removal of this vast body,—and more, if it be possible,—provided the energies and patronage of the General Government be enlisted in this expulsive crusade. Now, suppose the entire transportation effected, let any candid man decide how extremely difficult, not to say impracticable, it would be to discipline and instruct such an overwhelming mass of ignorance, or any considerable portion of it—and how pernicious must be the consequences to the colony and the natives, if it should not receive immediate culture!

Secondly. It is neither certain nor probable that, allowing all that is assumed by colonizationists, the influence of secular and religious instruction would be sufficient to restrain the selfish desires and knavish propensities of those whose main object is,[Pg 31] not to evangelize the natives, but to secure, by a summary process, competence and power for themselves. Indeed, their juxtaposition with the natives would be eminently calculated to induce the fever of avarice, and to generate the lust of dominion. It is well known that so eager are the colonists to acquire a rapid accumulation of wealth, by trafficking their paltry beads and poisonous rum and tobacco for ivory, camwood and gold dust, it is with the utmost difficulty any considerable portion of them are persuaded to cultivate the soil and engage in agricultural pursuits. Thus we are presented with the disgraceful, if not singular spectacle of a rivalry in cunning and trickishness between a colony of soi-disant missionaries (really avaricious and unscrupulous foreigners) and the tribes who are to come under their pious pupilage. If equal dexterity in trade is not apparent, each party is equally pleased with its successful attempts at deception, and both renew the fraudulent commerce with fresh alacrity—the one to gain a new triumph, and the other to retrieve an old defeat. And this is the mode of colonizationists to evangelize Africa! and this their mode to suppress the slave trade! and this their mode to elevate the free people of color! and this their mode to emancipate the slaves! It combines the folly and absurdity of a farce with the solemnity and murderment of a tragedy.

Far be it from me to leave the impression upon the mind of the reader, from these representations, that all the colonists are actuated by the same selfish motives, or that they have exhibited any new and extraordinary traits of character in their commerce with the Africans. Many of them, I believe, are men who fear God and desire the welfare of his creatures: all of them have behaved as honorably, perhaps, and trafficked as equitably, as any other body of men, white or yellow, would have done in the same situation and under the same circumstances. Dishonesty in trade is no prodigy, even in this country. To bring accusations of fraud, cupidity and cunning against human nature, is not libellous. I am persuaded that robbery,—well contrived, deliberately executed robbery,—is perpetrated in every community among ourselves, without any due estimate of its moral turpitude, by reputable merchants and traders upon their cus[Pg 32]tomers, to a larger extent than all the avowed and heinous thefts collectively, which are committed against society. It is lamentable to see how studiously conscience and fair dealing are excluded from the secular business of the world. If we see, every day, illustrations of this dishonest conduct, given by men of refinement, intelligence and good character, what should we expect from those whose fetters have hardly fallen from their limbs; who have been systematically degraded by slavery; who have not consequently that lively sense of moral obligation which accompanies intelligence; who are beyond the influence of public sentiment, and surrounded by a barbarous people?

The establishment of a colony of speculators, then, to evangelize Africa, does not discover much wisdom or promise much success; but, on the contrary, exhibits a total blindness of vision and a most unfavorable aspect.

Let it be remembered, however, that rum and tobacco (two poisons which are exactly adapted to destroy both soul and body) are the principal articles given to the natives—because pertinaciously demanded by them—in exchange for their own. Their appetite for spirituous liquor, first created by the slave traders and subsequently excited by the colonists, is insatiate. Even the justly lamented Ashmun, if I do not mistake, for I have not his letter now before me, was so imprudent in one of his epistles to the Board of Managers as to concede the fatal necessity of selling rum freely to the natives, in order to maintain a commercial intercourse with them. Rum they would have, or nothing; and rum they obtained then, and do now obtain. Any one who will take the trouble to read the advertisements in the Liberia Herald will discover that ardent spirits form a prominent item in the list of articles offered for sale. Of the sobriety of the colonists, however, common report speaks in the most gratifying manner; but as their number is to be increased by a redundant importation, we have reason to fear a declension of morals.

Thirdly. Colonizationists strenuously contend that our colored population are destined always to remain a degraded class in this country. If educated any where, they must be educated in Africa. We must take them in their ignorance, and just[Pg 33] released from bondage, and translate them to another continent on the wings of the wind. Delay would be injurious to ourselves, and calamitous to them. They must go in large bodies—by thousands and tens of thousands annually—till the whole be expelled from our shores. For it seems, according to the logic of colonizationists, every individual tainted with black blood must be transported, to insure the regeneration of Africa! Neither fifty thousand, nor one hundred thousand, nor half a million of these missionaries will be able to accomplish the task; but two millions of slaves and four hundred thousand free people of color, and all their descendants in time to come, here—even little babes (pretty prattling reformers!) and children—the maimed, the halt, and the blind—all must be sent off—else alas! alas! for poor benighted Africa! This is no caricature. An ugly face is sure to quarrel with its own likeness. But what is the portrait worth, if it bear no resemblance to the living original? They who place themselves in a ridiculous attitude must not claim exemption from ridicule.

Let us turn to the picture once more. It is worth our while to contemplate it a few moments longer.

What do we see? More than one-sixth portion of the American people—confessedly the most vicious, degraded and dangerous portion—crowded on the shores of Africa, by means which are hereafter to be considered, and at an expense which we shall not stop now to calculate, for the purpose of civilizing and evangelizing Africa, and of improving their own condition! Here, then, are two ignorant and depraved nations to be regenerated instead of one!—if we may call all the natives that occupy that vast continent a nation—two huge and heterogeneous masses of contagion mingled together for the preservation of each! One of these nations is so incorrigibly stupid, or unfathomably deep in pollution, (for such is the argument,) that, although surrounded by ten millions of people living under the full blaze of gospel light, and having every desirable facility to elevate and save it, it never can rise until it be removed at least three thousand miles from their vicinage!—and yet it is first to be evangelized in a barbarous land, by a feeble, inadequate process, before it can be qualified to evangelize the other[Pg 34] nation! In other words, men who are intellectually and morally blind are violently removed from light effulgent into thick darkness, in order that they may obtain light themselves and diffuse light among others! Ignorance is sent to instruct ignorance, ungodliness to exhort ungodliness, vice to stop the progress of vice, and depravity to reform depravity! All that is abhorrent to our moral sense, or dangerous to our quietude, or villanous in human nature, we benevolently disgorge upon Africa for her temporal and eternal welfare! We propose to build upon her shores, for her glory and defence, colonies framed of materials which we discard as worthless for our own use, and which possess no fitness or durability! Admirable consistency! surprising wisdom! unexampled benevolence! As rationally might we think of exhausting the ocean by multiplying the number of its tributaries, or extinguishing a fire by piling fuel upon it.

Lastly. Any scheme to proselytize which requires for its protection the erection of forts and the use of murderous weapons, is opposed to the genius of christianity and radically wrong. If the gospel cannot be propagated but by the aid of the sword,—if its success depend upon the muscular power and military science of its apostles,—it were better to leave the pagan world in darkness. The first specimen of benevolence and piety, which the colonists gave to the natives, was the building of a fort, and supplying it with arms and ammunition! This was an earnest manifestation of that 'peace on earth, good will to man,' which these expatriated missionaries were sent to inculcate! How eminently calculated to inspire the confidence, excite the gratitude, and accelerate the conversion of the Africans! Their 'dread of the great guns of the Islanders,' (to adopt the language of Mr Ashmun,) must from the beginning have made a deep and salutary impression upon their minds; and when, not long afterward, 'every shot' from these guns 'spent its force in a solid mass of living human flesh'—their own flesh—they must have experienced a total regeneration. Bullets and cannon balls argue with resistless effect, and as easily convert a barbarous as civilized people. One sanguinary conflict was sufficient to spread the glad tidings of salvation among[Pg 35] a thousand tribes, almost with the rapidity of light!—But even irony, though appropriate, is painful. I forbear.

But—says an objector—these reflections come too late. The colony is planted, whatever may be its influence. What do you recommend? Its immediate abandonment to want and ruin? Shall we not bestow upon it our charities, and commend it to the protection of Heaven?

I answer—Let the colony continue to receive the aid, and elicit the prayers of the good and benevolent. Still let it remain within the pale of christian sympathy. Blot it not out of existence. But let it henceforth develope itself naturally. Crowd not its population. Let transportation cease. Seek no longer to exile millions of our colored countrymen. For, assuredly, if the Colonization Society succeed in its efforts to remove thousands of their number annually, it could not inflict a heavier curse upon Africa, or more speedily assist in the entire subversion of the colony.

But—the objector asks—how shall we evangelize Africa?

In the same manner as we have evangelized the Sandwich and Society Islands, and portions of Burmah, Hindostan, and other lands. By sending missionaries of the Cross indeed, who shall neither build forts nor trust in weapons of war; who shall be actuated by a holy zeal and genuine love; who shall be qualified to instruct, admonish, enlighten, and proselyte; who shall not by their examples impugn the precepts, or subject to suspicion the inspiration of the Word of Life; who shall not be covered with pollution and shame as with a garment, or add to the ignorance, sin and corruption of paganism; and who shall abhor dishonesty, violence and treachery. Such men have been found to volunteer their services for the redemption of a lost world; and such men may be found now to embark in the same glorious enterprise. A hundred evangelists like these, dispersed along the shores and in the interior of Africa, would destroy more idols, make more progress in civilizing the natives, suppress more wars, unite in amity more hostile tribes, and convert more souls to Christ, in ten years, than a colony of twenty-thousand ignorant, uncultivated, selfish emigrants in a century. Such a mission would be consonant with reason and com[Pg 36]mon sense; nor could it fail to receive the approbation of God. How simple was the command of our blessed Saviour to his disciples!—'Go ye forth into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.' Not—'Send out from among yourselves those whom you despise or against whom you cherish a strong antipathy; those who need to be instructed and converted themselves; those who are the dregs of society, made vicious and helpless by oppression and public opinion; those who are beyond the reach of the gospel in a Christian land; those whose complexions are not precisely like yours, or who have any personal blemishes whatever that excite your dislike;—send out all these to evangelize the nations which sit in darkness and in the regions of the shadow of death!'

Denham, Clapperton, and Lander, travellers in Africa, represent the natives in a light most favorable for the introduction of christianity; as eager to learn and become a civilized and great people like the Europeans. Excepting the followers of Mohammed, they are not tenacious of their forms of religious worship; and a considerable portion of them are totally indifferent to devotional exercises. It seems apparent, that the fruits of a mission in Africa would be thrice as numerous as those of one in India, because the obstacles to be surmounted are far less formidable.

But—says the objector—the climate of Africa is fatal to white men.

So is the climate of India. But our missionaries have not counted their lives dear unto themselves; and, as fast as one is cut down, another stands ready to supply his place.

I do not believe that the Creator has immoveably fixed the habitations of any people within a boundary narrower than the circumference of the globe. I believe that rapid transitions from intensity of heat and cold, and cold and heat, are destructive to animal life; but I also believe that the human body is easily acclimated, in any region of the world. I believe the time is swiftly approaching when empires and continents shall as freely commingle their population as do states and neighborhoods. To limit or obstruct this intercourse, is to impoverish and circumscribe human happiness. Civilization will remove[Pg 37] those causes which now engender pestilence and death, and neutralize the effects of atmospherical contagion.

Hence it will be seen that I do not assail the Colonization Society, as many others have done, simply because the settlement at Liberia is unhealthy. It is true, the mortality among the emigrants has been excessive; and so it was among the first settlers of New-England. But the climate of New-England is no longer pestiferous; and the climate of Africa will grow sweet and salubrious as her forests disappear, and the purifying influences of Christianity penetrate into the interior. I expressly contend, however, that it is murderous, indiscriminately to colonize large bodies of men, women and children, in a foreign land, before the natives are to some extent elevated by missionary effort: and therefore I consider the Colonization Society as responsible for the lives of those who have perished prematurely at Liberia.

But the objection is fallacious. If white missionaries cannot, black ones can survive in Africa. What, then, is our duty? Obviously to educate colored young men of genius, enterprise and piety, expressly to carry the 'glad tidings of great joy' to her shores. Enough, I venture to affirm, stand ready to be sent, if they can first be qualified for their mission. If our free colored population were brought into our schools, and raised from their present low estate, I am confident that an army of christian volunteers would go out from their ranks, by a divine impulse and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to redeem their African brethren from the bondage of idolatry and the dominion of spiritual death.

Whatever may be the result of this great controversy, I shall have the consolation of believing that no efforts were lacking, on my part, to uproot the prejudices of my countrymen, to persuade them to walk in the path of duty and shun the precipice of expediency, to unloose the heavy burdens and let the prisoners go free at once, to warn them of the danger of expelling the people of color from their native land, and to convince them of the necessity of abandoning a dangerous and chimerical, as well as unchristian and anti-republican association. For these efforts I have hitherto suffered reproach and persecution, and[Pg 38] must expect to suffer till I perish. This book will doubtless increase the rage of my enemies; but no torrent of invective shall successfully whelm it, no sophistry impair its force, no activity destroy its influence, no misrepresentation defeat its usefulness.

I commend it, particularly, to the candid attention of the two most powerful classes in this country—editors of newspapers and the clergy. It is not a light matter for either of them to propagate false doctrines and excite delusive hopes, on the subject of politics or religion. Although the press is committed to a wide extent, I place too much reliance upon the good sense and liberal patriotism of its conductors to believe that the evidence which is presented in these pages of the inefficiency and injustice of the colonization scheme, will fail to convince their understanding. I cherish still higher expectations of its salutary influence upon ministers of the gospel. It may grieve them to discover that they have been misled themselves, and that they have unwittingly misled others. To say to their flocks—'We have erred in this matter; we have solicited your charities for an institution which is built upon prejudice and persecution; we have hastily adopted the mistaken opinions of others'—such a confession may indeed require much grace in the heart, but this grace, I am persuaded, they will obtain. As apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, sustaining high and awful responsibilities, and exerting an influence which measurably decides the eternal destiny of the souls of men, they will not shut their eyes, or stop their ears, or refuse to examine, or disregard the truth, in a case involving the temporal and eternal happiness of millions of their fellow creatures.

SECTION I.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY IS PLEDGED NOT TO OPPOSE THE SYSTEM OF SLAVERY.

Having concluded my introductory remarks, I now proceed to substantiate my accusations against the American Colonization Society, by marshalling in review the sentiments of those who first originated it, and who are its efficient managers and advocates. It is obvious that, with my limited means, and in a book designed for a cheap circulation, I shall not be able to enter into so minute a detail as the present exigency demands, or make those comments which might serve more fully to illustrate the character of this association. It should be stated, moreover, that I have not made any particular effort to procure materials for this work, being satisfied that those which have almost accidentally fallen into my hands, contain ample and conclusive evidence of the unworthiness of the Society. A vast number of the Reports of auxiliary bodies in various parts of the country, of orations and sermons and essays in favor of African colonization, are beyond my reach, and must remain unconsulted. If more proof be demanded, it shall be given to the public. There is not a sound timber in this great Babel: from the foundation to the roof, it is rotten and defective.

I shall not stop to interrogate the motives of those who planned the Society. Some of them, undoubtedly, were actuated by a benevolent desire to promote the welfare of our colored population, and could never have intended to countenance oppression. But the question is not, whether their motives were good or bad. Suppose they were all good—would this fact prove infallibly that they could not err in judgment? Do we not almost daily see men running headlong into wild and injurious enterprises with the very best intentions? There is a wide[Pg 40] difference between meaning well and doing well. The slave trade originated in a compassionate regard for the benighted Africans; and yet we hang those who are detected in this traffic. I am willing to concede that Robert Finley and Elias B. Caldwell were philanthropic individuals; and that a large number of their followers are men of piety, benevolence and moral worth. What then? Is the American Colonization Society a beneficial institution? We shall see hereafter.

The history of this Society is familiar to the public. It was organized about the commencement of the year 1817. The first public meeting to consider the expediency of such an organization was held on the 21st of December, 1816, at which the Hon. Henry Clay presided; but I have never seen its official proceedings. It was addressed by Mr Clay, Mr Randolph, Mr Caldwell, and other gentlemen, from whose speeches extracts will shortly be given.

It is my purpose in this section to show, first, the original design of the Society; secondly, that it is still strictly adhered to; and, lastly, that the Society is solemnly pledged not to interfere with the system of slavery, or in any manner to disturb the repose of the planters. Upon the rigid observance of this sinful pledge depends its existence; a single violation of it would be fatal. I want no better reason than this, to wage an uncompromising warfare against it. No man has a right to form an alliance with others, which prevents him from rebuking sin or exposing the guilt of sinners. Every individual is bound to oppose the system of slavery in the most direct, strenuous, unfaltering manner—bound by the ties of brotherhood, by the spirit of Christianity, by the genius of republicanism, by the dictates of humanity, by the requirements of justice, by the love of country, by duty to his God. He cannot suppress his voice, nor stop his ears to the groans of the prisoners, and be innocent. If he hide the truth because it may give offence—if he strike hands in amity with a thief—if he leave the needy and oppressed to perish—God will visit him with plagues. Now the language of the non-slaveholding members of the Colonization Society to the owners of slaves is virtually as follows:—'The free people of color are a nuisance to us, and plotters of[Pg 41] sedition among your slaves. If they be not speedily removed, your property will be lost, and your lives destroyed. We therefore do solemnly agree, that, if you will unite with us in expelling this dangerous class from our shores, we will never accuse you of robbery or oppression, or irritate your feelings by asserting the right of the slaves to immediate freedom, or identify any one of you as a criminal; but, on the contrary, we will boldly assert your innocence, and applaud you as wise and benevolent men for holding your slaves in subjection until you can cast them out of the country.' I say, this is virtually their language, as I shall soon indisputably show. Thus we are presented with the strange spectacle of a procession composed of the most heterogeneous materials. There go, arm-in-arm, a New-England divine and a southern kidnapper; and there an ungodly slaveholder and a pious deacon; each eyeing the other with distrust, and fearful of exciting a quarrel, both denouncing the poor, neglected, despised free black man as a miserable, good-for-nothing creature, and both gravely complimenting their foresight and generosity in sending this worthless wretch on a religious mission to Africa!

I cannot exhibit the folly and wickedness of this alliance in a clearer light than by inserting the following extract of a letter from Capt. Charles Stuart, of the English Royal Navy, one of the most indefatigable philanthropists in England:

The second article of the Constitution of this Society is in the following language:

The following citations abundantly sustain the charge, that the Society has not swerved from its original design, and does not oppose the system of slavery:

It were needless to multiply these extracts. So precisely do they resemble each other, that they seem rather as the offspring of a single mind, than of many minds. A large majority of them come in the most official and authoritative shape, and their language is explicit beyond cavil.

Here, then, is a combination, embracing able and influential men in all parts of the country, pledging itself not only to respect the system of slavery, but to frown indignantly upon those who shall dare to assail it. And what is this system which is to be held in so much reverence, and avoided with so much care? It is a system which has in itself no redeeming feature, but is full of blood—the blood of innocent men, women and children; full of adultery and concupiscence; full of darkness, blasphemy and wo; full of rebellion against God and treason against the[Pg 52] universe; full of wrath—impurity—ignorance—brutality—and awful impiety; full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; full of temporal suffering and eternal damnation. It is, says Pitt, a mass, a system of enormities, which incontrovertibly bid defiance to every regulation which ingenuity can devise, or power effect, but a total extinction; a system of incurable injustice, the complication of every species of iniquity, the greatest practical evil that ever has afflicted the human race, and the severest and most extensive calamity recorded in the history of the world. Fox calls it a most unjust and horrible persecution of our fellow creatures. The Rev. Dr. Thomson declares it is a system hostile to the original and essential rights of humanity—contrary to the inflexible and paramount demands of moral justice—at eternal variance with the spirit and maxims of revealed religion—inimical to all that is merciful in the heart, and holy in the conduct—and on these accounts, necessarily exposed and subject to the curse of Almighty God. It is, says Rowland Hill, made up of every crime that treachery, cruelty and murder can invent. Wilberforce says, it is the full measure of pure, unmixed, unsophisticated wickedness; and scorning all competition or comparison, it stands without a rival in the secure, undisputed possession of its detestable pre-eminence. In this country, slavery is a system which leaves the chastity of one million females without any protection! which condemns more than two millions of human beings to remediless bondage! which authorises their sale at public vendue in company with horses, sheep and hogs, or in a private manner, at the pleasure of their owners! which, under penalty of imprisonment, and even death, forbids their being taught the lowest rudiments of knowledge! which, by the exclusion of their testimony in courts, subjects them to worse than brutal treatment! which recognizes no connubial obligations, ruthlessly severs the holiest relations of life, tears the scarcely weaned babe from the arms of its mother, wives from their husbands, and parents from their children! But who is adequate to the task of delineating its horrors, or recording its atrocities, in full? Who can number the stripes which it inflicts, the groans and tears and imprecations which it extorts, the cruel murders which it perpetrates?[Pg 53] or who measure the innocent blood which it spills, or the degradation which it imposes, or the guilt which it accumulates? or who reveal the waste of property, the perversion of intellect, the loss of happiness, the burial of mind, to which it is accessary? or who trace its poisonous influence and soul-destroying tendency back for two hundred years down to the end of time? None—none but God himself! It is corrupt as death—black as perdition—cruel and insatiate as the grave. To adopt the nervous language of another:—The thing I say is true. I speak the truth, though it is most lamentable. I dare not hide it, I dare not palliate it; else the horror with which it covereth me would make me do so. Wo unto such a system! wo unto the men of this land who have been brought under its operation! It is not felt to be evil, it is not acknowledged to be evil, it is not preached against as evil; and, therefore, it is only the more inveterate and fearful an evil.[H] It hath become constitutional. It is fed from the stream of our life, and it will grow more and more excessive, until it can no longer be endured by God, nor borne with by man.

And this is the system, with which, as the reader has seen, the American Colonization Society is resolved not to interfere; and with the upholders of which, ministers of the gospel and professors of religion of all denominations have made a treaty of peace! Tell it not abroad—publish it not in the capitals of Europe—lest the despots of the old world take courage, and infidelity strengthen its stakes!

If men who are reputedly wise and good—if religious teachers and political leaders, those whose opinions are almost implicitly adopted, and whose examples are readily followed by the mass of the people—if such men suppress their voices on this momentous subject, and turn their eyes from its contemplation, and give the right hand of fellowship to the buyers and sellers of human flesh, is there not cause for lamentation and alarm? The pulpit is false to its trust, and a moral paralysis[Pg 54] has seized the vitals of the church. The sanctity of religion is thrown, like a mantle, over the horrid system. Under its auspices, robbery and oppression have become popular and flourishing. The press, too, by its profound silence, or selfish neutrality, or equivocal course, or active partizanship, is enlisted in the cause of tyranny—the mighty press, which has power, if exerted aright, to break every fetter, and emancipate the land. If this state of things be not speedily reversed, 'we be all dead men.' Unless the pulpit lift up the voice of warning, supplication and wo, with a fidelity which no emolument can bribe, and no threat intimidate; unless the church organise and plan for the redemption of the benighted slaves, and directly assault the strong holds of despotism; unless the press awake to its duty, or desist from its bloody co-operation; as sure as Jehovah lives and is unchangeable, he will pour out his indignation upon us, and consume us with the fire of his wrath, and our own way recompense upon our heads. 'Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters! When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'

I know the covert behind which colonizationists take refuge. They profess to be—and, doubtless, in many instances are—aiming at the ultimate emancipation of the slaves; but they are all for gradual abolition—all too courteous to give offence—too sober to be madmen—too discreet to adopt rash measures. But I shall show, in the progress of this work, that they not only shield the holders of slaves from reproach, (and thus, by assuring them of their innocence, destroy all motives for repentance,) but earnestly dissuade them from emancipating their slaves without an immediate expulsion. Fine conceptions of justice! Enemies of slavery, with a vengeance![Pg 55]

Suppose a similar course had been pursued by the friends of Temperance—when would have commenced that mighty reformation which has taken place before our eyes—unparalleled in extent, completeness and rapidity? Suppose, instead of exposing the guilt of trafficking in ardent spirits, and demanding instant and entire abstinence, they had associated themselves together for the exclusive purpose of colonizing all the drunkards in the land, as a class dangerous to our safety and irremediably degraded, on a spot where they could not obtain the poisonous alcohol, but could rise to respect and affluence—how would such an enterprise have been received? Suppose they had pledged themselves not to 'meddle' with the business of the traders in spirituous liquors, or to injure the 'property' of distillers, and had dwelt upon the folly and danger of 'immediate' abstinence, and had denounced the advocates of this doctrine as madmen and fanatics, and had endeavored, moreover, to suppress inquiry into the lawfulness of rum-selling—how many importers, makers and venders of the liquid poison would have abandoned their occupation, or how many of the four hundred thousand individuals, who are now enrolled under the banner of entire abstinence, would have been united in this great enterprise? Suppose, further, that, in a lapse of fifteen years, this association had transported two thousand drunkards, and the tide of intemperance had continued to rise higher and higher, and some faithful watchmen had given the alarm and showed the fatal delusion which rested upon the land, and the Society should have defended itself by pointing to the two thousand sots who had been saved by its instrumentality—would the public attention have been successfully diverted from the immense evil to the partial good? Suppose, once more, that this Society, composed indiscriminately of rum-sellers and sober, pious men, on being charged with perpetuating the evils of intemperance, with removing only some of the fruits thereof instead of the tree itself, should have indignantly repelled the charge, and said—'We are as much opposed to drunkenness, and as heartily deprecate its existence, as any of our violent, fanatical opposers; but the holders of ardent spirit have invested their capital in it, and to destroy its sale would invade the right of[Pg 56] property; policy at least, bids us not to assail their conduct, as otherwise we might exasperate them, and so lose their aid in colonizing the tipplers.' What would have been accomplished? But no such logic was used: the duty of immediate reform was constantly pressed upon the people, and a mighty reform took place.

Colonizationists boast inordinately of having emancipated three or four hundred slaves by their scheme, and contemptuously inquire of abolitionists, 'What have you effected?' Many persons have been deceived by this show of success, and deem it conclusive evidence of the usefulness of the Colonization Society. But, in the first place, it is very certain that none of these slaves were liberated in consequence of the faithful appeals of the Society to the consciences of the masters; for it has never troubled their consciences by any such appeals. Secondly, it is obvious that these manumissions are the fruits of the uncompromising doctrines of abolitionists; for they are calculated to bring slaveholders to repentance, and they will yet liberate other slaves to be caught up and claimed by the Society as trophies of its success. Thirdly, it has been shown that while this Society (allowing it the utmost that it claims) is effecting very little and very doubtful good, it is inflicting upon the nation great and positive evil, by refusing to arraign the oppressors at the bar of eternal justice, and by obstructing the formation of abolition societies. It rivets a thousand fetters where it breaks one. It annually removes, on an average, two hundred of our colored population, whereas the annual increase is about seventy thousand. It releases some scores of slaves, and says to the owners of more than two millions—'Hold on! don't emancipate too fast!'

What have the abolitionists done? They have done more, during the past year, to overthrow the system of slavery, than has been accomplished by the gradualists in half a century. They have succeeded in fastening the attention of the nation upon its enormities, and in piercing the callous consciences of the planters. They are reforming and consolidating public opinion, dispelling the mists of error, inspiring the hearts of the timid, enlightening the eyes of the blind, and disturbing the[Pg 57] slumbers of the guilty. Colonizationists gather a few leaves which the tree has cast off, and vaunt of the deed: abolitionists 'lay the axe at once to its roots, and put their united nerve into the steel'—nor shall their strokes be in vain—for soon shall 'this great poison-tree of lust and blood, and of all abominable and heartless iniquity, fall before them; and law and love, and God and man, shout victory over its ruin.'

Has the reader duly considered the fatal admissions of the advocates of the colonization scheme, presented in the preceding pages? Some of them it may be serviceable to the cause of truth and justice to recapitulate.

1. The Society does not aim directly at the instruction of the blacks: their moral, intellectual and political improvement within the United States, is foreign to its powers.
2. The public safety forbids either the emancipation or the general instruction of the slaves.
3. The Society properly enough stands aloof from the question of slavery.
4. It is ready to pass censure upon abolition societies.
5. It involves no intrusion on property, nor even upon prejudice.
6. It has no wish, if it could, to interfere in the smallest degree with the system of slavery.
7. It acknowledges the necessity by which the present continuance of the system and the rigorous provisions for its maintenance are justified.
8. It denies the design of attempting emancipation either partial or general: into its accounts the subject of emancipation does not enter at all: it has no intention to open the door to universal liberty.
9. The rights of masters are to remain sacred in the eyes of the Society.
10. It condemns no man because he is a slaveholder.

Each of these particulars deserves a volume of comments, but I am compelled to dismiss them in rotation with a single remark.

1. One reason assigned by the Society for refusing to promote the education of our colored population, is, a dread of exciting 'the prejudices and terrors of the slaveholding States'! Is it credible? As far, then, as this Society extends its influ[Pg 58]ence, more than two millions of ignorant, degraded beings in this boasted land of liberty and light have nothing to hope: their moral, intellectual and political improvement is foreign to its powers! Cruel neglect! barbarous coalition! A sinful fear of rousing the prejudices of oppressors outweighs the claims of the contemned blacks, the requirements of the gospel, the dictates of humanity, and the convictions of duty. Will this plea avail aught at the bar of God? Millions of our countrymen purposely kept in darkness, although we are able to pour daylight upon their vision, merely to gratify and protect their buyers and sellers!

2. There never was a more abominable or more absurd heresy propagated, than the assumption that the public safety would be jeoparded by an immediate compliance with the demands of justice: yet it has obtained among all orders of society. Even ministers of the gospel, who are bound to cry aloud, and spare not,—to lift up their voices like a trumpet, and show this guilty nation its sins,—to say to the holders of slaves, 'Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke,'—even they fly to this subterfuge, and deprecate a general emancipation. On this subject, 'they know not what they do;' they reason like madmen or atheists; they advance sentiments which unhinge the moral government of the universe, and directly encourage the commission of the most heinous crimes. How long would any one of their number retain his situation, if he were to preach in explicit terms to his congregation as follows?—'My dear hearers, if any among you are daily oppressing the weak, or defrauding the poor, do not cease from your robbery and cruelty at once, as you value your own happiness and the welfare of society! Relax your tyrannous grasp gradually from the throat of your neighbor, and steal not quite so much from him this year as you did the last!'—But they emphatically hold this language whenever they advise slaveholders not to repent en masse, or too hastily. The public safety, they say, forbids emancipation! or, in other words, the public safety depends upon your persistance in cheating, whipping, starving, debasing your slaves! Nay, more—many of them, horrible to tell, are traffickers in human flesh! 'For this thing which it cannot bear, the earth is[Pg 59] disquieted. The gospel of peace and mercy preached by him who steals, buys and sells the purchase of Messiah's blood!—rulers of the church making merchandize of their brethren's souls!—and Christians trading the persons of men!'[I]

3. The system of slavery is full of danger, outrage, desolation and death—'a volcano in full operation'—a monster that is annually supplied with sixty thousand new victims, devoured as soon as born—and yet the Colonization Society 'properly enough stands aloof' from it!! It utters no lamentations—makes no supplications—gives no rebukes—presents no motives for repentance!

4. The Society is not only ready to pass, but it is constantly bestowing its censure upon abolition societies. It represents their members as guided by a visionary, wild and fanatical spirit, as invaders of rights which are sacred, incendiaries, disturbers of the peace of society, and enemies to the safety and happiness of the planters. Determining itself to avoid the question of emancipation—to leave millions of human beings to pine in bondage without exposing the guilt of the oppressors—it endeavors to prevent any other association agitating the subject. Hence between colonization and abolition societies there is no affinity of feeling or action; and hence arises the[Pg 60] cause, inexplicable to many, why they cannot pursue their objects amicably together.

5. The attempt of the Society to conciliate the holders of slaves must result either in disappointment, or in an abandonment of the path of duty. If they are guilty of robbery and oppression, they must be arraigned as criminals, or they never will reform: for why should honest, benevolent men change their conduct? If, through a false delicacy of feeling or cringing policy, their wickedness be covered up, alas for the slaves, and alas for the regeneration of the south! all hope is lost.

6. The Society has no wish, if it could, to interfere with the system of slavery! Monstrous indifference, or barbarous cruelty! And yet it presumes to occupy the whole ground of the controversy, and to direct the actions of the friends of the blacks throughout the land! By the phrase 'interfere,' is meant no desire to contest the claims of the planters to their bondmen, or to kindle the indignation of the people against their atrocious practices.

7. It appears that all those terrible enactments which have been made for the government of the slaves—such, for example, as forbid their learning to read under the penalty of stripes, and even death—are acknowledged by the Society to be necessary for the maintenance of order! What a concession!

8. Sometimes we are told that the Society is aiming at the liberation of all the slaves, and then that it has no design of attempting either partial or general emancipation: so contradictory are its assurances! It is manifest that it does not mean to touch the question of slavery; and hence the imperious necessity of forming abolition societies.

9. The rights of masters are to remain sacred in the eyes of the Society! What rights? Those by which the intelligent creatures of God are bought and sold and used like cattle? those which are founded upon piracy, cruelty and outrage?[J] Yes! This, then, is an abandonment of the ground of right and justice, and ends the controversy between truth and error.[Pg 61]

10. It condemns no man because he is a slaveholder! Certainly, then, it allows that slaveholders are upright men—not guilty of fraud—not oppressors—not extortioners! and that the slaves are truly and justly their property—not entitled to freedom—not better than cattle—not conscious of evil treatment—not worthy of remuneration for their toil—not rational and accountable beings!

SECTION II.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY APOLOGISES FOR SLAVERY AND SLAVEHOLDERS.

My charges against the American Colonization Society acquire breadth and solemnity as I progress in my task. I have fairly and abundantly sustained my first,—that the Society is not the enemy of the slave-system; and I now proceed to prove my second,—that it apologises for slavery and slaveholders.

[Pg 66]

It is a self-evident proposition, that just so far as you alleviate the pressure of guilt upon the consciences of evil doers, you weaken the power of motive to repent, and encourage them to sin with impunity. To descant upon the wrongs of the slave-system, and yet exonerate the supporters of it from reprehension, is to deal in absurdities: we might preach in this manner until the crack of doom, and never gain a convert. Paradoxes may amuse, but they never convince the mind.

Now, I defy the most ingenious advocates of perpetual slavery to produce stronger arguments in its favor than are given in the foregoing extracts. What better plea could they make? what higher justification could they need? Nay, these apologies of colonizationists represent oppression not merely as innocent, but even commendable—as a system of benevolence, upheld by philanthropists and sages!

'I do not condemn the detention of the slaves in bondage under the circumstances which are yet existing,' says an advocate; by which consolatory avowal we are taught that the criminality of man-stealing depends upon circumstances, and not upon the fact that it is a daring violation of the rights of man and the laws of God.

'The planter sees that the condition of the great mass of emancipated Africans is one, in comparison with which the condition of his slaves is enviable,' assert the Board of Managers!—a concession which transforms robbery into generosity, cruelty into mercy, and leads the slaveholder to believe that, instead of deserving censure, his conduct is really meritorious!—a concession which is at war with common sense, and contrary to truth.

'I am not complaining of the owners of slaves—I do not doubt that the slaves are happier than they could be if set free in this country,' declares an apologist, even in Massachusetts! Stripes and servitude would doubtless soon alter his opinion. With him, to sell human beings at public auction, and to separate husbands and wives, and children and parents, is not a subject of complaint! and to be a slave, to be fed upon a peck of corn per week, unable to possess property, liable to be torn from the partner of his bosom and children at a moment's warn[Pg 67]ing mal-treated worse than a brute, &c. &c. &c. is more desirable than to be a free man, able to acquire wealth, unrestricted in his movements, from whom none may wrest his wife or children, and who can find redress for any outrage upon his person or property!

'Policy, and even humanity,' cries another, 'forbid the progress of manumission'! Indeed! But is it right to hold our fellow creatures as chattels, and to perpetuate their ignorance and servitude? O no! this is wrong, but it would be a greater wrong to emancipate them! Is this folly or villany? To oppress our brother is wrong, but to cease from oppressing him would not be right!

'I would be a slaveholder to-day without scruple,' says another advocate.

'Many owners of slaves,' another declares, 'hold them in strict accordance with the principles of humanity and justice'!!! Yes, to deprive men of their inalienable rights is to do unto them as we would have them do unto us!

Finally, another boldly declares that the slaves are treated too indulgently!—The laws which regard them as beasts, but punish them for the commission of crime as severely as if they possessed the knowledge of angels, he must suppose are too lenient. Their allowance of corn is too liberal; they ought not to wear any raiment; to sleep in their wretched huts is calculated to make them effeminate—the open field is a more suitable place for cattle; no religious instruction should be granted even orally to them! The slaves, as a body, too kindly treated! The Lord have compassion upon any of their number who shall come under the control of him who holds this opinion!

Sentiments, like these, act upon the consciences of slave owners like opiates upon the body, lulling them into a slumber as profound and fatal as death. It were almost as hopeless a task to attempt to arouse, alarm and animate them, so long as they repose under the stupefying effects of this poison, as to raise the dead. This must not be. Slaveholders are the enemies of God and man; their garments are red with the blood of souls; their guilt is aggravated beyond the power of language to describe; and they must be made to see and realise their[Pg 68] awful condition. Truth must send its arrows into their consciences, and Terror rouse them to exertion, and Conviction bring them upon their knees, and Repentance propitiate the anger of Heaven, or they perish by the sword. The slaves must be free; and He who is no respecter of person is now holding out to us this alternative—either to wait until they burst their chains and wade through a river of blood to freedom, or to liberate them willingly ourselves. Can we hesitate in our choice? Be this our only reply to those who apologise for the oppressors, and fix the standard of policy higher than that of duty: 'Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Wo unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!'

SECTION III.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY RECOGNISES SLAVES AS PROPERTY.

The heresies of this combination are flagrant and numerous. A larger volume than this is needed to define and illustrate them all. Much important evidence, and many pertinent reflections, I am compelled to suppress.

My next allegation against it is, that it recognises slaves as property. This recognition is not merely technical, or strictly confined to a statutable interpretation. I presume the advocates of the Society will attempt to evade this point, by saying that it never meant to concede the moral right of the masters to possess human beings; but the evidence against them is full and explicit. The Society, if language mean any thing, does unequivocally acknowledge property in slaves to be as legitimate and sacred as any other property, of which to deprive the owners either by force or by legislation, without making restitution, would be unjust and tyrannical. Here is the proof:[Pg 69]

Thus the American Colonization Society shamelessly surrenders the claims of justice, and leaves the enemies of oppression weaponless! Hence it rejects the proposition, that man cannot hold property in man; and we are called upon to prove that which is self-evident. No accidental differences of condition or complexion—no vicissitudes of fortune—no reprisal or purchase or inheritance, can justly make one individual the slave of another. When God created man, he gave him dominion over the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field; but not over his fellow man. 'All men are born free and equal,' and are 'made of one blood.' Shall we look to wealth as giving one a title to the labor and freedom of another? Wealth is the creature of circumstances, and not an arbitrary law of nature. It takes to itself wings, and flies away; and he who is an opulent tyrant to[Pg 71]-day, may on this principle be an impoverished slave to-morrow. Does physical strength make valid this claim? This, too, is evanescent: sickness and age would ultimately degrade the most muscular tyrants to servitude; and mankind would be composed of but two parties—the strong and the weak. Can high birth annul the rights of the lower classes? There is no difference at their birth, between the children of the beggar and those of the king. 'We brought nothing into this world,' says an inspired apostle, 'and it is certain we can carry nothing out.'

Man is created a rational being; and therefore he is a subject of moral government, and accountable. Being rational and accountable, he is bound to improve his mind and intellect. With this design, his Creator has outstretched the heavens, and set the sun in his course, and hung out the burning jewels of the sky, and spread abroad the green earth, and poured out the seas, that he might steadily progress in knowledge.

The slaves are men; they were born, then, as free as their masters; they cannot be property; and he who denies them an opportunity to improve their faculties, comes into collision with Jehovah, and incurs a fearful responsibility. But we know that they are not treated like rational beings, and that oppression almost entirely obliterates their sense of moral obligation to God or man.

I fully coincide in opinion with the authoress of a work entitled, 'Immediate, not Gradual Abolition,' that the holder of a slave, whether he obtained him by purchase or by inheritance, is as guilty as the original thief.[K] The wretch who stole him could by no possible means acquire or transmit the right to make a slave of him, or to keep him in slavery. He has a right to his liberty:—through whatever number of transfers the usurpation of it may have passed, the right is undiminished.[Pg 72]

No man, says Algernon Sidney, can have a right over others, unless it be by them granted to him: That which is not just, is not law; and that which is not law, ought not to be in force: Whosoever grounds his pretensions of right upon usurpation and tyranny, declares himself to be an usurper and a tyrant—that is, an enemy to God and man—and to have no right at all: That which was unjust in its beginning, can of itself never change its nature: He who persists in doing injustice, aggravates it, and takes upon himself all the guilt of his predecessors: The right to be free is a truth planted in the hearts of men, and acknowledged so to be by all who have hearkened to the voice of nature, and disproved by none but such as through wickedness, stupidity, or baseness of spirit, seem to have degenerated into the worst of beasts, and to have retained nothing of men but the outward shape, or the ability of doing those mischiefs which they have learnt from their master the devil.

The following is the indignant, emphatic, eloquent language of Henry Brougham, on the subject of slave property:

[Pg 73]

Is this the language of fanaticism? Is Henry Brougham a madman?

The following extracts must close the evidence in support of my third allegation, that the Colonization Society disregards the fundamental principle of human liberty and equality, that man cannot hold property in man:

What audacity do those advocates of the Society exhibit, who use, in reference to beings made a little lower than the angels, language like this—'disposing of our property in our own way'—'we hold their slaves, as we hold their other property, SACRED'!![L] If they really mean and believe what they say, it is something more heinous than impertinence to urge the planters to dispossess themselves of their property by colonization; and if the slaves belong of right to them,—are on a par with goods and chattels,—how idle, how supremely ridiculous it is to mourn over their wretched condition, to sigh for their emancipation, to declaim against the evil and wickedness of slavery, or even to denounce the slave trade! But the unfortunate blacks are not now, and never can be, the property of the planters; consequently the claims of their pretended owners are no better than those of the pirate or highway robber.

SECTION IV.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY INCREASES THE VALUE OF SLAVES.

I come now to my fourth charge,—which, although not more serious or consequential than any of the foregoing, may possibly create more surprise,—namely, that the Society increases the value of slaves, and adds strength and security to the system of slavery. It is the discovery of this fact that is so wonderfully, and to many superficial observers so inexplicably, increasing the popularity of the Society at the south. It would require more pages of this work than its necessarily contracted limits permit, to sum up minutely the evidence on this point, and to give those illustrations which might serve more clearly to establish its validity. The most common, as it is the most potent, argument used by colonization agents among slave owners, to secure their patronage, is,—'The successful prosecution of our scheme will remove the chief source of danger to yourselves, and enable you to hold your property in greater security: the presence of free persons of color among your slaves is eminently calculated to make them insubordinate, and to procure their violent emancipation.' This argument, I say, is introduced into every conversation, and every public address, and every essay; and whoever carefully consults the numbers of the African Repository, through seven volumes, will find it repeated in almost every appeal to the south.

I choose to consider the testimony of southern men, in regard to the invigorating effects of the colonization enterprise upon the system of slavery, conclusive. Here is a very small portion of it: more may be found under the sixth section of this work.

It is perfectly obvious, that whatever tends to weaken and depress the present system, must render the holding of slaves less desirable, and the prospect of emancipation more auspicious. Cherishing this conviction, thousands of individuals in this country, and tens of thousands in Great Britain, are led by conscientious motives to abstain from the use of productions raised by slave labor, and to prefer those only which are the fruits of the toil of freemen. They believe in the soundness of the axiom, that 'the receiver is as bad as the thief;' and knowing that the slaves are held in bondage not on the ground of benevolence, or because their liberation would endanger the public safety, but because they are profitable to their owners, they also believe that the consumers of slave goods contribute to a fund for supporting slavery with all its abominations; that they[Pg 77] are the Alpha and the Omega of the business; that the slave-trader, the slave-owner, and the slave-driver, are virtually the agents of the consumer, for by holding out the temptation, he is the original cause, the first mover in the horrid process; that we are imperiously called upon to refuse those articles of luxury, which are obtained at an absolute and lavish waste of the blood of our fellow men; that a merchant, who loads his vessel with the proceeds of slavery, does nearly as much in helping forward the slave trade, as he who loads his vessel in Africa with slaves—they are both twisting the same rope at different ends; that our patronage is putting an immense bribe into the hands of the slaveholders to kidnap, rob and oppress; that, were it not for this, they would be compelled by sheer necessity to liberate their slaves—for as soon as slave labor becomes unprofitable, the horrid system cannot be upheld.

None of these scruples, to my knowledge, are entertained by colonizationists: their only aim and anxiety seem to be, 'to prune and nourish the system,'—not to overthrow it; to increase the avarice of the planters by rendering the labor of their bondmen more productive,—not to abridge and starve it; to remove the cause of those apprehensions which might lead them to break the fetters of their victims,—not to perpetuate it; 'to provide (I quote the confession of the last distinguished proselyte to the Society, Mr Archer of Virginia) and to keep open a drain for the excess of increase beyond the occasions of PROFITABLE EMPLOYMENT,'—not to make slave labor ruinous to the planters.

By removing whatever number of slaves it be, from this country, the number which remains must be diminished—and the more the number which remains is diminished, the more helpless will they become, the less will be the hope of their ever recovering their own liberty, and the more and the longer they will be trampled upon.

The greater the number of slaves transported, the greater will be the value of the labor of those who remain; the more valuable their labor is, the greater will be the temptation to over-labor them, and the more, of course, they will be oppressed.[M][Pg 78]

The increase of the free colored population disturbs the security of the planters, and forces many to manumit their slaves through sheer terror. The expatriation of this class, therefore, manifestly tends to quiet the apprehensions of the oppressors, to rivet more firmly the chains of the slaves, to make their services in higher demand, and to render even their gradual emancipation impracticable.

Thus the American Colonization Society is the apologist, the friend, and the patron of SLAVEHOLDERS and SLAVERY!

SECTION V.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY IS THE ENEMY OF IMMEDIATE ABOLITION.

It follows, as a necessary consequence, that a Society which is not hostile to slavery, which apologises for the system and for slaveholders, which recognises slaves as rightful property,[N] and which confessedly increases their value, is the enemy of immediate abolition. This, I am aware, in the present corrupt state of public sentiment, will not generally be deemed an objectionable feature; but I regard it with inexpressible abhorrence and dismay.[Pg 79]

Since the deception practised upon our first parents by the old serpent, there has not been a more fatal delusion in the minds of men than that of the gradual abolition of slavery. Gradual abolition! do its supporters really know what they talk about? Gradually abstaining from what? From sins the most flagrant, from conduct the most cruel, from acts the most oppressive! Do colonizationists mean, that slave-dealers shall purchase or sell a few victims less this year than they did the last? that slave-owners shall liberate one, two or three out of every hundred slaves during the same period? that slave-drivers shall apply the lash to the scarred and bleeding backs of their victims somewhat less frequently? Surely not—I respect their intelligence too much to believe that they mean any such thing. But if any of the slaves should be exempted from sale or purchase, why not all? if justice require the liberation of the few, why not of the many? if it be right for a driver to inflict a number of lashes, how many shall be given? Do colonizationists mean that the practice of separating the husband from the wife, the wife from the husband, or children from their parents, shall come to an end by an almost imperceptible process? or that the slaves shall be defrauded of their just remuneration, less and less every month or every year? or that they shall be under the absolute, irresponsible control of their masters? Oh no! I place a higher value upon their good sense, humanity and morality than this! Well, then, they would immediately break up the slave traffic—they would put aside the whip—they would have the marriage relations preserved inviolate—they would not separate families—they would not steal the wages of the slaves, nor deprive them of personal liberty! This is abolition—immediate abolition. It is simply declaring that slave owners are bound to fulfil—now, without any reluctance or delays—the golden rule, namely, to do as they would be done by; and that, as the right to be free is inherent and inalienable in the slaves, there ought now to be a disposition on the part of the people to break their fetters. All the horrid spectres which are conjured up, on this subject, arise from a confusion of the brain, as much as from a corruption of the heart.

I utterly reject, as delusive and dangerous in the extreme, every plea which justifies a procrastinated and an indefinite[Pg 80] emancipation, or which concedes to a slave owner the right to hold his slaves as property for any limited period, or which contends for the gradual preparation of the slaves for freedom; believing all such pretexts to be a fatal departure from the high road of justice into the bogs of expediency, a surrender of the great principles of equity, an indefensible prolongation of the curse of slavery, a concession which places the guilt upon any but those who incur it, and directly calculated to perpetuate the thraldom of our species.

Immediate abolition does not mean that the slaves shall immediately exercise the right of suffrage, or be eligible to any office, or be emancipated from law, or be free from the benevolent restraints of guardianship. We contend for the immediate personal freedom of the slaves, for their exemption from punishment except where law has been violated, for their employment and reward as free laborers, for their exclusive right to their own bodies and those of their own children, for their instruction and subsequent admission to all the trusts, offices, honors and emoluments of intelligent freemen. Emancipation will increase and not destroy the value of their labor; it will also increase the demand for it. Holding out the stimulus of good treatment and an adequate reward, it will induce the slaves to toil with a hundred fold more assiduity and faithfulness. Who is so blind as not to perceive the peaceful and beneficial results of such a change? The slaves, if freed, will come under the watchful cognizance of law; they will not be idle, but avariciously industrious; they will not rush through the country, firing dwellings and murdering the inhabitants; for freedom is all they ask—all they desire—the obtainment of which will transform them from enemies into friends, from nuisances into blessings, from a corrupt, suffering and degraded, into a comparatively virtuous, happy and elevated population.

Nor does immediate abolition mean that any compulsory power, other than moral, should be used in breaking the fetters of slavery. It calls for no bloodshed, or physical interference; it jealously regards the welfare of the planters; it simply demands an entire revolution in public sentiment, which will lead to better conduct, to contrition for past crimes, to a love instead of a fear of justice, to a reparation of wrongs, to a healing of[Pg 81] breaches, to a suppression of revengeful feelings, to a quiet, improving, prosperous state of society!

Now see with what earnestness and inveteracy the friends of the Colonization Society oppose immediate abolition!

The miserable sophistry contained in the foregoing extracts scarcely needs a serious refutation. 'To say that immediate emancipation will only increase the wretchedness of the slaves, and that we must pursue a system of gradual abolition, is to present to us the double paradox, that we must continue to do evil, in order to cure the evil which we are doing; and that we must continue to be unjust, and to do evil, that good may come.' The fatal error of gradualists lies here: They talk as if the friends of abolition contended only for the emancipation of the slaves, without specifying or caring what should be done with or for them! as if the planters were invoked to cease from one kind of villany, only to practise another! as if the manumitted slaves must necessarily be driven out from society into the wilderness, like wild beasts! This is talking nonsense: it is a gross perversion of reason and common sense. Abolitionists have never said, that mere manumission would be doing justice to the slaves: they insist upon a remuneration for years of unrequited toil, upon their employment as free laborers, upon their immediate and coefficient instruction, and upon the exercise of a benevolent supervision over them on the part of their employers. They declare, in the first place, that to break the[Pg 86] fetters of the slaves, and turn them loose upon the country, without the preservative restraints of law, and destitute of occupation, would leave the work of justice only half done; and, secondly, that it is absurd to suppose that the planters would be wholly independent of the labor of the blacks—for they could no more dispense with it next week, were emancipation to take place, than they can to-day. The very ground which they assume for their opposition to slavery,—that it necessarily prevents the improvement of its victims,—shows that they contemplate the establishment of schools for the education of the slaves, and the furnishing of productive employment, immediately upon their liberation. If this were done, none of the horrors which are now so feelingly depicted, as the attendants of a sudden abolition, would ensue.

But we are gravely told that education must precede emancipation. The logic of this plea is, that intellectual superiority justly gives one man an oppressive control over another! Where would such a detestable principle lead but to practices the most atrocious, and results the most disastrous, if carried out among ourselves? Tell us, ye hair-splitting sophists, the exact quantum of knowledge which is necessary to constitute a freeman. If every dunce should be a slave, your servitude is inevitable; and richly do you deserve the lash for your obtuseness. Our white population, too, would furnish blockheads enough to satisfy all the classical kidnappers in the land.

The reason why the slaves are so ignorant, is because they are held in bondage; and the reason why they are held in bondage, is because they are so ignorant! They ought not to be freed until they are educated; and they ought not be educated, because on the acquisition of knowledge they would burst their fetters! Fine logic, indeed! How men, who make any pretensions to honesty or common sense, can advance a paradox like this, is truly inexplicable. 'I never met with a man yet,' says an able writer in Kentucky, 'who impliedly admits the enslaving of human beings as consistent with the exercise of christian duties, who could talk or write ten minutes on the subject, without expressing nonsense, or contradicting himself, or advancing heresy which would expose him to censure on any other[Pg 87] subject.' In this connexion, I make the following extract from the Report of the Dublin Negro's Friend Society, of which Wilberforce is President, and Clarkson Vice President:

I cannot portray the absurdity of the doctrine of gradual abolition, and the danger and folly of attempting to mitigate the system of slavery, more strikingly, than by presenting the following eloquent extracts from a speech of the Rev. Dr. Thomson of Edinburgh, one of the most learned and able divines in Great Britain, whose sudden death was recorded in the newspapers a few months since:

It is said, by way of extenuation, that the present owners of slaves are not responsible for the origin of this system. I do not arraign them for the crimes of their ancestors, but for the constant perpetration and extension of similar crimes. The plea that the evil of slavery was entailed upon them, shall avail them nothing: in its length and breadth it means that the robberies of one generation justify the robberies of another! that the inheritance of stolen property converts it into an honest acquisition! that the atrocious conduct of their fathers exonerates them from all accountability, thus presenting the strange anomaly of a race of men incapable of incurring guilt, though daily practising the vilest deeds! Scarcely any one denies that blame attaches somewhere: the present generation throws it upon the past—the past, upon its predecessor—and thus it is cast, like a ball, from one to another, down to the first importers of the Africans! 'Can that be innocence in the temperate zone, which is the acme of all guilt near the equator? Can that be honesty in one meridian of longitude, which, at one hundred degrees east, is the climax of injustice?' Sixty thousand infants, the offspring of slave-parents, are annually born in this country, and doomed to remediless bondage. Is it not as atrocious a crime to kidnap these, as to kidnap a similar number on the coast of Africa?

It is said, moreover, that we ought to legislate prospectively, on this subject; that the fetters of the present generation of slaves cannot be broken; and that our single aim should be, to obtain the freedom of their offspring, by fixing a definite period after which none shall be born slaves. But this is inconsistent, inhuman and unjust. The following extracts from the speech of the Rev. Dr. Thomson are conclusive on this point:[Pg 91]

We are told that 'it is not right that men should be free, when their freedom will prove injurious to themselves and oth[Pg 92]ers.' This has been the plea of tyrants in all ages. If the immediate emancipation of the slaves would prove a curse, it follows that slavery is a blessing; and that it cannot be unjust, but benevolent, to defraud the laborer of his hire, to rank him as a beast, and to deprive him of his liberty. But this, every one must see, is at war with common sense, and avowedly doing evil that good may come. This plea must mean, either that a state of slavery is more favorable to the growth of virtue and the dispensation of knowledge than a state of freedom—(a glaring absurdity)—or that an immediate compliance with the demands of justice would be most unjust—(a gross contradiction.)

It is boldly asserted by some colonizationists, that 'the negroes are happier when kept in bondage,' and that 'the condition of the great mass of emancipated Africans is one in comparison with which the condition of the slaves is enviable.' What is the inference? Why, either that slavery is not oppression—(another paradox)—or that real benevolence demands the return of the free people of color to their former state of servitude. Every kidnapper, therefore, is a true philanthropist! Our legislature should immediately offer a bounty for the body of every free colored person! The colored population of Massachusetts, at $200 for each man, woman and child, would bring at least one million three hundred thousand dollars. This sum would seasonably replenish our exhausted treasury. The whole free colored population of the United States, at the same price, (which is a low estimate,) would be worth sixty-five millions of dollars!! Think how many churches this would build, schools and colleges establish, beneficiaries educate, missionaries support, bibles and tracts circulate, railroads and canals complete, &c. &c. &c.!!!

The Secretary of the Colonization Society assures us, (vide the African Repository, vol. v. p. 330,) that 'were the very spirit of angelic charity to pervade and fill the hearts of all the slaveholders in our land, it would by no means require that all the slaves should be instantaneously liberated'!!—i. e. should the slaveholders become instantaneously metamorphosed into angels, they would still hold the rational creatures of God as[Pg 93] their property, and yet commit no sin! Think, for one moment, of an angel in the capacity of a man-stealer—feeding his victims upon a peck of corn per week, or three bushels of corn and a few herrings every 'quarter-day,' as a compensation for their severe labor—flourishing a cowskin over their heads, and applying it frequently to their naked bodies! Think of him selling parents from children, and children from parents, at private sale or public auction!

Many slaveholders are giving up their slaves from conscientious motives; they cannot, they dare not longer keep them in servitude; they believe that the law of God has a higher claim upon their obedience than the laws of their native State. Now suppose all the owners of slaves in our land should be suddenly and simultaneously convicted of sin, and moved to repentance in a similar manner, and should say to their slaves, 'God forbid that we should longer call you our property, or place you on a level with our cattle, or defraud you of your just dues, or sell you or your wives or children to others, or deny you the means of instruction, or lacerate your bodies! henceforth you are free—but you want employment, and we need laborers—go and work as freemen, and be paid as freemen!'—suppose, I say, a case like this should happen, and a troop of gradualists should surround these penitent oppressors, and cry, 'Were the very spirit of angelic charity to pervade and fill your hearts, it would by no means require that all your slaves should be instantaneously liberated—your throats will be cut, your houses pillaged, and desolation will stalk through the land, if you carry your mad purpose into effect—emancipate by a slow, imperceptible process!'—how would this advice sound? What should be their reply? Clearly this: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto men more than unto God, judge ye.' Here would be presented a strange spectacle indeed—one party confessing and resolving to forsake their sins, and another urging them to disregard the admonitions of conscience, and to leave off sinning by degrees! To be sure, a few, a very few, would be generously allowed to reform instanter!

Those who prophesy evil, and only evil, concerning immediate abolition, absolutely disregard the nature and constitution of[Pg 94] man, as also his inalienable rights, and annihilate or reverse the causes and effects of human action. They are continually fearful lest the slaves, in consequence of their grievous wrongs and intolerable sufferings, should attempt to gain their freedom by revolution; and yet they affect to be equally fearful lest a general emancipation should produce the same disastrous consequences. How absurd! They know that oppression must cause rebellion; and yet they pretend that a removal of the cause will produce a bloody effect! This is to suppose an effect without a cause, and, of course, is a contradiction in terms. Bestow upon the slaves personal freedom, and all motives for insurrection are destroyed. Treat them like rational beings, and you may surely expect rational treatment in return: treat them like beasts, and they will behave in a beastly manner.

Besides, precedent and experience make the ground of abolitionists invulnerable. In no single instance where their principles have been adopted, has the result been disastrous or violent, but beneficial and peaceful even beyond their most sanguine expectations. The immediate abolition of slavery in Mexico, in Colombia, and in St. Domingo,[O] was eminently preservative[Pg 95] and useful in its effects. The manumitted slaves (numbering more than two thousand,) who were settled in Nova Scotia, at the close of our revolutionary war, by the British government, 'led a harmless life,' says Clarkson, 'and gained the character of an industrious and honest people from their white neighbors.' A large number who were located at Trinidad, as free laborers, at the close of our last war, 'are now,' according to the same authority, 'earning their own livelihood, and with so much industry and good conduct, that the calumnies originally spread against them have entirely died away.' According to the Anti-Slavery Reporter for January, 1832, three thousand prize negroes at the Cape of Good Hope had received their freedom—four hundred in one day; 'but not the least difficulty or disorder occurred: servants found masters, masters hired servants—all gained homes, and at night scarcely an idler was to be seen.'

These and many other similar facts show conclusively the safety of immediate abolition. Gradualists can present, in abatement of them, nothing but groundless apprehensions and criminal distrust. The argument is irresistible.

SECTION VI.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY IS NOURISHED BY FEAR AND SELFISHNESS.

The reader will find on the fifth page of my introductory remarks, the phrase 'naked terrors;' by which I mean, that, throughout all the speeches, addresses and reports in behalf of the Society, it is confessed, in language strong and explicit, that an irrepressible and agonizing fear of the influence of the free people of color over the slave population is the primary, essen[Pg 96]tial and prevalent motive for colonizing them on the coast of Africa—and not, as we are frequently urged to believe, a desire simply to meliorate their condition and civilize that continent. On this point, the evidence is abundant.

Does the reader wish for any additional proof that the governing motive of the American Colonization Society is fear—undisguised, excessive FEAR? Language is altogether inadequate to express my indignation and contempt, in view of such a heartless and cowardly exhibition of sentiment. There is a deep sense of guilt, an awful dread of retribution, manifested in the foregoing extracts; but we perceive no evidence of contrition for past or present injustice, on the part of those terror[Pg 103]-stricken plotters. Instead of returning to those, whom they have so deeply injured, 'with repenting and undissembling love;' instead of seeking to conciliate and remunerate the victims of their prejudice and oppression; instead of resolving to break the yoke of servitude and let the oppressed go free; it seems to be their only anxiety and aim to outwit the vengeance of Heaven, and strengthen the bulwarks of tyranny, by expelling the free people of color from our shores, and effecting such a diminution of the number of slaves as shall give the white population a triumphant and irresistible superiority! 'Check the increase!' is their cry—'let us retain in everlasting bondage as many as we can, safely; but the proportion must be at least ten millions of ourselves to two millions of our vassals, else we shall live in jeopardy! To do justly is not our intention; we only mean to remove the surplus of our present stock; we think we shall be able, by this prudent device, to oppress and rob with impunity. Our present wailing is not for our heinous crimes, but only because our avarice and cruelty have carried us beyond our ability to protect ourselves: we lament, not because we hold so large a number in fetters of iron, but because we cannot safely hold more!'

Ye crafty calculators! ye hard-hearted, incorrigible sinners! ye greedy and relentless robbers! ye contemners of justice and mercy! ye trembling, pitiful, pale-faced usurpers! my soul spurns you with unspeakable disgust. Know ye not that the reward of your hands shall be given you? 'Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?'—'What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.'—'Behold, the hire of the laborers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.' Repent! repent![Pg 104] now, in sackcloth and ashes. Think not to succeed in your expulsive crusade; you cannot hide your motives from the Great Searcher of hearts; and if a sinful worm of the dust, like myself, is fired with indignation at your dastardly behaviour and mean conspiracy to evade repentance and punishment, how must the anger of Him, whose holiness and justice are infinite, burn against you? Is it not a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God? You may plot by day and by night; you may heap together the treasures of the land, and multiply and enlarge your combinations, to extricate yourselves from peril; but you cannot succeed. Your only alternative is, either to redress the wrongs of the oppressed now, and humble yourselves before God, or prepare for the chastisements of Heaven. I repeat it—Repentance or Punishment must be yours.

There are several points upon which I wish to fasten the attention of the reader:

1. The inhumanity and craftiness of these propositions for the removal of the free people of color.

It will be seen that the conspirators have taxed their ingenuity to the utmost, to ascertain the exact number of emigrants which must be transported annually, the amount of money that must be raised, the persons that must be selected, the number of vessels that must be employed, &c. &c. It is their determination, if the necessary means can be obtained, to transport the annual increase of our colored population; but in this calculation we find no allowance made for unwillingness or resistance on the part of those who are the objects of their supervision. It is taken for granted that all will be induced to go into exile, or must be made willing compulsorily. Nothing else is contemplated but their entire expulsion. In order to insure a reduction of this 'alarming increase,' and effectually to check the fruitfulness of generation, even the unmanly and scandalous proposition is made to remove principally those of both sexes who are just come to the age of puberty! The system of espionage, established by Napoleon to prevent the possibility of a successful conspiracy, was not more detestable and observant than is this violent and unnatural project. 'If young females were encouraged to go'!—why, then they could not propagate here! Infamous calculation![Pg 105]

2. The principal object avowed for the removal of the free people of color, is, their corruptive and dangerous influence over the slave population.

It is demonstrated, then, beyond disputation, that this removal will infuse new strength into the tottering system of slavery, tighten the grasp of the masters upon the throats of the slaves, lull them into a profound and quiet sleep, postpone the hour of emancipation, and enhance the security and value of slave property. The terror of mind which calls for this separation cannot be benevolence, and the combination which seeks to effect it cannot merit support. It were folly to hope that the owners of slaves will ultimately emancipate them, from conscientious motives. In the first place, they affect to be innocent in holding their victims in servitude; secondly, they are assured by their colonization brethren that they are not guilty of oppression, but, on the contrary, are watchful guardians; and lastly, they are obstinate in shutting their eyes upon the light, and kindle into a rage on being arraigned for their tyrannous conduct. Our only ground of hope, then, is in increasing the difficulty of holding their slaves, in multiplying the causes of their apprehensions, in destroying the value of slave labor, and in making their situation full of disquietude and distress. Such a course is not inconsistent with benevolence—such a course we are obligated to pursue, as we value the present and everlasting welfare of the oppressor and the oppressed, and desire to have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man. It may—it must be effected by a scrupulous abstinence from the productions of slavery; by encouraging planters to cultivate their lands by the hands of free laborers; by educating our free colored population, and placing them on an equality with ourselves; and by constantly exhibiting the criminality of holding rational and immortal beings in servile bondage. Thus, and thus only, shall we be able to liberate our enslaved countrymen.

3. Consider the inevitable consequence of these reiterated and malignant statements, with regard to the habits and designs of the free people of color.

First, it deters a large number of masters from liberating their slaves, and hence directly perpetuates the evils of slavery:[Pg 106] it deters them for two reasons—an unwillingness to augment the wretchedness of those who are in servitude by turning them loose upon the country, and a dread of increasing the number of their enemies. It creates and nourishes the bitterest animosity against the free blacks. It has spread an alarm among all classes of society, in all parts of the country; and, acting under this fearful impulse, they begin to persecute, believing self-preservation imperiously calls for this severe treatment. The legislative enactment of Ohio, which not long since drove many of the colored inhabitants of that State into Upper Canada, was the legitimate fruit of the anathemas of the Colonization Society. A bill has been reported in the same legislature for preventing free people of color from participating in the benefit of the common school fund, in order to hasten their expulsion from the State! Other States are multiplying similar disabilities, and hanging heavier weights upon their free colored population. The Legislature of Louisiana has enacted that whosoever shall make use of language, in any public discourse, from the bar, the bench, the pulpit, the stage, or in any other place whatsoever shall make use of language, in any private discourses, or shall make use of signs or actions having a tendency to produce discontent among the colored population, shall suffer imprisonment at hard labor, not less than three years, nor more than twenty-one years, or DEATH, at the discretion of the court!! It has also prohibited the instruction of the blacks in Sabbath Schools—$500 penalty for the first offence—DEATH for the second!! The Legislature of Virginia has passed a bill which subjects all free negroes who shall be convicted of remaining in the commonwealth contrary to law, to the liability of being sold by the sheriff. All meetings of free negroes, at any school-house or meeting-house, for teaching them reading or writing, are declared an unlawful assembly; and it is made the duty of any justice of the peace to issue his warrant to enter the house where such unlawful assemblage is held, for the purpose of apprehending or dispersing such free negroes. A fine is to be imposed on every white person who instructs at such meetings. All emancipated slaves, who shall remain more than twelve months, contrary to law, shall revert to the executors as[Pg 107] assets. Laws have been passed in Georgia and North Carolina, imposing a heavy tax or imprisonment on every free person of color who shall come into their ports in the capacity of stewards, cooks, or seamen of any vessels belonging to the non-slaveholding States. The Legislature of Tennessee has passed an act forbidding free blacks from coming into the State to remain more than twenty days. The penalty is a fine of from ten to fifty dollars, and confinement in the penitentiary from one to two years. Double the highest penalty is to be inflicted after the first offence. The act also prohibits manumission, without an immediate removal from the State. The last Legislature of Maryland passed a bill, by which no free negro or mulatto is allowed to emigrate to, or settle in the State, under the penalty of fifty dollars for every week's residence therein; and if he refuse or neglect to pay such fine, he shall be committed to jail and sold by the sheriff at public sale; and no person shall employ or harbor him, under the penalty of twenty dollars for every day he shall be so employed, hired or harbored! It is not lawful for any free blacks to attend any meetings for religious purposes, unless conducted by a white licensed or ordained preacher, or some respectable white person duly authorised! All free colored persons residing in the State, are compelled to register their names, ages, &c. &c.; and if any negro or mulatto shall remove from the State, and remain without the limits thereof for a space longer than thirty consecutive days, unless before leaving the State he deposits with the clerk of the county in which he resides, a written statement of his object in doing so, and his intention of returning again, or unless he shall have been detained by sickness or coercion, of which he shall bring a certificate, he shall be regarded as a resident of another State, and be subject, if he return, to the penalties imposed by the foregoing provisions upon free negroes and mulattoes of another State, migrating to Maryland! It is not lawful for any person or persons to purchase of any free negro or mulatto any articles, unless he produce a certificate from a justice of the peace, or three respectable persons residing in his neighborhood, that he or they have reason to believe, and do believe, that such free negro or mulatto came honestly and bona fide into possession of[Pg 108] any such articles so offered for sale! A bill has been reported to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, which enacts, that from and after a specified time, no negro or mulatto shall be permitted to emigrate into and settle in that State, without entering into bond in the penal sum of five hundred dollars, conditioned for his good behavior. If he neglect or refuse to comply with this requisition, such punishment shall be inflicted upon him as is now directed in the case of vagrants. Free colored residents are not to be allowed to migrate from one township or county to another, without producing a certificate from the Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions, or a Justice of the Peace, or an Alderman! The passage of a similar law has been urged even upon the Legislature of Massachusetts by a writer in the Salem Gazette!

All these proscriptive measures, and others less conspicuous but equally oppressive,—which are not only flagrant violations of the Constitution of the United States, but in the highest degree disgraceful and inhuman,—are resorted to, (to borrow the language of the Secretary in his Fifteenth Annual Report,) 'for the more complete accomplishment of the great objects of the American Colonization Society'!!

I appeal to the candor and common sense of the reader, if this grievous persecution be not justly chargeable to the Society? It is constantly thundering in the ears of the slave States—'Your free blacks contaminate your slaves, excite their deadliest hate, and are a source of horrid danger to yourselves! They must be removed, or your destruction is inevitable!' What is their response? Precisely such as might be expected—'We know it; we dread the presence of this class; their influence over our slaves weakens our power, and endangers our safety; they must, they shall be expatriated, or be crushed to the earth if they remain!' It says to the free States—'Your colored population can never be rendered serviceable, intelligent or loyal; they will only, and always, serve to increase your taxes, crowd your poor-houses and penitentiaries, and corrupt and impoverish society!' Again, what is the natural response?—'It is even so; they are offensive to the eye, and a pest in community; theirs is now, and must inevitably be,[Pg 109] without a reversal of the laws of nature, the lot of vagabonds; it were useless to attempt their intellectual and moral improvement among ourselves; and therefore be this their alternative—either to emigrate to Liberia, or remain for ever a despicable caste in this country!'

Hence the enactment of those sanguinary laws, to which reference has been made: hence, too, the increasing disposition which is every where seen to render the situation of the free blacks intolerable. Never was it so pitiable and distressing—so full of peril and anxiety—so burdened with misery, despondency and scorn; never were the prejudices of society so virulent and implacable against them; never were their prospects so dark, and dreary, and hopeless; never was the hand of power so heavily laid upon their limbs; never were they so restricted in regard to locomotion and the advantages of education, as at the present time. Athwart their sky scarcely darts a single ray of light—above and around them darkness reigns, and an angry tempest is mustering its fearful strength, and 'thunders are uttering their voices.' Treachery is seeking to decoy, and violence to expel them. For all this, and more than this, and more that is to come, the American Colonization Society is responsible. And no better evidence is needed than this: their persecution, traducement and wretchedness increase in exact ratio with the influence, popularity and extension of this Society! The fact is undeniable, and it is conclusive. For it is absurd to suppose, that as the disposition and ability of an association to alleviate misery increase, so will the degradation and suffering of the objects of its charities.

The assertion that the free blacks corrupt the morals of the slaves, is too ludicrous to need a serious refutation. Corrupt the morals of those who are recognized and treated as brutes, and who know as little of the laws of God as of the laws of the land! Immaculate creatures! The system of slavery is constantly developing new excellencies: it is, we now perceive, the protector of virtue, the enemy of vice, and a purifier of the soul!

But something more indiscreet and preposterous than this, is advanced for our admiration. We are gravely assured, first, by a New-England clergyman, that, generally, the condition of the[Pg 110] free man of color 'is one in comparison with which the condition of the slave is enviable;' and, secondly, by the last distinguished convert to the Colonization Society—the Hon. Mr. Archer of Virginia—'the condition of the slave is a thousand times the best, [the disparity is wonderful!]—supplied, protected, instead of destitute and desolate'![Q] Let us draw a brief comparison. The limbs of the free black are fetterless; he is controlled by no brutal driver; he bleeds not under the lash; he is his own master; his wife and children cannot be torn from his arms; he enjoys the fruits of his own labor; he can improve his own mind, make his own bargains, manage his own business, go from place to place, and assert his own rights. The situation and privileges of the slave are exactly the reverse. Reader, are they 'enviable'—'a thousand times the best'—in comparison with those of the former? I do not mean to say that there are no instances in which the slave fares as well as the free man of color; but the argument of these apologists implies that a state of slavery is superior to a state of freedom, or it is worthless.

4. It appears, from the quotations that have been given, that the only reason why the free blacks are not colonized in the 'far West,' or in Canada, or Hayti, or Mexico, is, because their proximity to the slave States might prove detrimental. If they could be sent to any or to all these places, without any danger to ourselves, why then all objections would cease. This confession places the hypocrisy of this Society in bold relief. It pretends to be anxious to evangelize benighted Africa, and stop the slave trade; but only assure it that the blacks may be safely colonized nearer home, and Africa might still continue to grope in darkness, and the slave trade to increase in enormity, and its bowels of compassion would speedily cease to yearn!—Hence it is that the rapid enlargement of the Wilberforce Settlement in Upper Canada so disturbs the repose of the advocates of African colonization; and many of them would rejoice at its overthrow.

SECTION VII.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY AIMS AT THE UTTER EXPULSION OF THE BLACKS.

The implacable spirit of this Society is most apparent in its determination not to cease from its labors, until our whole colored population be expelled from the country. The following is the evidence in confirmation of this charge:

In order to wipe off the reproach due to this violent expulsion, it was necessary, on the part of the Society, to find some[Pg 117] pretext that would not only seem to justify but confer credit on the measure. Accordingly, it agreed to represent the colored inhabitants of the United States as aliens and foreigners, who, cast upon our shores by a cruel fatality, were sighing to return to their native land. 'Poor unfortunate exiles!'—how touching the appeal, how powerful the motive to assist, how likely to excite the compassion of the nation! Ah! what an air of disinterested benevolence, of generous compassion, of national attachment, must such an enterprise wear in the eyes of the world! Who that loved his own country, and deprecated an eternal absence from it, could refuse to help in restoring the unfortunate Africans to their long-estranged home? Such was, and is, and is likely to be, the artifice resorted to, in order to cover a base conspiracy, and give popularity to one of the wildest and most disgraceful crusades the world has ever witnessed. Let the following evidence suffice:

Nothing could be more invidious or absurd than the foregoing representation. The great mass of our colored popula[Pg 118]tion were born in this country. This is their native soil; here they first saw the light of heaven, and inhaled the breath of life; here they have grown from infancy to manhood and old age; from these shores they have never wandered; they are the descendants of those who were forcibly torn from Africa two centuries ago; their fathers assisted in breaking the yoke of British oppression, and achieving that liberty which we prize above all price; and they cherish the strongest attachment to the land of their birth. Now, as they could not have been born in two countries, and as they were certainly born here, it follows that Africa is not their native home, and, consequently, that the Society has dealt in romance, or something more culpable, in representing them as strangers and aliens. It might as rationally charge them with being natives of Asia or Europe, or with having descended from the regions of the moon. To see ourselves gravely represented in a British periodical as natives of Great Britain, I doubt not would create great merriment; and a scheme for our transportation would add vastly to our sport.

'But,' we are told, 'God has put a mark upon the black man.' True; and he has also put a mark upon every man, woman and child, in the world; so that every one differs in appearance from another—is easily identified—and, to make the objection valid, should occupy a distinct portion of territory, be himself a nation, enact his own laws, and live in perpetual solitude! The difference between a black and a white skin is not greater than that between a white and a black one. In either case, the mark is distinctive; and the blacks may as reasonably expel the whites, as the whites the blacks. To make such a separation we have no authority; to attempt it, would end only in disappointment; and, if it were carried into effect, those who are clamorous for the measure would be among the first to be cast out. The all-wise Creator, having 'made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,' it is proper for them to associate freely together; and he is a proud worm of the dust who is ashamed to acknowledge this common relationship.

Again we are told: 'The God of Nature intended the blacks should be a distinct community.' But has he been frustrated in[Pg 119] his intentions? Where is the proof of such purpose? Let us have something more than the ipse dixit of the Society. Yes, we are seriously assured that Nature has played falsely! Colored persons were born by mistake in this country: they should have been born in Africa! We must therefore rectify the error, with all despatch, by transporting them to their native soil! Truly, a most formidable enterprise! There occur at least sixty thousand of such mistakes, annually; while the Society has corrected only about two thousand in fourteen years! But—courage! men engaged in a laudable enterprise should never despair!

There are some difficulties, however, in the accomplishment of this mighty task, which cannot be easily overcome. Granting the position assumed by colonizationists, that the blacks and the whites should occupy different countries, how do they intend to dispose of that numerous and rapidly increasing class who are neither white nor black, called mulattoes? We have not been informed to what country they belong; but the point ought to be settled before any classification be made. Colonizationists must define, moreover, the exact shade of color which is to retain or banish individuals; for every candid mind will admit, that it would be as unnatural to send white blood to Africa, as to keep black blood in America. 'If the color of the skin is to give construction to our constitution and laws, let us, at once, begin the work of excision. Let us raise an army of pure whites, if such an army can be found; and let us drive out and transport to foreign climes, men, women and children, who cannot bring the most satisfactory vouchers, that their veins are flowing with the purest English blood. Indeed, let us shut up our ports against our own mariners, who are returning from an India voyage, and whose cheeks and muscles could not wholly withstand the influence of the breezes and tropics to which they were exposed. Let us make every shade of complexion, every difference of stature, and every contraction of a muscle, a Shibboleth, to detect and cut off a brother Ephraimite, at the fords of Jordan. Though such a crusade would turn every man's sword against his fellow; yet, it might establish the right of precedence to different features, statures and colors, and oblige[Pg 120] some friends of colonization to test the feasibility and equity of their own scheme.'

If I must become a colonizationist, I insist upon being consistent: there must be no disagreement between my creed and practice. I must be able to give a reason why all our tall citizens should not conspire to remove their more diminutive brethren, and all the corpulent to remove the lean and lank, and all the strong to remove the weak, and all the educated to remove the ignorant, and all the rich to remove the poor, as readily as for the removal of those whose skin is 'not colored like my own;' for Nature has sinned as culpably in diversifying the size as the complexion of her progeny, and Fortune in the distribution of her gifts has been equally fickle. I cannot perceive that I am more excusable in desiring the banishment of my neighbor because his skin is darker than mine, than I should be in desiring his banishment because he is a smaller or feebler man than myself. Surely it would be sinful for a black man to repine and murmur, and impeach the wisdom and goodness of God, because he was made with a sable complexion; and dare I be guilty of such an impeachment, by persecuting him on account of his color? I dare not: I would as soon deny the existence of my Creator, as quarrel with the workmanship of his hands. I rejoice that he has made one star to differ from another star in glory; that he has not given to the sun the softness and gentleness of the moon, nor to the moon the intensity and magnificence of the sun; that he presents to the eye every conceivable shape, and aspect, and color, in the gorgeous and multifarious productions of Nature; and I do not rejoice less, but admire and exalt him more, that, notwithstanding he has made of one blood the whole family of man, he has made the whole family of man to differ in personal appearance, habits and pursuits.

I protest against sending any to Africa, in whose blood there is any mixture of our own; for, I repeat it, white blood in Africa would be as repugnant to Nature, as black blood is in this country. Now; most unfortunately for colonizationists, the spirit of amalgamation has been so active for a long series of years,—especially in the slave States,—that there are comparatively[Pg 121] few, besides those who are annually smuggled into the south from Africa, whose blood is not tainted with a foreign ingredient. Here, then, is a difficulty! What shall be done? All black blood must be sent to Africa; but how to collect it is the question. What shall be done! Why, we must resort to phlebotomy!

The colonization crusade cannot now fail of being popular. Phlebotomy being agreed to as a dernier resort, I shall briefly enumerate some of the various professions and classes which may expect to derive no inconsiderable gain from its execution; for as our government, in conjunction with benevolent associations, is to appropriate millions of dollars to accomplish this object, the pay will be sure and liberal.

In the first place, there will be more than a million patients, for whose accommodation hospitals must be erected. These hospitals will employ brick-makers, masons, carpenters, painters, glaziers, &c. &c. &c.; of course, the approval of a large body of mechanics is readily secured.

Physicians will next obtain an extensive practice. Their patients, in consequence of a free application of the lancet, must necessarily be debilitated, and can be kept 'quite low' until a long score of charges be run up against the government.

Among so many patients and so much unavoidable sickness, druggists and apothecaries will obtain a profitable sale for their medicines. Nurses will be next in demand, who may expect high wages. Even the lowly washers of soiled clothes will find the life-blood of the victims 'coined into drachms' for their reward. It is highly probable that many of the patients may die under the expurgatory process, and hence sextons and[Pg 122] coffin-makers may calculate upon good times. With death come mourning and lamentation, and 'weeds of wo.' Dealers in crape will doubtless secure a handsome patronage. Lawyers may hope to profit by the demise of those who possess property. Indeed, almost every class in community must, to a greater or less extent, feel the beneficial effects of this philanthropic but novel experiment. The blood, taken from the veins of the blacks, may be transfused into our own, and the general pulse acquire new vigor.

Supposing a majority of the patients should recover, three other classes will thrive by their expulsion—namely, ship-builders, merchants and seamen. As our vessels are all occupied in profitable pursuits, new ones must be built—freights will rise—and the wages of seamen be proportionably enhanced.—But a truce to irony.

The American Colonization Society, in making the banishment of the slaves the condition of their emancipation, inflicts upon them an aggravated wrong, perpetuates their thraldom, and disregards the claims of everlasting and immutable justice. The language of its most distinguished supporters is, 'Emancipation, with the liberty to remain on this side of the Atlantic, is but an act of dreamy madness'—'Emancipation, without removal from the country, is out of the question'—'All emancipation, to however small an extent, which permits the person emancipated to remain in this country, is an evil'—'They cannot be emancipated as a people, and remain among us.' Thus the restoration of an inalienable right, and an abandonment of robbery and oppression, are made to depend upon the practicability of transporting more than one sixth portion of our whole population to a far distant and barbarous land! It is impossible to imagine a more cruel, heaven-daring and God-dishonoring scheme. It exhibits a deliberate and perverse disregard of every moral obligation, and bids defiance to the requisitions of the gospel.

Listen to the avowal of Mr Mercer of Virginia, one of the main pillars and most highly extolled supporters of the Society: 'The abolition of slavery was no object of desire to him, unless accompanied by colonization. So far was he from de[Pg 123]siring it, unaccompanied by this condition, that he would not live in a country where the one took place without the other'! This language may be correctly rendered thus: 'I desire to see two millions of human beings plundered of their rights, and subjected to every species of wrong and outrage, ad infinitum, if they cannot be driven out of the country. I am perfectly willing to live with them while they are treated worse than cattle,—ignorant, vicious, and wretched,—and while they are held under laws which forbid their instruction; and not only am I willing thus to live, but I am determined to practise the same oppression. But, if they should be emancipated with liberty to remain here, and placed in a situation favorable to their moral and intellectual improvement—a situation in which they could be no longer bought and sold, lacerated and manacled, defrauded and oppressed—I would abandon my native land, and never return to her shores.' And this is the language of a philanthropist! and this the moral principle of the boasted champion of the American Colonization Society! Whose indignation does not kindle, whose astonishment is not profound, whose disgust is not excited, in view of these sentiments?

But this is not the acme of colonization insanity. The assertion is made by a highly respectable partisan, and endorsed by the organ of the Society, that 'it would be as humane to throw the slaves from the decks in the middle passage, [i. e. into the ocean,] as to set them free in our country'!!! And even Henry Clay, who is an oracle in the cause, has had the boldness to declare, that the slaves should be held in everlasting servitude if they cannot be colonized in Africa!! And this sentiment is echoed by another, who says, 'Liberate them only on condition of their going to Africa or Hayti'!

I will not even seem to undervalue the good sense and quick perception of the candid and intelligent reader, by any farther endeavors to illustrate the sacrifice of principle and inhumanity of purpose which are contained in the extracts under the present section. With so strong an array of evidence before him, no one, who is not mentally blind or governed by prejudice, can fail to rise from its perusal with amazement and abhorrence, and a determination to assist in overthrowing a combination which is[Pg 124] based upon the rotten foundation of expediency and violence.

The Colonization Society expressly denies the right of the slaves to enjoy freedom and happiness in this country; and this denial incontestibly tends to rivet their fetters more firmly, or make them the victims of a relentless persecution.

SECTION VIII.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY IS THE DISPARAGER OF THE FREE BLACKS.

The leaders in the African colonization crusade seem to dwell with a malignant satisfaction upon the poverty and degradation of the free people of color, and are careful never to let an opportunity pass without heaping their abuse and contempt upon them. It is a common device of theirs to contrast the condition of the slaves with that of this class, and invariably to strike the balance heavily in favor of the former! In this manner, thousands are led to look upon slavery as a benevolent system, and to deprecate the manumission of its victims. Nothing but a love of falsehood, or an utter disregard of facts, could embolden these calumniators to deal so extensively in fiction. What! the slaves more happy, more moral, more industrious, more orderly, more comfortable, more exalted, than the free blacks! A more enormous exaggeration, a more heinous libel, a wider departure from truth, was never fabricated, or uttered, or known. The slaves, as a body, are in the lowest state of degradation; they possess no property; they cannot read; they are as ignorant, as their masters are reckless, of moral obligation; they have no motive for exertion; they are thieves from necessity and usage; their bodies are cruelly lacerated by the cart-whip; and they are disposable property. And yet these poor miserable, perishing, mutilated creatures are placed above our free colored population in dignity, in enjoyment, in privilege, in usefulness, in respectability!![Pg 125]

I repel these charges against the free people of color, as unmerited, wanton and untrue. It would be absurd to pretend,[Pg 129] that, as a class, they maintain a high character: it would be equally foolish to deny, that intemperance, indolence and crime prevail among them to a mournful extent. But I do not hesitate to assert, from an intimate acquaintance with their condition, that they are more temperate and more industrious than that class of whites who are in as indigent circumstances, but who have certainly far greater incentives to labor and excel; that they are superior in their habits to the hosts of foreign emigrants who are crowding to our shores, and poisoning our moral atmosphere; and that their advancement in intelligence, in wealth, and in morality, considering the numberless and almost insurmountable difficulties under which they have labored, has been remarkable. I am informed that twenty-five or thirty years ago, the colored inhabitants of Philadelphia scarcely owned a dollar's worth of real estate, whereas they now own enough to amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This fact speaks volumes in praise of their industry and economy; for, be it remembered, they have had to accumulate this property in small sums, by shaving the beards, cleaning the boots and clothes, and being the servants of their white contemners, and in other menial employments. In Baltimore, Philadelphia, New-York, and other places, there are several colored persons whose individual property is worth from ten thousand to one hundred thousand dollars;[T] and in all those cities, there are primary and high schools for the education of the colored population—flourishing churches of various denominations—and numerous societies for mutual assistance and improvement, &c. In Philadelphia alone, I believe, there are nearly fifty colored[Pg 130] associations for benevolent, literary, scientific and moral purposes.[U] Yet these are the people of whom it is said, 'they are acted upon by no motives to honorable exertions;' that they are 'scarcely reached in their debasement by the heavenly light' (almost a denial of the power of the Holy Ghost); that 'their freedom is licentiousness;' that 'they are a greater nuisance than even the slaves themselves;' that they are 'the most degraded, the most abandoned race on the earth;' that they are[Pg 131] 'worse circumstanced than the slave population;' that they have 'no privilege but the privilege of being more vicious and miserable than slaves can be;' and that they are 'a thriftless race of vagabonds, whose footsteps are the sure precursors of indigence and crime.' And these false and infamous charges are brought against them by a Society which professes to cherish for them the highest regard, and to be anxious to give them respectability in the eyes of the world!

The truth is, the traducers of the free blacks have no adequate conception of the amount of good sense, sterling piety, moral honesty, virtuous pride of character, and domestic enjoyment, which exists among this class. The spirited remarks of the colored citizens of New-York, in their address to the public, (vide Part II. p. 16,) in reference to their calumniators, are exceedingly apposite: 'Their patrician principles prevent an intercourse with men in the middle walks of life, among whom a large portion of our people may be classed. We ask them to visit the dwellings of the respectable part of our people, and we are satisfied that they will discover more civilization and refinement, than will be found among the same number of white families of an equal standing.' A personal examination enables me to say that this challenge is neither presumptuous nor boastful. I confess, I have been most agreeably, nay, wonderfully disappointed, in my intercourse with them, which is daily elevating them in my estimation. Many of their number I proudly rank among my most familiar friends and correspondents.

With regard to the 'ragged set in Boston, crying out liberty!' every candid resident will testify that this is a libellous representation; that our free blacks are a quiet, orderly, well-dressed, and (as far as they can obtain employment) industrious class of citizens; and that their improvement is rapid and constant. Every curious observer who visits their houses of worship, will be surprised at the general neatness of attire and propriety of manners of the worshippers. 'A ragged set,' forsooth! The slander may be uttered in the city of Washington, at an anniversary of the American Colonization Society; but no man, who regards his character for veracity and intelligence, dare publish it in Boston.[Pg 132]

The effects of this reiterated abuse are eminently mischievous. It serves to kindle the fires of persecution, to strengthen prejudice, to drive its victims to despair, and to increase the desire for their banishment. 'Tax your utmost powers of imagination,' says one of the colonization advocates, 'and you cannot conceive one motive to honorable effort, which can animate the bosom, or give impulse to the conduct of the free black in this country'! Is this language calculated to allay animosity, or beget confidence, or suppress contempt, or heal division, or excite sympathy? Far otherwise. Are there not thousands of living witnesses to prove the falsity of this assertion; thousands who adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour, and whose 'motives to honorable effort' are higher than heaven and vast as eternity; thousands, who, though their enemies spare no efforts to crush them in the dust, and in despite of mountains of difficulties, rise up with a giant's strength to respectability and usefulness? 'No motive to honorable effort'! Perish the calumny!

Again, they are stigmatized as the 'wild stirrers up of sedition and insurrection.' This charge is even more malignant than the other, and utterly groundless. Its propagation, however, tends directly to excite a persecution which may drive the accused to sedition, in self-defence. There is no evidence that any free man of color was enlisted in the late bloody struggle in Virginia, or in any manner accessary thereto. On the contrary, it was deprecated by our colored citizens generally, not only on account of its sanguinary acts, but because they knew it would operate to their own disadvantage by being placed to their account. The following honorable expression of feeling was made at a public meeting of the people of color in Wilmington, Delaware, about that period:

The free colored citizens of Baltimore, Maryland, also came out unitedly in the following pacific and truly exemplary spirit:

How impolitic, then, as well as unjust, to brand this meek and magnanimous class as 'the wild stirrers up of sedition and insurrection'!

This treatment, I repeat, is impolitic—nay, suicidal. To abuse, proscribe and exasperate them, to trample them under our feet, to goad them on the right hand and on the left, is not the way to secure their loyalty, but rather to make them revengeful, desperate and seditious. Our true policy is, to meliorate their condition, invigorate their hopes, instruct their ignorant minds, admit them to an equality of privileges with ourselves, nourish and patronise their genius, and, by giving them mechanical trades and mercantile advantages, open to them the avenue to competence and wealth. We shall thus make them contented and happy, and place them in a situation which will lead them still more heartily to deprecate any insurrectionary movements among our slave population. The following is the[Pg 134] conciliatory and generous language of a man, who has been denounced as a blood-hound and a monster. It will be well for us if we profit by it.

SECTION IX.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY DENIES THE POSSIBILITY OF ELEVATING THE BLACKS IN THIS COUNTRY.

The detestation of feeling, the fire of moral indignation, and the agony of soul which I have felt kindling and swelling within me, in the progress of this review, under this section reach the acme of intensity. It is impossible for the mind to conceive, or the tongue to utter, or the pen to record, sentiments more derogatory to the character of a republican and Christian people than the following:

'My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me.' Are we pagans, are we savages, are we devils? Can pagans, or savages, or devils, exhibit a more implacable spirit, than is seen in the foregoing extracts? It is enough to cause the very stones to cry out, and the beasts of the field to rebuke us.

Of this I am sure: no man, who is truly willing to admit the people of color to an equality with himself, can see any insuperable difficulty in effecting their elevation. When, therefore, I hear an individual—especially a professor of Christianity—strenuously contending that there can be no fellowship with them, I cannot help suspecting the sincerity of his own republicanism or piety, or thinking that the beam is in his own eye. My bible assures me that the day is coming when even the 'wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the wolf and the young lion and the fatling together;' and, if this be possible, I see no cause why those of the same species—God's rational creatures—fellow countrymen, in truth, cannot dwell in harmony together.

How abominably hypocritical, how consummately despicable, how incorrigibly tyrannical must this whole nation appear in the eyes of the people of Europe!—professing to be the friends of the free blacks, actuated by the purest motives of benevolence toward them, desirous to make atonement for past wrongs, challenging the admiration of the world for their patriotism, philanthropy and piety—and yet (hear, O heaven! and be astonished, O earth!) shamelessly proclaiming, with a voice louder than thunder, and an aspect malignant as sin, that while their colored countrymen remain among them, they must be[Pg 142] trampled beneath their feet, treated as inferior beings, deprived of all the invaluable privileges of freemen, separated by the brand of indelible ignominy, and debased to a level with the beasts that perish! Yea, that they may as soon change their complexion as rise from their degradation! that no device of philanthropy can benefit them here! that they constitute a class out of which no individual can be elevated, and below which, none can be depressed! that no talents however great, no piety however pure and devoted, no patriotism however ardent, no industry however great, no wealth however abundant, can raise them to a footing of equality with the whites! that 'let them toil from youth to old age in the honorable pursuit of wisdom—let them store their minds with the most valuable researches of science and literature—and let them add to a highly gifted and cultivated intellect, a piety pure, undefiled, and unspotted from the world, it is all nothing—they would not be received into the very lowest walks of society—admiration of such uncommon beings would mingle with disgust!' Yea, that 'there is a broad and impassible line of demarcation between every man who has one drop of African blood in his veins and every other class in the community'! Yea, that 'the habits, the feelings, all the prejudices of society—prejudices which neither refinement, nor argument, nor education, nor RELIGION itself can subdue—mark the people of color, whether bond or free, as the subjects of a degradation inevitable and incurable'! Yea, that 'Christianity cannot do for them here, what it will do for them in Africa'! Yea, that 'this is not the fault of the colored man, NOR OF THE WHITE MAN, nor of Christianity; but an ordination of Providence, and no more to be changed than the LAWS OF NATURE'!!!

Again I ask, are we pagans, are we savages, are we devils? Search the records of heathenism, and sentiments more hostile to the spirit of the gospel, or of a more black and blasphemous complexion than these, cannot be found. I believe that they are libels upon the character of my countrymen, which time will wipe off. I call upon the spirits of the just made perfect in heaven, upon all who have experienced the love of God in their souls here below, upon the christian converts in India and[Pg 143] the islands of the sea, to sustain me in the assertion that there is power enough in the religion of Jesus Christ to melt down the most stubborn prejudices, to overthrow the highest walls of partition, to break the strongest caste, to improve and elevate the most degraded, to unite in fellowship the most hostile, and to equalize and bless all its recipients. Make me sure that there is not, and I will give it up, now and for ever. 'In Christ Jesus, all are one: there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female.'

These sentiments were not uttered by infidels, nor by worthless wretches, but in many instances by professors of religion and ministers of the gospel! and in almost every instance by reputedly the most enlightened, patriotic and benevolent men in the land! Tell it not abroad! publish it not in the streets of Calcutta! Even the eminent President of Union College, (Rev. Dr. Nott,) could so far depart, unguardedly I hope, from christian love and integrity, as to utter this language in an address in behalf of the Colonization Society:—'With us they [the free people of color] have been degraded by slavery, and still further degraded by the mockery of nominal freedom.' Were this true, it would imply that we of the free States are more barbarous and neglectful than even the traffickers in souls and men-stealers at the south. We have not, it is certain, treated our colored brethren as the law of kindness and the ties of brotherhood demand; but have we outdone slaveholders in cruelty? Were it true, to forge new fetters for the limbs of these degraded beings would be an act of benevolence. But their condition is as much superior to that of the slaves, as happiness is to misery. The second portion of this work, containing their proceedings in a collective capacity, shows whether they have made any progress in intelligence, in virtue, in piety, and in happiness, since their liberation. Again he says: 'We have endeavored, but endeavored in vain, to restore them either to self-respect, or to the respect of others.' It is painful to contradict so worthy an individual; but nothing is more certain than that this statement is altogether erroneous. We have derided, we have shunned, we have neglected them, in every possible manner. They have had to rise not only under the mountainous weight of their own ignorance[Pg 144] and vice, but with the additional and constant pressure of our contempt and injustice. In despite of us, they have done well. Again: 'It is not our fault that we have failed; it is not theirs.' We are wholly and exclusively in fault. What have we done to raise them up from the earth? What have we not done to keep them down? Once more: 'It has resulted from a cause over which neither they, nor we, can ever have control.' In other words, they have been made with skins not colored like our own,' and therefore we cannot recognise them as fellow-countrymen, or treat them like rational beings! One sixth of our whole population must, FOR EVER, in this land, remain a wretched, ignorant and degraded race,—and yet nobody be culpable—none but the Creator who has made us incapable of doing unto others as we would have them do unto us! Horrible—horrible! If this be not an impeachment of Infinite Goodness,—I do not say intentionally but really,—I cannot define it. The same sentiment is reiterated by a writer in the Southern Religious Telegraph, who says—'The exclusion of the free black from the civil and literary privileges of our country, depends on another circumstance than that of character—a circumstance, which, as it was entirely beyond his control, so it is unchangeable, and will for ever operate. This circumstance is—he is a black man'!! And the Board of Managers of the Parent Society, in their Fifteenth Annual Report, declare that 'an ordination of Providence' prevents the general improvement of the people of color in this land! How are God and our country dishonored, and the requirements of the gospel contemned, by this ungodly plea! Having satisfied himself that the Creator is alone blameable for the past and present degradation of the free blacks, Dr. Nott draws the natural and unavoidable inference that 'here, therefore, they must be for ever debased, for ever useless, for ever a nuisance, for ever a calamity,' and then gravely declares (mark the climax!) 'and yet THEY, [these ignorant, helpless, miserable creatures!] AND THEY ONLY, are qualified for colonizing Africa'!! 'Why then,' he asks, 'in the name of God,'—(the abrupt appeal, in this connexion, seems almost profane,)—'should we hesitate to encourage their departure?'[Pg 145]

Nature, we are positively assured, has raised up impassable barriers between the races. I understand by this expression, that the blacks are of a different species from ourselves, so that all attempts to generate offspring between us and them must prove as abortive, as between a man and a beast. It is a law of Nature that the lion shall not beget the lamb, or the leopard the bear. Now the planters at the south have clearly demonstrated, that an amalgamation with their slaves is not only possible, but a matter of course, and eminently productive. It neither ends in abortion nor produces monsters. In truth, it is often so difficult in the slave States to distinguish between the fruits of this intercourse and the children of white parents, that witnesses are summoned at court to solve the problem! Talk of the barriers of Nature, when the land swarms with living refutations of the statement! Happy indeed would it be for many a female slave, if such a barrier could exist during the period of her servitude to protect her from the lust of her master!

In France,[W] England,[X] Spain, and other countries, persons of color maintain as high a rank and are treated as honorably as[Pg 146] any other class of the inhabitants, in despite of the 'impassable barriers of Nature.' Yet it is proclaimed to the world by the Colonization Society, that the American people can never be as republican in their feelings and practices as Frenchmen, Spaniards or Englishmen! Nay, that religion itself cannot subdue their malignant prejudices, or induce them to treat their dark-skinned brethren in accordance with their professions of republicanism! My countrymen! is it so? Are you willing thus to be held up as tyrants and hypocrites for ever? as less magnanimous and just than the populace of Europe? No—no! I cannot give you up as incorrigibly wicked, nor my country as sealed over to destruction. My confidence remains, like the oak—like the Alps—unshaken, storm-proof. I am not discouraged—I am not distrustful. I still place an unwavering reliance upon the omnipotence of truth. I still believe that the demands of justice will be satisfied; that the voice of bleeding humanity will melt the most obdurate hearts; and that the land will be redeemed and regenerated by an enlightened and energetic public opinion. As long as there remains among us a single copy of the Declaration of Independence, or of the New Testament, I will not despair of the social and political elevation of my sable countrymen. Already a rallying-cry is heard from the East and the West, from the North and the South; towns and cities and states are in commotion; volunteers are trooping to the field; the spirit of freedom and the fiend of oppression are in mortal[Pg 147] conflict, and all neutrality is at an end. Already the line of division is drawn: on one side are the friends of truth and liberty, with their banner floating high in the air, on which are inscribed in letters of light, 'Immediate Abolition'—'No compromise with Oppressors'—'Equal Rights'—'No Expatriation'—'Duty, and not Consequences'—'Let Justice be done, though the heavens should fall!'—On the opposite side stand the supporters and apologists of slavery in mighty array, with a black flag on which are seen in bloody characters, 'African Colonization'—'Gradual Abolition'—'Rights of Property'—'Political Expediency'—'No Equality'—'No Repentance'—'Expulsion of the Blacks'—'Protection to Tyrants!'—Who can doubt the issue of this controversy, or which side has the approbation of the Lord of Hosts?

In the African Repository for September, 1831, there is an elaborate defence of the Colonization Society, in which occurs the following passage:—'It has been said that the Society is unfriendly to the improvement of the free people of color while they remain in the United States. The charge is not true.' I reiterate the charge; and the evidence of its correctness is before the reader. The Society prevents the education of this class in the most insidious and effectual manner, by constantly asserting that they must always be a degraded people in this country, and that the cultivation of their minds will avail them nothing. Who does not readily perceive that the prevalence of this opinion must at once paralyze every effort for their improvement? For it would be a waste of time and means, and unpardonable folly, for us to attempt the accomplishment of an impossible work—of that which we know will result in disappointment. Every discriminating and candid mind must see and acknowledge, that, to perpetuate their ignorance, it is only necessary to make the belief prevalent that they 'must be for ever debased, for ever useless, for ever an inferior race,' and their thraldom is sure.

I am aware that a school has been established for the education of colored youth, under the auspices of the Society; but it is sufficient to state that none but those who consent to emigrate to Liberia are embraced in its provisions.[Pg 148]

In the Appendix to the Seventh Annual Report, p. 94, the position is assumed that 'it is a well established point, that the public safety forbids either the emancipation or general instruction of the slaves.' The recent enactment of laws in some of the slave States, prohibiting the instruction of free colored persons as well as slaves, has received something more than a tacit approval from the organ of the Society. A prominent advocate of the Society, (G. P. Disosway, Esq.,) in an oration on the fourth of July, 1831, alluding to these laws, says,—'The public safety of our brethren at the South requires them [the slaves] to be kept ignorant and uninstructed.' The Editor of the Southern Religious Telegraph, who is a clergyman and a warm friend of the colonization scheme, remarking upon the instruction of the colored population of Virginia, says:

Jesuitism was never more subtle—Papal domination never more exclusive. The gospel of peace and mercy preached by him who holds that ignorance is the mother of devotion! who would sequestrate the bible from the eyes of his fellow men! who contends that knowledge is the enemy of religion! who denies the efficacy of education in elevating a degraded population! who would make men brutes in order to make them better christians! who desires to make the clergy infallible guides to heaven! Now what folly and impiety is all this! Besides, is it not mockery to preach repentance, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to the benighted blacks, and at the same time deny them the right and ability to 'search the scriptures' for themselves?[Pg 149]

The proposition which was made last year to erect a College for the education of colored youth in New-Haven, it is well known, created an extraordinary and most disgraceful tumult in that place, (the hot-bed of African colonization,) and was generally scouted by the friends of the Society in other places. The American Spectator at Washington, (next to the African Repository, the mouth-piece of the Society,) used the following language, in relation to the violent proceedings of the citizens of New-Haven: 'We not only approve the course, which they have pursued, but we admire the moral courage, which induced them, for the love of right, (!) to incur the censure of both sections of the country.'

As a farther illustration of the complacency with which colonizationists regard the laws prohibiting the instruction of the blacks, I extract the following paragraph from the 'Proceedings of the New-York State Colonization Society, on its second anniversary:'

Elias B. Caldwell, one of the founders, and the first Secretary of the Parent Society, in a speech delivered at its formation, advanced the following monstrous sentiments:

So, then, the American Colonization Society advocates, and to a great extent perpetuates the ignorance and degradation of the colored population of the United States!

In a critical examination of the pages of the African Repository, and of the reports and addresses of the Parent Society and its auxiliaries, I cannot find in a single instance any impeachment of the conduct and feelings of society toward the[Pg 150] people of color, or any hint that the prejudice which is so prevalent against them is unmanly and sinful, or any evidence of contrition for past injustice, or any remonstrance or entreaty with a view to a change of public sentiment, or any symptoms of moral indignation at such unchristian and anti-republican treatment. On the contrary, I find the doctrine every where inculcated that this hatred and contempt, this abuse and proscription, are not only excusable, but the natural, inevitable and incurable effects of constitutional dissimilitude, growing out of an ordination of Providence, for which there is no remedy but a separation between the two races. If the free blacks, then, have been 'still further degraded by the mockery of nominal freedom,' if they 'must always be a separate and degraded race,' if 'degradation must and will press them to the earth,' if from their present station 'they can never rise, be their talents, their enterprise, their virtues what they may,' if 'in Africa alone, they can enjoy the motives for honorable ambition,' the American Colonization Society is responsible for their debasement and misery; for as it numbers among its supporters the most influential men in our country, and boasts of having the approbation of an overwhelming majority of the wise and good whose examples are laws, it is able, were it willing, to effect a radical change in public sentiment—nay, it is at the present time public sentiment itself. But though it has done much, and may do more, (all that it can it will do,) to depress, impoverish and dispirit the free people of color, and to strengthen and influence mutual antipathies, it is the purpose of God, I am fully persuaded, to humble the pride of the American people by rendering the expulsion of our colored countrymen utterly impracticable, and the necessity for their admission to equal rights imperative. As neither mountains of prejudice, nor the massy shackles of law and of public opinion, have been able to keep them down to a level with slaves, I confidently anticipate their exaltation among ourselves. Through the vista of time,—a short distance only,—I see them here, not in Africa, not bowed to the earth, or derided and persecuted as at present, not with a downcast air or an irresolute step, but standing erect as men destined heavenward, unembarrassed, untrammelled, with none to molest or make them afraid.

SECTION X.

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY DECEIVES AND MISLEADS THE NATION.

It is now about fifteen years since the American Colonization Society sprang into existence—a space of time amply sufficient to test its ability. In its behalf the pulpit and the press (two formidable engines) have been exerted to an extraordinary degree; statesmen, and orators, and judges, and lawyers, and philanthropists, have eloquently advocated its claims to public patronage. During this protracted period, and with such powerful auxiliaries, a careless observer might naturally suppose that much must have been accomplished towards abolishing slavery. But what is the fact? Less than one hundred and fifty souls have been removed annually to Africa—in all, about two thousand souls in fifteen years!!—a drop from the Atlantic ocean—a grain of earth from the American continent! In the mean time, the increase of the slaves has amounted to upwards of half a million! and every week more than one thousand new-born victims are added to their number. Before a vessel, with one hundred and fifty passengers, can go to and return from Africa, more than ten thousand slave infants will have been added to our population: while she is preparing to depart, or waiting for a fair wind, the increase will freight her many times.

The following eloquent and comprehensive Circular (published last year in London by Capt. Charles Stuart, in consequence of the visit of Elliott Cresson, an agent who was sent out to dupe the philanthropists of England) exhibits the inefficiency and criminality of the Society in a striking light:

Sometimes the Society professes to be able to remove the whole colored population in less than thirty years! and the belief is prevalent that the project is feasible. Again it tells us—

Wild enthusiasts in the cause may respond—'The Society never expected to accomplish much single-handed: it is about to enlist the energies of the General Government—and doubtless Congress will appropriate several millions of dollars annually for the purchase and colonization of the slaves.'

But are they sure, or is it probable, that Congress will make this appropriation? And if it should, what can they do without the consent of the people of color to remove? That con[Pg 155]sent can never be obtained. Is it, then, proposed to buy the slaves of their masters, as if the claim of property were valid? It were better that the money should rust at the bottom of the deep!—better to buy bank-notes, and convert them to ashes! To purchase slaves would only serve to make brisk the slave-market. Their value would immediately rise in all the slave States; especially in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, where they are now comparatively worthless—and there would be an end to voluntary emancipation: for who would sacrifice his 'property,' when he might obtain an equivalent for it? Slave traders and slave owners would be zealous to prevent any lack of miserable objects for the bounty offered by government: if the natural increase were not sufficient, they would be careful to make the importation from Africa exceed the exportation to that ill-fated continent. Such a purchase would be directly patronising the slave trade, at home and abroad, and bribing masters to keep their slaves for the highest bidder. Besides, it would be a gross violation of the great fundamental principle, that 'man cannot hold property in man.'

I know it is easy to make calculations. I know it is an old maxim, that 'figures cannot lie:' and I very well know, too, that our philanthropic arithmeticians are prodigiously fond of FIGURING, but of doing nothing else. Give them a slate and pencil, and in fifteen minutes they will clear the continent of every black skin; and, if desired, throw in the Indians to boot. While they depopulate America, they find not the least difficulty in providing for the wants of the emigrating myriads to the coast of Africa: we have ships enough, and, notwithstanding the hardness of the times, money enough. O, the surpassing utility of the arithmetic! it is more potent than the stone of the philosopher, which, when discovered, is to transmute, at a touch, base metal into pure gold!

In one breath, colonization orators tell us that the free blacks are pests in the community; that they are an intemperate, ignorant, lazy, thievish class; that their condition is worse than that of the slaves; and that no efforts to improve them in this country can be successful, owing to the prejudices of society. In the next breath we are told what mighty works these miser[Pg 156]able outcasts are to achieve—that they are the missionaries of salvation,[Z] who are to illumine all Africa—that they will build up a second American republic—and that our conceptions cannot grasp the result of their labors. Now I, for one, have no faith in this instantaneous metamorphosis.[AA] I believe that neither a sea voyage nor an African climate has any miraculous influence upon the brain. I believe that ignorant and depraved black men, who are transported across the ocean, will be ignorant and depraved black men on reaching the coast of Africa. I believe, also, that they who are capable of doing well, surrounded by barbarians, may do better among a civilized and christian people.

It is stated in a Circular put forth by the Society last year, that 'from the actual experience of the Society, it has been found that $20, or less, will defray the whole expense of transporting an individual to the Colony.' This is a very deceptive statement. The receipts of the Society from 1820 to 1830, amounted to $112,841 89; the expenses during the same period were $106,457 72; balance on hand, $6,384 17. Nine[Pg 157]teen expeditions had been fitted out, and 1,857 emigrants,[AB] including re-captured Africans, landing on the shores of Africa—averaging annually, for the ten years, about 186 persons, or since the organization of the Society, about 124 persons. 'The emigrants,' the Board of Managers inform us, in a recent address to Auxiliary Societies, 'for the last three years, average about 227, while the expenses, exclusive of transportation, and temporary subsistence of the new colonists, exceed TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS'!! In the very last number of the African Repository, (for April, 1832,) the Vice-Agent at Liberia, A. D. Williams, writes to the Rev. R. R. Gurley as follows:—'I think the price, say $35, fixed by the Board for the transportation of each emigrant, is entirely too low: it should be at least $40, if not $45.' Why, then, does the Society attempt to impose upon public credulity, by stating that only $20 are requisite for every individual transportation, when the actual cost has been more than thrice, and is likely to be more than double that amount?[AC][Pg 158]

The Society has succeeded in making the people believe that the establishment of a colony or colonies on the coast of Africa is the only way to abolish the foreign slave trade: on this account it has secured an extensive patronage. Here is another fatal delusion. I shall show not only that it has not injured this trade in the least, but that the trade continues to increase in activity and cruelty. Let us look at its own admissions.

Here, then, is the acknowledgment of the Society, that it has accomplished nothing toward the suppression of the slave trade in fifteen years! Nor has the settlement at Sierra Leone effected aught in thirty years! Nor have the untiring labors of Wilberforce and Clarkson, for a longer period, produced any visible effect! The accursed traffic still continues to increase—and why? Simply because the market for slaves is not destroyed. Break up this market, and you annihilate the slave trade. Keep it open, and you may line the shores of Africa and America with naval ships and armed troops, and the trade will continue. No proposition in Euclid is plainer. So long as there is a brisk market for goods, that market will be supplied. The assertion has been made in Congress by Mr Mercer of Virginia, (one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society,) that these horrible cargoes are smuggled into our southern states to a deplorable extent. In 1819, Mr Middleton, of South Carolina, declared it to be his belief 'that 13,000 Africans were annually smuggled into our southern states.' Mr Wright of Virginia estimated the number at 15,000!!!—[Vide Seventh Annual Report—app.]—This number is seven times as great as that which the Colonization Society has transported in fifteen years![AD] By letting the system of slavery alone, then, and striving to protect it, the Society is encouraging and perpetuating the foreign slave trade!

END OF PART I.

THOUGHTS
ON
AFRICAN COLONIZATION.

PART II.

SENTIMENTS OF THE PEOPLE OF COLOR.

If the American Colonization Society were indeed actuated by the purest motives and the best feelings toward the objects of its supervision; if it were not based upon injustice, fraud, persecution and incorrigible prejudice; still if its purposes be contrary to the wishes and injurious to the interests of the free people of color, it ought not to receive the countenance of the public. Even the trees of the forest are keenly susceptible to every touch of violence, and seem to deprecate transplantation to a foreign soil. Even birds and animals pine in exile from their native haunts; their local attachments are wonderful; they migrate only to return again at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps there is not a living thing, from the hugest animal down to the minutest animalcule, whose pleasant associations are not circumscribed, or that has not some favorite retreats. This universal preference, this love of home, seems to be the element of being,—a constitutional attribute given by the all-wise Creator to bind each separate tribe or community within intelligent and well-defined limits: for, in its absence, order would be banished[Pg 2] from the world, collision between the countless orders of creation would be perpetual, and violence would depopulate the world with more than pestilential rapidity.

Shall it be said that beings endowed with high intellectual powers, sustaining the most important relations, created for social enjoyments, and made but a little lower than the angels—shall it be said that their local attachments are less tenacious than those of trees, and birds, and beasts, and insects? I know that the blacks are classed, by some, who scarcely give any evidence of their own humanity but their shape, among the brute creation: but are they below the brutes? or are they more insensible to rude assaults than forest-trees?

'Men,' says an erratic but powerful writer[AE]—'men are like trees: they delight in a rude [and native] soil—they strike their roots downward with a perpetual effort, and heave their proud branches upward in perpetual strife. Are they to be removed?—you must tear up the very earth with their roots, rock and ore and impurity, or they perish. They cannot be translated with safety. Something of their home—a little of their native soil, must cling to them forever, or they die.'

This love of home, of neighborhood, of country, is inherent in the human breast. It accompanies the child from its earliest reminiscence up to old age: it is written upon every tangible and permanent object within the habitual cognizance of the eye—upon stone, and tree, and rivulet—upon the green hill, and the verdant plain, and the opulent valley—upon house, and garden, and steeple-spire—upon the soil, whether it be rough or smooth, sandy or hard, barren or luxuriant.

The man who does not cherish it is regarded as destitute of sensibility; and to him is applied by common consent the burning rebuke of Sir Walter Scott:

Whose bosom does not thrill with pleasurable emotion whenever he listens to that truest, sweetest, tenderest effusion,—'Home, sweet home?'

No one will understand me to maintain that population should never be thinned by foreign emigration; but only that such an emigration is unnatural. The great mass of a neighborhood or country must necessarily be stable: only fractions are cast off and float away on the tide of adventure. Individual enterprise or estrangement is one thing: the translation of an entire people to an unknown clime, another. The former may be moved by a single impulse—by a love of novelty, or a desire of gain,[Pg 4] or a hope of preferment: he leaves no perceptible void in society. The latter can never be expatriated but by some extraordinary calamity, or by the application of intolerable restraints. They must first be rendered broken-hearted or loaded with chains—hope must not merely sicken but die—cord after cord must be sundered—ere they will seek another home. Our pilgrim-fathers were driven out from the mother country by ecclesiastical domination: to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, was the only cause of their exile. Had they been permitted to enjoy this sacred right,—no matter how great were their temporal privations, or their hopes of physical enjoyments,—they would not have perilled their lives on the stormy deep, to obtain an asylum in this western hemisphere.

It may be said, in reply to the foregoing remarks upon the love of home and of country, that the people of color cannot cherish this abhorrence of migration, because here they have no 'continuing city,' and are not recognised as fellow-countrymen. In Part I., I have shown, by copious extracts, that colonizationists artfully represent them as aliens and foreigners, wanderers from Africa—destitute of that amor patriæ, which is the bond of union—seditious—without alliances—irresponsible—unambitious—cherishing no attachment to the soil—feeling no interest in our national prosperity—ready for any adventure—eager to absent themselves from the land—malignant in their feelings towards society—incapable of local preference—content to remain in ignorance and degradation—&c. &c. &c.

Every such representation is a libel, as I shall show in subsequent pages. The language of the people of color is,—'This is our country: here were we born—here will we live and die—we know of no other place that we can call our true and appropriate home—here are our earliest and most pleasant associations—we are freemen, we are brethren, we are countrymen and fellow-citizens—we are not for insurrection, but for peace and equality.' This is not the language of sedition or alienated affection. Their amor patriæ is robust and deathless: like the oak, tempests do but strengthen its roots and confer victory[Pg 5] upon it. Even the soil on which the unhappy slave toils and bleeds, is to him consecrated earth.

African colonization is directly and irreconcileably opposed to the wishes of our colored population as a body. Their desires ought to be tenderly regarded. In all my intercourse with them in various towns and cities, I have never seen one of their number who was friendly to this scheme—and I have not been backward in canvassing their opinions on this subject. They are as unanimously opposed to a removal to Africa, as the Cherokees from the council-fires and graves of their fathers. It is remarkable, too, that they are as united in their respect and esteem for the republic of Hayti. But this is their country—they are resolute against every migratory plot, and willing to rely on the justice of the nation for an ultimate restoration to all their lost rights and privileges. What is the fact? Through the instrumentality of Benjamin Lundy,[AF] the distinguished and veteran champion of emancipation, a great highway has been opened to the Haytien republic, over which our colored population may travel toll free, and at the end of their brief journey be the free occupants of the soil, and meet such a reception as was never yet given to any sojourners in any country, since the departure of Israel into Egypt. One would think, that, with such inducements and under such circumstances, this broad thoroughfare would present a most animating spectacle; that the bustle and roar of a journeying multitude would fall upon the ear like the strife of the ocean, or the distant thunder of the retiring storm; and that the song of the oppressor and the oppressed, a song of deliverance to each, would go up to heaven, till its echoes were seemingly the responses of angels and justified spirits. But it is not so. Only here and there a traveller is seen to enter upon the road—there is no noise of preparation or departure; but a silence, deeper than the breathlessness of midnight, rests upon our land—not a shout of joy is heard throughout our borders![Pg 6]

How shall we account for this amazing apathy but on the ground that our colored population are unwilling to leave their native homes, no matter how strong soever are the inducements held out to them abroad?

If it be said that they are not compelled to emigrate against their wishes—I answer, it is true that direct physical force is not applied; but why are they induced to remove? Is it because they instinctively prefer Africa to their native country? Do they actually court the perils of the sea,—the hostilities of a savage tribe,—the sickening influences of an African climate? Or are they not peremptorily assured that they never can, and never shall, enjoy their rights and privileges at home—and thus absolutely compelled to leave all that is dear behind, and to seek a shelter in a strange land—a land of darkness and cruelty, of barbarism and wo?

The free people of color, and even the slaves, have on numerous occasions given ocular demonstration of their attachment to this country. Large numbers of them were distinguished for their patient endurance, their ardent devotion, and their valorous conduct during our revolutionary struggle. In the last war, they signalized themselves in a manner which extorted the applause even of their calumniators—of many who are doubtless at the present day representing them as seditious and inimical to the prosperity of the country. I have before me a Proclamation in the French language, issued by General Andrew Jackson, of which the following is a translation:

In commenting upon the above Proclamation, an intelligent writer in the New-Orleans 'Liberalist' of March 15, 1830, very expressively remarks:—'Those who served in the memorable campaign of 1814 will know if the hero of the west was guilty of exaggeration. Just as fatal as was every glance of his keen eye to the English lines, so is every word of this Proclamation a killing thunderbolt to the detractors of this portion of our fellow beings, now so inhumanly persecuted.' Yes—when peril rears its crest, and invasion threatens our shores, then prejudice is forgotten and the tongue of detraction is still—then the people of color are no longer brutes or a race between men and monkeys, no longer turbulent or useless, no longer aliens and wanderers from Africa—but they are complimented as intelligent, patriotic citizens from whom much is expected, and who have property, home and country at stake! Ay, and richly do they merit this compliment.

A respectable colored gentleman in the city of New-York, referring to this famous Proclamation, makes the following brief comment: 'When we could be of any use to the army, we possessed all the cardinal virtues; but now that time has passed, we forsooth are the most miserable, worthless beings the Lord in his wise judgment ever sent to curse the rulers of this troublesome world! I feel an anathema rising from my heart, but I have suppressed it.'

How black is the ingratitude, how pitiful the hypocrisy, manifested in our conduct as a people, toward our colored popula[Pg 8]tion! Every cheek should wear the blush of shame—every head be bowed in self-abasement!

From the organization of the American Colonization Society, down to the present time, the free people of color have publicly and repeatedly expressed their opposition to it. They indignantly reject every overture for their expatriation. It has been industriously circulated by the advocates of colonization, that I have caused this hostility to the African scheme in the bosoms of the blacks; and that, until the Liberator was established, they were friendly to it. This story is founded upon sheer ignorance. It is my solemn conviction that I have not proselyted a dozen individuals; for the very conclusive reason that no conversions were necessary. Their sentiments were familiar to me long before they knew my own. My opponents abundantly overrate my influence, in acknowledging that I have overthrown, in a single year, the concentrated energies of the mightiest men in the land, and the perpetual labors of fifteen years. They shall not make me vain. Such a concession affords substantial evidence of perverted strength and misapplied exertion.

If the people of color were instantly to signify their willingness to emigrate, my hostility to the American Colonization Society would scarcely abate one jot: for their assent could never justify the principles and doctrines propagated by the Society. Those principles and doctrines have been shown, I trust, to be corrupt, selfish, proscriptive, opposed to the genius of republicanism and to the spirit of christianity.

The first public demonstration of hostility to the colonization scheme was made in 1817, by the free colored inhabitants of Richmond, Virginia. The proceedings of their meeting, copies of which were printed for distribution, I have accidentally mislaid. To the sentiments of the people of color, as expressed in the following pages, I cannot too earnestly solicit the serious attention of every good man and true philanthropist. After such an exhibition, persistance in expelling this portion of our population from our shores must be productive of aggravated guilt and the most dreadful collisions.[Pg 9]

A VOICE PROM PHILADELPHIA.

Philadelphia, January, 1817.

At a numerous meeting of the people of color, convened at Bethel church, to take into consideration the propriety of remonstrating against the contemplated measure, that is to exile us from the land of our nativity; James Forten was called to the chair, and Russell Parrott appointed secretary. The intent of the meeting having been stated by the chairman, the following resolutions were adopted, without one dissenting voice.

Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate in the blessings of her luxuriant soil, which their blood and sweat manured; and that any measure or system of measures, having a tendency to banish us from her bosom, would not only be cruel, but in direct violation of those principles, which have been the boast of this republic.

Resolved, That we view with deep abhorrence the unmerited stigma attempted to be cast upon the reputation of the free people of color, by the promoters of this measure, 'that they are a dangerous and useless part of the community,' when in the state of disfranchisement in which they live, in the hour of danger they ceased to remember their wrongs, and rallied around the standard of their country.

Resolved, That we never will separate ourselves voluntarily from the slave population in this country; they are our brethren by the ties of consanguinity, of suffering, and of wrong; and we feel that there is more virtue in suffering privations with them, than fancied advantages for a season.

Resolved, That without arts, without science, without a proper knowledge of government, to cast into the savage wilds of Africa the free people of color, seems to us the circuitous route through which they must return to perpetual bondage.

Resolved, That having the strongest confidence in the justice of God, and philanthropy of the free states, we cheerfully submit our destinies to the guidance of Him who suffers not a sparrow to fall, without his special providence.

Resolved, That a committee of eleven persons be appointed to open a correspondence with the honorable Joseph Hopkinson, member of Congress from this city, and likewise to inform him of the sentiments of this meeting, and that the following named persons constitute the committee, and that they have power to call a general meeting, when they in their judgment may deem it proper.[Pg 10]

Rev. Absalom Jones, Rev. Richard Allen, James Forten, Robert Douglass, Francis Perkins, Rev. John Gloucester, Robert Gorden, James Johnson, Quamoney Clarkson, John Summersett, Randall Shepherd.

JAMES FORTEN, Chairman.

Russell Parrott, Secretary.

At a numerous meeting of the free people of color of the city and county of Philadelphia, held in pursuance of public notice, at the school house in Green's court, on the evening of August 10th, for the purpose of taking into consideration the plan of colonizing the free people of color of the United States, on the coast of Africa, James Forten was appointed chairman, and Russell Parrott, secretary.

Resolved unanimously, That the following address, signed on behalf of the meeting, by the Chairman and Secretary, be published and circulated.

To the humane and benevolent Inhabitants of the city and county of Philadelphia.

The free people of color, assembled together, under circumstances of deep interest to their happiness and welfare, humbly and respectfully lay before you this expression of their feelings and apprehensions.

Relieved from the miseries of slavery, many of us by your aid, possessing the benefits which industry and integrity in this prosperous country assure to all its inhabitants, enjoying the rich blessings of religion, by opportunities of worshipping the only true God, under the light of Christianity, each of us according to his understanding; and having afforded to us and to our children the means of education and improvement; we have no wish to separate from our present homes, for any purpose whatever. Contented with our present situation and condition, we are not desirous of increasing their prosperity but by honest efforts, and by the use of those opportunities for their improvement, which the constitution and laws allow to all. It is therefore with painful solicitude, and sorrowing regret, we have seen a plan for colonizing the free people of color of the United States on the coast of Africa, brought forward under the auspices and sanction of gentlemen whose names give value to all they recommend, and who certainly are among the wisest, the best, and the most benevolent of men, in this great nation.

If the plan of colonizing is intended for our benefit; and those who now promote it, will never seek our injury; we humbly and respectfully urge, that it is not asked for by us;[Pg 11] nor will it be required by any circumstances, in our present or future condition; as long as we shall be permitted to share the protection of the excellent laws and just government which we now enjoy, in common with every individual of the community.

We, therefore, a portion of those who are the objects of this plan, and among those whose happiness, with that of others of our color, it is intended to promote; with humble and grateful acknowledgments to those who have devised it, renounce and disclaim every connexion with it; and respectfully but firmly declare our determination not to participate in any part of it.

If this plan of colonization now proposed, is intended to provide a refuge and a dwelling for a portion of our brethren, who are now held in slavery in the south, we have other and stronger objections to it, and we entreat your consideration of them.

The ultimate and final abolition of slavery in the United States, by the operation of various causes, is, under the guidance and protection of a just God, progressing. Every year witnesses the release of numbers of the victims of oppression, and affords new and safe assurances that the freedom of all will be in the end accomplished. As they are thus by degrees relieved from bondage, our brothers have opportunities for instruction and improvement; and thus they become in some measure fitted for their liberty. Every year, many of us have restored to us by the gradual, but certain march of the cause of abolition—parents, from whom we have been long separated—wives and children whom we had left in servitude—and brothers, in blood as well as in early sufferings, from whom we had been long parted.

But if the emancipation of our kindred shall, when the plan of colonization shall go into effect, be attended with transportation to a distant land, and shall be granted on no other condition; the consolation for our past sufferings and of those of our color who are in slavery, which have hitherto been, and under the present situation of things would continue to be, afforded to us and to them, will cease for ever. The cords, which now connect them with us, will be stretched by the distance to which their ends will be carried, until they break; and all the sources of happiness, which affection and connexion and blood bestow, will be ours and theirs no more.

Nor do we view the colonization of those who may become emancipated by its operation among our southern brethren, as capable of producing their happiness. Unprepared by education, and a knowledge of the truths of our blessed religion, for their new situation, those who will thus become colonists will themselves be surrounded by every suffering which can afflict the members of the human family.[Pg 12]

Without arts, without habits of industry, and unaccustomed to provide by their own exertions and foresight for their wants, the colony will soon become the abode of every vice, and the home of every misery. Soon will the light of Christianity, which now dawns among that portion of our species, be shut out by the clouds of ignorance, and their day of life be closed, without the illuminations of the gospel.

To those of our brothers, who shall be left behind, there will be assured perpetual slavery and augmented sufferings. Diminished in numbers, the slave population of the southern states, which by its magnitude alarms its proprietors, will be easily secured. Those among their bondmen, who feel that they should be free, by rights which all mankind have from God and from nature, and who thus may become dangerous to the quiet of their masters, will be sent to the colony; and the tame and submissive will be retained, and subjected to increased rigor. Year after year will witness these means to assure safety and submission among their slaves, and the southern masters will colonize only those whom it may be dangerous to keep among them. The bondage of a large portion of our brothers will thus be rendered perpetual.

Should the anticipations of misery and want among the colonists, which with great deference we have submitted to your better judgment, be realized; to emancipate and transport to Africa will be held forth by slaveholders as the worst and heaviest of punishments; and they will be threatened and successfully used to enforce increased submission to their wishes, and subjection to their commands.

Nor ought the sufferings and sorrows, which must be produced by an exercise of the right to transport and colonize such only of their slaves as may be selected by the slaveholders, escape the attention and consideration of those whom with all humility we now address. Parents will be torn from their children—husbands from their wives—brothers from brothers—and all the heart-rending agonies which were endured by our forefathers when they were dragged into bondage from Africa, will be again renewed, and with increased anguish. The shores of America will, like the sands of Africa, be watered by the tears of those who will be left behind. Those who shall be carried away will roam childless, widowed, and alone, over the burning plains of Guinea.

Disclaiming, as we emphatically do, a wish or desire to interpose our opinions and feelings between all plans of colonization, and the judgment of those whose wisdom as far exceeds ours as their situations are exalted above ours; we humbly, respect[Pg 13]fully, and fervently intreat and beseech your disapprobation of the plan of colonization now offered by 'the American Society for colonizing the free people of color of the United States.'—Here, in the city of Philadelphia, where the voice of the suffering sons of Africa was first heard; where was first commenced the work of abolition, on which heaven has smiled, for it could have had success only from the Great Maker; let not a purpose be assisted which will stay the cause of the entire abolition of slavery in the United States, and which may defeat it altogether; which proffers to those who do not ask for them what it calls benefits, but which they consider injuries; and which must insure to the multitudes whose prayers can only reach you through us, MISERY, sufferings, and perpetual slavery.

JAMES FORTEN, Chairman.

Russell Parrott, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM NEW-YORK.

New-York, January, 1831.

At a public meeting of the colored citizens of New-York, held at Boyer Lodge Room, on Tuesday evening, the 25th ult. Mr Samuel Ennals was called to the chair, and Mr Philip Bell appointed secretary. The chairman stated that the object of the meeting was to take into consideration the proceedings of an association, under the title of the 'New-York Colonization Society.' An address to the 'Citizens of New-York' relative to that Society, was read from the Commercial Advertiser of the 8th ult.; whereupon the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Whereas a number of gentlemen in this city, of mistaken views with respect to the wishes and welfare of the people of this state, on the subject of African colonization, and in pursuance of such mistaken views are using every exertion to form 'African Colonization Societies;' and whereas a public document, purporting to be an address to the people of the 'city of New-York' on this subject, contains opinions and assertions regarding the people of color as unfounded as they are unjust and derogatory to them—Therefore

Resolved, That this meeting do most solemnly protest against the said address, as containing sentiments with respect to the people of color, unjust, illiberal and unfounded; tending to excite the prejudice of the community.

Resolved, That in our opinion the sentiments put forth in the[Pg 14] resolution at the formation of the 'Colonization Society of the city of New-York,' are such as to impress this community with the belief that the colored population are a growing evil, immoral, and destitute of religious principles.

Resolved, That we view the resolution calling on the worshippers of Christ to assist in the unholy crusade against the colored population of this country, as totally at variance with true Christian principles.

Resolved, That we claim this country, the place of our birth, and not Africa, as our mother country, and all attempts to send us to Africa we consider as gratuitous and uncalled for.

Resolved, That a committee of three persons be appointed to draft an address to the people of New-York, and to be published, together with these resolutions, and the same be signed by the Chairman and Secretary.

SAMUEL ENNALS, Chairman.

Philip Bell, Secretary.

An Address to the Citizens of New-York.

In protesting against the sentiments and declarations to our prejudice with which the above noticed 'address' and 'resolutions' abound, we are well aware of the power and influence we have attempted to resist. The gentlemen named as officers of the 'Colonization Society' are men of high standing, their dictum is law in morals with our community; but we who feel the effect of their proscription, indulge the hope of an impartial hearing.

We believe many of those gentlemen are our friends, and we hope they all mean well; we care not how many Colonization Societies they form to send slaves from the south to a place where they may enjoy freedom; and if they can 'drain the ocean with a bucket,' may send 'with their own consent,' the increasing free colored population: but we solemnly protest against that Christian philanthropy which in acknowledging our wrongs commits a greater by vilifying us. The conscientious man would not kill the animal, but cried 'mad dog,' and the rabble despatched him. These gentlemen acknowledge the anomaly of those political ethics which make a distinction between man and man, when their foundation is, 'that all men are born equal,' and possess in common 'unalienable rights;' and to justify the withholding of these 'rights' would proclaim to foreigners that we are 'a distinct and inferior race,' without religion or morals, and implying that our condition cannot be improved here because there exists an unconquerable prejudice in the whites towards us. We absolutely deny these positions,[Pg 15] and we call upon the learned author of the 'address' for the indications of distinction between us and other men. There are different colors among all species of animated creation. A difference of color is not a difference of species. Our structure and organization are the same, and not distinct from other men; and in what respects are we inferior? Our political condition we admit renders us less respectable, but does it prove us an inferior part of the human family? Inferior indeed we are as to the means which we possess of becoming wealthy and learned men; and it would argue well for the cause of justice, humanity and true religion, if the reverend gentlemen whose names are found at the bottom of President Duer's address, instead of showing their benevolence by laboring to move us some four thousand miles off, were to engage actively in the furtherance of plans for the improvement of our moral and political condition in the country of our birth. It is too late now to brand with inferiority any one of the races of mankind. We ask for proof. Time was when it was thought impossible to civilize the red man. Yet our own country presents a practical refutation of the vain assertion in the flourishing condition of the Cherokees, among whom intelligence and refinement are seen in somewhat fairer proportions than are exhibited by some of their white neighbors. In the language of a writer of expanded views and truly noble sentiments, 'the blacks must be regarded as the real authors of most of the arts and sciences which give the whites at present the advantage over them. While Greece and Rome were yet barbarous, we find the light of learning and improvement emanating from this, by supposition, degraded and accursed continent of Africa, out of the midst of this very woolly-haired, flat-nosed, thick lipped, and coal black race, which some persons are tempted to station at a pretty low intermediate point between men and monkeys.'[AG] It is needless to dwell on this topic; and we say with the same writer, the blacks had a long and glorious day: and after what they have been and done, it argues not so much a mistaken theory, as sheer ignorance of the most notorious historical facts, to pretend that they are naturally inferior to the whites.

We earnestly desire that this address may not be misunderstood. We have no objection in the abstract to the Colonization Society; but we do protest against the means which that Society uses to effect its purposes. It is evident, to any impartial observer, that the natural tendency of all their speeches, reports, sermons, &c. is to widen the breach between us and[Pg 16] the whites, and give to prejudice a tenfold vigor. It has produced a mistaken sentiment toward us. Africa is considered the home of those who have never seen its shores. The poor ignorant slave, who, in all probability, has never heard the name of Christ, by the colonization process is suddenly transformed into a 'missionary,' to instruct in the principles of Christianity and the arts of civilized life. The Friends have been the last to aid the system pursued by the Society's advocates. And we say (for we feel it) that in proportion as they become colonizationists, they become less active and less friendly to our welfare as citizens of the United States.

There does exist in the United States a prejudice against us; but is it unconquerable? Is it not in the power of these gentlemen to subdue it? If their object is to benefit us, why not better our condition here? What keeps us down but the want of wealth? Why do we not accumulate wealth? Simply because we are not encouraged. If we wish to give our boys a classical education, they are refused admission into your colleges. If we consume our means in giving them a mercantile education, you will not employ them as clerks; if they are taught navigation, you will not employ them as captains. If we make them mechanics, you will not encourage them, nor will white mechanics work in the same shop with them. And with all these disabilities, like a mill-stone about us, because we cannot point to our statesmen, bankers and lawyers, we are called an inferior race. Look at the glaring injustice towards us. (A foreigner, before he knows one of our streets from another, mounts a cart under the license of another man, or is a public porter, a lamp-lighter, a watchman, &c.)

These gentlemen know but little of a large portion of the colored population of this city. Their opinions are formed from the unfortunate portion of our people whose characters are scrutinized by them as judges of courts. Their patrician principles prevent an intercourse with men in the middle walks of life, among whom a large portion of our people may be classed. We ask them to visit the dwellings of the respectable part of our people, and we are satisfied that they will discover more civilization and refinement than will be found among the same number of white families of an equal standing.

Finally, we hope that those who have so eloquently pleaded the cause of the Indian, will at least endeavor to preserve consistency in their conduct. They put no faith in Georgia, although she declares that the Indians shall not be removed but 'with their own consent.' Can they blame us if we attach the same credit to the declaration that they mean to colonize us[Pg 17] 'only with our consent?' They cannot indeed use force; that is out of the question. But they harp so much on 'inferiority,' 'prejudice,' 'distinction,' and what not, that there will no alternative be left us but to fall in with their plans. We are content to abide where we are. We do not believe that things will always continue the same. The time must come when the declaration of independence will be felt in the heart as well as uttered from the mouth, and when the rights of all shall be properly acknowledged and appreciated. God hasten that time. This is our home, and this our country. Beneath its sod lie the bones of our fathers: for it some of them fought, bled, and died. Here we were born, and here we will die.

A VOICE FROM BOSTON.

Boston, March 12, 1831.

Pursuant to public notice, a meeting was held by the colored citizens of Boston, February 15th, at their school-house, for the purpose of expressing their sentiments in a remonstrance against the doings of the State Colonization Society, Feb. 10th. It was called to order by Mr J. G. Barbadoes. Mr Robert Roberts was elected chairman, and Mr James G. Barbadoes secretary. A prayer was then offered up to the throne of grace, by the Rev. Mr Snowden. The chairman having explained the object of the meeting, sundry resolutions were offered by Mr Barbadoes, and fairly discussed. On motion, a committee of five was chosen to amend the resolutions, and to draft an address to certain white citizens who had formed a State Society auxiliary to the American Colonization Society, and to the enlightened public. John T. Hilton, James G. Barbadoes, Rev. Hosea Easton, Thomas Dalton and Thomas Cole were placed on the committee.

The committee, to whom was referred the subject of an attempt, by certain white citizens, to establish in this State a Society auxiliary to the American Colonization Society, whose supposed object was the removal of the free colored population to western Africa, have with diligence sought for and obtained every fact within their reach, relative to what was enjoined upon them by the respectable body by whom they were delegated; and now respectfully

Report:

That they have attended to the duty with which they were charged, with all the wisdom, prudence and fidelity which they[Pg 18] possessed, and which the merits of the case required. They therefore submit to the consideration of the meeting their several conclusions on the subject.

The duty of your committee seemed to be divided into three general inquiries:—1st. To ascertain whether the Society above named was truly established in this metropolis. 2d. By whom it was established, and for what purpose. 3d. If established for the purpose entertained by the free colored population, what method should be adopted in regard to expressing their disapprobation thereto.

As to the first inquiry, your committee can state, that every doubt is now removed respecting the formation of such a Society, the proceedings of the meeting being published, together with the names of the officers.

On the second inquiry, your committee refer you to the 2d Article of the Constitution of said Society, (published in the Boston Courier of Feb. 16, 1831,) which reads thus:

We deem any explanation here unnecessary.

In regard to the third and most essential inquiry, your committee report, that they know of no better way of expressing their disapprobation of such measures, than to use every exertion to persuade their brethren not to leave the United States upon any consideration whatever; but if there are or should be any exasperated in consequence of abuse from their white countrymen, and who are determined to leave the country, we think it desirable to recommend them to Hayti or Upper Canada, where they will find the laws equal. Your committee deem it expedient also to urge this duty upon the several ministers of color throughout the United States, and all other persons of color whose influence may have any bearing in preventing their brethren from yielding to a request so unjust and cruel.

And if your respectable body should not think your committee were going beyond the bounds of their duty, they would recommend the clerical order throughout the United States, who have had or who are having any thing to do with the deceptive scheme above alluded to, to read the 13th chapter of Ezekiel. Read it—read it—and understand it. Your committee would recommend those clergymen, who have not defiled their garment with the blood of the innocent, to read the 1st, 2nd, 11th and 12th verses of the 24th chapter of Proverbs.

In support of the sentiments thus expressed, it becomes[Pg 19] necessary that our reasons should accompany them, why we object to the plan of dragging us to Africa—a country to us unknown, except by geography. In the first place, we are told that Africa is our native country; consequently the climate will be more congenial to our health. We readily deny the assertion. How can a man be born in two countries at the same time? Is not the position superficial to suppose that American born citizens are Africans? In regard to the climate, what better proof do we want of its salubrity, than to know that of the numerous bodies who have embarked, a large portion of them have immediately fallen victims, on their arrival, to the pestilence usual to that place?

It is again said, that the establishment of a colony on the coast of Africa will prevent the slave trade. We might as well argue, that a watchman in the city of Boston would prevent thievery in New-York, or any other place; or that the custom-house officers there would prevent goods being smuggled into any other port of the United States.

We are aware, that such an unnecessary expense devoted to the application of a remedy so far from the disease, is absolutely contrary to common sense. We are sensible that the moral disease, slavery, is in America, and not in Africa. If there was no market for the vending of slaves, there would be no inducement for the thief to steal them. The remedy for this evil, we humbly conceive, consists of three general prescriptions, viz. 1st. Let him who stealeth obey the word of God, and steal no more. 2d. Let him who hath encouraged the thief by purchase, (and consequently is a partaker with him,) do so no more. 3rd. Let the clerical physicians, who have encouraged, and are encouraging, both the thief and the receiver, by urging their influence to the removal of the means of their detection, desist therefrom, and with their mighty weight of influence step into the scale of justice: then will be done away this horrible traffic in blood.

From the above considerations, we sincerely recommend to our white countrymen honor and humanity, which will render useless the transportation of the colored population to the coast of Africa, it being altogether gratuitous and uncalled for.

We proceed to offer several objections to the operation alluded to—one is, the circumstance of the project originating with those who were deeply interested in slavery, and who hold slaves as their property. We consider the fact no evidence of the innocence of its design. We further object, because its members admit slavery to be an evil, and use no means to destroy it; but are exerting all their influence to urge every free[Pg 20] person of color to Africa, (whose right to this soil holds good with any other citizen,) thereby rivetting the chains of slavery stronger than ever upon their oppressed brethren.

Again we object, because the whole spring of action seems to originate in the fear lest the free colored people may whisper liberty in the ears of the oppressed. We would suggest, however, that they who are fond of liberty should not be annoyed at its sound, from whatever source it may come.

Again we object, on the ground of there being sufficient land in the United States, on which a colony might be established that would better meet the wishes of the colored people, and at a much cheaper rate than could possibly be done by sending them to a howling wilderness far away, and to them unknown.

One of the leaders of the newly formed Society argued that in case a colony was formed for the blacks in the United States, they would in a short time be removed, as has been the case with the poor Indians. To obviate this objection, we here inform him that Hayti will hold all the slaves he will send her; and as for the free people, we expect they can go where they please, either to Africa, Hayti or Upper Canada, or remain at home, without asking the consent of a slaveholding party. Nor can we conceive why free citizens, acting this liberty, should interfere with them, if they are—as they have represented themselves to be—honest and benevolent men. We conceive that the question in view stands in two distinct points—the removal of the free colored population from this country, or the acknowledgment of them as citizens. The former position must be acknowledged, on all sides, a means of perpetuating slavery in our land; the latter, of abolishing it; consequently it may be seen who are for the well-being of their country.

We regret that our interest has thus drawn us before the public, on account of the regard we entertain towards many of our warmest friends who have been deceived by a cloak of philanthropy, smooth words, and a sanctified appearance. We remind them, however, that the blood of Abel is beginning to be heard by many who are willing to acknowledge that they hear it.

We cannot close our duty without gratefully acknowledging the respect we entertain for those who have defended our cause with more than Spartan courage. It is the opinion of your committee, that they are to be respected as our countrymen, our brethren, and our fellow citizens—not to say they are to be applauded as men, whose great acts are based upon the acclamation of their fellow men; but rather let us hold up their hands, and let their works praise them. We shall only add an expression of our hopes, that the Spirit of Liberty, recently[Pg 21] awakened in the old world, may redouble its thundering voice, until every tyrant is seized with a Belshazzar tremble at the hand-writing upon the wall of his corrupt palace.

In addition to the above, your committee submit the following resolutions for your acceptance.

Resolved, That this meeting contemplate, with lively interest, the rapid progress of the sentiments of liberty among our degraded brethren, and that we will legally oppose every operation that may have a tendency to perpetuate our present political condition.

Resolved, That this meeting look upon the American Colonization Society as a clamorous, abusive and peace-disturbing combination.

Resolved, That this meeting look upon the conduct of those clergymen, who have filled the ears of their respective congregations with the absurd idea of the necessity of removing the free colored people from the United States, as highly deserving the just reprehension directed to the false prophets and priests, by Jeremiah the true prophet, as recorded in the 23d chapter of his prophecy.

Resolved, That this meeting appeal to a generous and enlightened public for an impartial hearing relative to the subject of our present political condition.

Resolved, That the gratitude of this meeting, which is so sensibly felt, be fully expressed to those editors whose independence of mind and correct views of the rights of man have led them so fearlessly to speak in favor of our cause; that we rejoice to behold in them such a strong desire to extend towards us the inestimable blessing in the gift of a wise Providence which is demanded by all nature, and for which their veteran fathers struggled in the revolution.

ROBERT ROBERTS, Chairman.

James G. Barbadoes, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM BALTIMORE.

Baltimore, March 21, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of persons of color, convened, pursuant to public notice, for the purpose of expressing their sentiments in regard to the pretensions of the American Colonization Society, William Douglass was called to the chair, and William Watkins appointed secretary. The object of the call having been explicitly stated, the meeting immediately proceeded to the consideration of the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:—On motion,[Pg 22]

Resolved, That it is the belief of this meeting, that the American Colonization Society is founded more in a selfish policy, than in the true principles of benevolence;—and, therefore, so far as it regards the life-giving spring of its operations, is not entitled to our confidence, but should be viewed by us with all that caution and distrust which our happiness demands.

Resolved, That we are not insensible to the means usually employed by that Society, and its auxiliaries, to effectuate our removal—that we sincerely deprecate their gratuitous and illiberal attacks upon, and their too frequently exaggerated statements of our moral standing in the community—that such means are unworthy of a magnanimous people, and of a virtuous and noble cause.

Resolved, That we consider the land in which we were born, and in which we have been bred, our only 'true and appropriate home,'—and that when we desire to remove, we will apprise the public of the same, in due season.

Resolved, That we are deeply sensible that many of our warm and sincere friends have espoused the colonization system, from the purest motives,—and that we sincerely regret their efforts to ameliorate our condition are not more in accordance with our wishes.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the daily papers of this city, signed by the Chairman and Secretary.

WILLIAM DOUGLASS, Chairman.

William Watkins, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM WASHINGTON.

Washington, May 4, 1831.

Pursuant to previous notice, a large and very respectable meeting of the colored citizens of Washington, D. C., convened at the African Methodist Episcopal church on Wednesday evening last, for the purpose of expressing their views upon the subject of African colonization. Mr John W. Prout was called to the chair, and Arthur Waring was appointed secretary.

The chairman briefly explained the object of the meeting, in a short speech well adapted to the occasion, which was followed by several neat and very appropriate addresses delivered by sundry gentlemen present.

The following preamble and resolutions were offered and adopted, nearly unanimously.

Whereas we consider that the period has arrived for the colored citizens of this place to express their opinion upon the[Pg 23] subject of colonization in Liberia; a subject of great importance to themselves, as well as to the colored citizens of the United States generally; and whereas our brethren at a distance are desirous of obtaining information relative to the object and policy pursued by the American Colonization Society: Therefore, be it

Resolved, That this meeting view with distrust the efforts made by the Colonization Society to cause the free people of color of these United States to emigrate to Liberia on the coast of Africa, or elsewhere.

Resolved, That it is the declared opinion of the members of this meeting, that the soil which gave them birth is their only true and veritable home, and that it would be impolitic, unwise and improper for them to leave their home without the benefits of education.

Resolved, That this meeting conceive that among the advocates of the colonization system, they have many true and sincere friends; and do regret that their actions, although prompted no doubt by the purest motives, do not meet our approbation.

Resolved, That we believe the PRESS to be the most efficient means of disseminating light and knowledge among our brethren; and that this meeting do acknowledge with gratitude the efforts made in our behalf, by the editors of the Genius of Universal Emancipation, and the Liberator;—and do most earnestly recommend their respective papers to our brethren generally, for their approval and support.

Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and published.

JOHN W. PROUT, Chairman.

Arthur Waring, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM BROOKLYN.

Brooklyn, (N. Y.) June 3, 1831.

At a numerous and respectable meeting of the colored inhabitants of the village and township of Brooklyn, convened in the African Hall, Nassau-street, for the purpose of taking into consideration our views in relation to the Colonization Society—

The throne of grace was addressed by the Rev. Mr Hogarth, after which Henry C. Thompson was called to the chair, and George Hogarth appointed secretary.

Appropriate addresses were delivered by Messrs George Hogarth, James Pennington, and George Woods. The following resolutions were then adopted:[Pg 24]—

Resolved, unanimously, That the call of this meeting be approved of; and that the colored citizens of this village have, with friendly feelings, taken into consideration the objects of the American Colonization Society, together with all its auxiliary movements, preparatory for our removal to the coast of Africa; and we view them as wholly gratuitous, not called for by us, and not essential to the real welfare of our race: That we know of no other country in which we can justly claim or demand our rights as citizens, whether civil or political, but in these United States of America, our native soil: And, that we shall be active in our endeavors to convince the members of the Colonization Society, and the public generally, that we are men, that we are brethren, that we are countrymen and fellow-citizens, and demand an equal share of protection from our federal government with any other class of citizens in the community.

It was also Resolved, That the following persons, viz.: James Pennington, Henry C. Thompson, and George Woods, be appointed a committee to draft an address to the public, expressing our views more fully in relation to the Colonization Society; and that a delegate be appointed to proceed to the city of Philadelphia, to represent us in the ensuing convention, (which will commence its sitting the 6th inst.) to co-operate with the measures that may then be adopted for the general welfare of our race.

HENRY C. THOMPSON, Chairman.

George Hogarth, Secretary.

Address to the Colored Citizens of Brooklyn, (N. Y.) and its Vicinity.

Respected brethren, and fellow-citizens:—As men and as christians, whose secular and eternal interests are the same, we are seriously called upon by truth and reason, and every thing of which human action is composed, to take into consideration the objects of the American Colonization Society; which aims to remove us, the free people of color, from this, our beloved and native land, to the coast of Africa; a country unknown to us in every respect.

As they propose to remove us with our own free will and consent, we do not contradict the assertion, that their objects, in the abstract, are salutary and benevolent; but when we hear those influential gentlemen, who are advocating this cause, generalize by language directly calculated to increase that prejudice, which is already one grand reason of our wretchedness, we are moved by a spirit of reliance upon justice and humanity, to lift our positive and decided voice against their proceed[Pg 25]ings; and consider them as a stigma upon our morals as a people, as natives and citizens of this country, to whom equal rights are guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence.

When we consider that by abridging men in their moral liberty, we touch their responsibility to the highest authority in the universe, we should shudder at the thought of retaining such feelings as would lead to any irreligious or impolitic acts; nor should we be willing to yield one particle of ours to others, unless it be on the ground of expediency, and in some way conducive to the glory of God.

We are sorry to say that those gentlemen have injured their cause, and perhaps caused much good to be evil spoken of, by making use of improper language, in their discussions upon our character and condition in this country; without using one effort to improve or prepare us for the posts of honor and distinction which they hold forth to us, whenever we set foot on this much talked of, and long expected promised land. We would ask the Colonization Society, what are they doing at home to improve our condition? It is a true proverb, that 'charity begins at home.' How can they extend their charities with christian sympathies and feeling some thousand miles across the Atlantic ocean, when they are not willing, with a few exceptions, to give us even a christian instruction while among them? To prove the assertion, we would inquire, how many of our sable brethren have been elevated to any post of distinction in this country? Even in states, where our numbers have almost doubled, have we seen one statesman, one officer, or one juror? No! in our village and its vicinity, how many of us have been educated in colleges, and advanced into different branches of business; or taken into mercantile houses, manufacturing establishments, &c.? Are we not even prohibited from some of the common labor and drudgery of the streets, such as cartmen, porters, &c.? It is a strange theory to us, how these gentlemen can promise to honor and respect us in Africa, when they are using every effort to exclude us from all rights and privileges at home.

They say, 'that those of our friends, who look for the day when we shall have equal rights in this country, are mistaken.' May we not accept it as an assurance, that they will do all they can to prevent us from arriving to any degree of respectability at home, in our own land? Away then with such false sympathies and friendships! they are as foreign to us as the coast of Africa!

We truly believe, that many gentlemen who are engaged in the Colonization Society are our sincere friends and well-wish[Pg 26]ers; they wish to do something for us, consequently they have subscribed largely to it, because there was no other plan on foot. Some of them have been deluded into its schemes, with a view of thoroughly civilizing and christianizing Africa, by our free people of color and emancipated slaves, who may, from time to time, be colonized on its coasts, with their consent. We conceive that such measures are fraught with inconsistency, and in no way calculated to have such an effect. To send a parcel of uninstructed, uncivilized, and unchristianized people, to the western coast of Africa, with bibles in their hands to teach the natives the truths of the gospel, social happiness, and moral virtue, is mockery and ridicule in the extreme.

Missionary families should be well instructed in the rudiments of our holy religion, that their example may shine forth as lights in that much neglected and benighted land. We are much in favor of christianizing Africa; but not according to the plans of the Colonization Society, to purchase their lands of them, with a few paltry guns, beads, &c., and then establish forts and garrisons, to protect traders and traffickers, without, perhaps, once naming the religion of Jesus to them. We well know that the examples of traders and traffickers are in no way calculated to induce heathens to embrace our religion. For example, we will refer to the early settlements of our American colonies, and inquire what religious impressions did the settlers make (who were wise and learned from Europe) upon the aborigines of our country? We believe that a few men, well instructed and possessing a true missionary spirit, are calculated to do more good in that country, than a thousand on the colonization plan.

Many wish us to go to Africa, because they say that our constitutions are better adapted to that climate than this. If so, we would ask why so many of our hearty, hale and healthy brethren, on arriving in that country, fall victims to the malignant fevers and disorders, prevalent in those regions? We would observe, that none are exempt from being touched with the contagion. It operates more severely upon those from the higher latitudes.

Some of our brethren have come to the conclusion to leave this country, with all its prejudices, and seek an asylum in foreign climes. We would recommend to your serious consideration, the location in Upper Canada; a place far better adapted to our constitutions, our habits, and our morals; where prejudice has not such an unlimited sway; where you will be surrounded by Christians, and have an opportunity to become civilized and christianized.

Brethren, it is time for us to awake to our interests; for the[Pg 27] Colonization Society is straining every nerve for the accomplishment of its objects. By their last publications we see, that they have invoked all Christian assemblies and churches throughout the Union, to exert their influence, by raising subscriptions to send us (the strangers within their gates, as they call us) to the coast of Africa. They have got the consent of eleven states, who have instructed their senators to do something in the next Congress for our removal. Maryland calls imperatively on the general government to send us away, or else they will colonize their own free blacks. They have, by their influence, stopped the emancipation of slaves in a measure, except for colonization purposes.

We owe a tribute of respect to the state of New-York, for her not having entered into the confederacy. Though she is the last in proclaiming general emancipation to the slave, yet we find her slow in adopting any such unchristian measures. We may well say, she is deliberate in her councils, and determinate in her resolutions.

Finally, brethren, we are not strangers; neither do we come under the alien law. Our constitution does not call upon us to become naturalized; we are already American citizens; our fathers were among the first that peopled this country; their sweat and their tears have been the means, in a measure, of raising our country to its present standing. Many of them fought, and bled, and died for the gaining of her liberties; and shall we forsake their tombs, and flee to an unknown land? No! let us remain over them and weep, until the day arrive when Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands to God. We were born and nurtured in this Christian land; and are surrounded by christians, whose sacred creed is, to do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you—to love our neighbors as ourselves; and which expressly declares, if we have respect to persons, we commit sin. Let us, brethren, invoke the christian's God, in our behalf, to do away the prejudices of our brethren, that they may adopt the solemn truths of the gospel, and acknowledge that God is no respecter of persons—that he has made of one blood all the nations that dwell on the face of the earth—that they may no longer bring their reasonings in contact with the omniscience of Deity; and insinuate to the public, that our intellect and faculties are measurably inferior to those of our fairer brethren. Because adversity has thrown a veil over us, and we, whom God has created to worship, admire and adore his divine attributes, shall we be held in a state of wretchedness and degradation, with monkeys, baboons, slaves, and cattle, because we possess a darker hue?[Pg 28]

We feel it our duty ever to remain true to the constitution of our country, and to protect it, as we have always done, from foreign aggressions. Although more than three hundred thousand of us are virtually deprived of the rights and immunities of citizens, and more than two millions held in abject slavery, yet we know that God is just, and ever true to his purpose. Before him the whole world stands in awe, and at his command nations must obey. He who has lately pleaded the Indian's cause in our land, and who has brought about many signal events, to the astonishment of our generation, we believe is in the whirlwind, and will soon bring about the time when the sable sons of America will join with their fairer brethren, and re-echo liberty and equal rights in all parts of Columbia's soil.

We pray the Lord to hasten the day, when prejudice, inferiority, degradation and oppression shall be done away, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.

Signed in behalf of a public meeting in Brooklyn.

H. C. THOMPSON, Chairman.

George Hogarth, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM HARTFORD.

Hartford, Ct., July 14, 1831.

At a large and respectable meeting of the colored inhabitants of the city of Hartford and its vicinity, convened at the vestry room of the African church, on the 13th inst. for the purpose of expressing their views in relation to the American Colonization Society, Mr Henry Foster was called to the chair, and Mr Paul Drayton appointed secretary. The object of the meeting was then stated in a brief and pertinent manner, after which extracts from several speeches delivered by the founders of the colonization scheme, together with the general sentiments of colonizationists extracted from the African Repository, were laid before the meeting, and the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this meeting, that the American Colonization Society is actuated by the same motives which influenced the mind of Pharaoh, when he ordered the male children of the Israelites to be destroyed.

Resolved, That it is the belief of this meeting, that the Society is the greatest foe to the free colored and slave population with whom liberty and equality have to contend.[Pg 29]

Resolved, That we look upon the man of color that would be influenced by the Society to emigrate to Liberia, as an enemy to the cause and a traitor to his brethren.

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this meeting, that many of those who are engaged in this unjust scheme would be willing, if it were, in their power, to place us before the point of the bayonet, and drive us out of existence—so that they may get rid of that dark cloud, as we are termed, which hangs over these United States.

Resolved, That, in our belief, we have committed no crime worthy of banishment, and that we will resist all the attempts of the Colonization Society to banish us from this our native land.

Resolved, That we consider ourselves the legitimate sons of these United States, from whence we will never consent to be transported.

Resolved, That we will resist, even unto death, all the attempts of this Society to transport us to the pestilential shores of Liberia.

Resolved, That we will not countenance the doctrine of any pretended minister of the gospel, who is in league with those conspirators against our rights. We would, therefore, warn them to beware of following the footsteps of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block in the way of the children of Israel; for we verily believe, that if God almighty have to deliver his people by his mighty arm of power, they will share the fate of that false prophet.

Resolved, That, though we be last in calling a meeting, we feel no less the pernicious influence of this Society than the rest of our brethren; and that we consider all their pretexts, whether under the cloak of religion or philanthropy, gratuitous and uncalled for. We would, therefore, advise the Society, that as we have learned that there are one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in its funds, it had better appropriate this sum in meliorating the condition of our brethren the slaves, in this their native land, and raising them from that degradation into which they are plunged.

Resolved, That the thanks of the meeting be returned to Messrs William Lloyd Garrison, Isaac Knapp, and every friend of emancipation, for their benevolent exertions in our behalf.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to the Liberator for publication.

HENRY FOSTER, Chairman.

Paul Drayton, Secretary.[Pg 30]

A VOICE FROM MIDDLETOWN.

Middletown, Ct., July 15, 1831.

At a meeting of the colored citizens of Middletown, pursuant to public notice, held in the Lecture Room in the African church—Mr Joseph Gilbert was called to the chair, and Amos L. Beman appointed secretary. The meeting being thus opened, it was warmly and freely addressed by Messrs Jeffrey, Condoll and Gilbert, when, on motion, it was

Resolved, That the proceedings of our brethren in Brooklyn, N. Y., meet our entire approbation: they breathe our sentiments in full, and may our voices cheerfully accord with them in protesting against leaving this our native soil. Why should we leave this land, so dearly bought by the blood, groans and tears of our fathers? Truly this is our home: here let us live, and here let us die. What! emigrate to Liberia, a land so detrimental to our health! We have now before us a letter written by a friend who emigrated from this place to the burning shores of Africa, in hopes of splendor, wealth and ease; and he says that 'sickness and distress prevail to a great extent—and it is a clear case that those who come from the United States must undergo a long and protracted sickness with this country's fever, and I would not advise my friends to emigrate.'

JOSEPH GILBERT, Chairman.

Amos G. Beman, Secretary

A VOICE FROM NEW-HAVEN.

New-Haven, August 8, 1831.

At a meeting of the Peace and Benevolent Society of Afric-Americans, held on the 7th inst., Mr Henry Berrian was called to the chair, and Mr Henry N. Merriman was appointed secretary. The following resolutions were then unanimously adopted.

Resolved, That we consider those christians and philanthropists, who are boasting of their liberty and equality, saying, that all men are born free and equal, and yet are endeavoring to remove us from our native land, to be inhuman in their proceedings, defective in their principles, and unworthy of our confidence.

Resolved, That we consider those colonizationists and ministers of the gospel, who are advocating our transportation to an unknown clime, because our skin is a little darker than theirs, (notwithstanding God has made of one blood all nations of men,[Pg 31] and has no respect of persons,) as violaters of the commandments of God and the laws of the bible, and as trying to blind our eyes by their vain movements—their mouths being smooth as oil, and their words sharper than any two-edged sword.

Resolved, That, while we have no doubt of the sinister motives of the great body of colonizationists, we believe some of them are our friends and well-wishers, who have not looked deeply into the subject; but when they make a careful examination, we think they will find themselves in error.

Resolved, That it is our earnest desire that Africa may speedily become civilized, and receive religious instruction; but not by the absurd and invidious plan of the Colonization Society—namely, to send a nation of ignorant men to teach a nation of ignorant men. We think it most wise for them to send missionaries.

Resolved, That we will resist all attempts made for our removal to the torrid shores of Africa, and will sooner suffer every drop of blood to be taken from our veins than submit to such unrighteous treatment.

Resolved, That we know of no other place that we can call our true and appropriate home, excepting these United States, into which our fathers were brought, who enriched the country by their toils, and fought, bled and died in its defence, and left us in its possession—and here we will live and die.

Resolved, That we consider the American Colonization Society founded on principles that no Afric-American, unless very weak in mind, will follow; and any man who will be persuaded to leave his own country and go to Africa, as an enemy to his country and a traitor to his brethren.

Resolved, That we have heard with pleasure of the proceedings of our brethren in neighboring cities; and that a number of this Society will willingly become auxiliary to the parent Society of Philadelphia, for the mutual benefit of the Afric-Americans throughout the United States.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to the Liberator for publication.

HENRY BERRIAN, Chairman.

Henry N. Merriman, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM COLUMBIA.

Columbia, Pa., August 5, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of Afric-Americans convened pursuant to public notice, at their school-house, with a view of[Pg 32] taking into consideration the novel scheme of the American Colonization Society, Mr Stephen Smith was called to the chair, and Mr James Richards appointed secretary. A prayer was then offered to the throne of grace, by Mr Smith. The chairman called the house to order, and explained the object of the meeting in a few preliminary remarks; after which, the meeting proceeded to business, and adopted the subsequent resolutions.

Resolved, That we view the country in which we live as our only true and appropriate home; and let colonizationists pour contempt upon our race, and slaveholders look on our brethren as a nuisance to the country, yet here will we live, here were we born, this is the country for which some of our ancestors fought and bled and conquered, nor shall a conspiring world be able to drive us hence.

Resolved, That it is our firm belief, that the Colonization Society is replete with infinite mischief, and that we view all the arguments of its advocates as mere sophistry, not worthy our notice as freemen. Being citizens of these United States, we could call upon our brethren to awake from their slumber of ignorance, break the chain of prejudice that has so long bound them, and in the strength of the omnipotent Spirit give their hearts to God.

Resolved, That we will resist all attempts to send us to the burning shores of Africa. Beware of Alexander, the coppersmith, for he hath done us much harm. May the Lord reward him! We verily believe that if by an extraordinary perversion of nature, every man and woman, in one night, should become white, the Colonization Society would fall like lightning to the earth.

Resolved, That we will not be duped out of our rights as freemen, by colonizationists, nor by any other combination of men. All the encomiums pronounced upon Liberia can never form the least temptation to induce us to leave our native soil, to emigrate to a strange land.

Resolved, That we readily coalesce with our brethren in the different towns and cities, and take the liberty to say, that we as a little flock feel a fixed resolution to maintain our ground, till the great Author of our being shall say to those who deprive us of our rights,—Thus saith the Lord, because ye have not hearkened to me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbor, behold I will proclaim liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine.

Resolved, That it is the decided opinion of this meeting, that[Pg 33] African colonization is a scheme of southern policy, a wicked device of slaveholders who are desirous of riveting more firmly, and perpetuating more certainly, the fetters of slavery; who are only anxious to rid themselves of a population whose presence, influence and example have a tendency (as they suppose) to produce discontent among the slaves, and to furnish them with incitements to rebellion.

Resolved, That this meeting will not encourage a scheme, which has for its basis prejudice and hatred. Though there may be some good wheat, yet it is to be feared the enemy has sown tares among it.

Resolved, That we will support the colony at Canada, the climate being healthier, better adapted to our constitutions, and far more consonant with our views than that of Africa.

Resolved, That we unanimously agree to patronize the Liberator, and use our best endeavors to get subscribers for the same; and that we are under renewed obligations to God, that he ever raised up such honest hearted men as Messrs Garrison and Knapp.

Resolved, That this meeting cause its proceedings to be sent to the Liberator for publication; praying that the Lord will succeed all the lawful efforts of its conductor to meliorate the condition of our brethren in these United States, trusting his weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God to pull down the strong holds of the devil.

Signed by the Chairman and Secretary.

STEPHEN SMITH, Chairman.

James Richards, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM NANTUCKET.

Nantucket, August 5, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of the colored inhabitants of the town of Nantucket, convened for the purpose of taking into consideration our views in relation to the American Colonization Society, Mr Arthur Cooper was called to the chair, and Edward J. Pompey appointed secretary.

Addresses were delivered by Messrs William Harris and Edward J. Pompey, in which they took a general view of the Colonization Society, of its leading members, and some of the speeches and remarks made by gentlemen at the meetings of said Society. The following resolves were then adopted:

Resolved, That the call of this meeting be approved of, and that the colored citizens of this town have with friendly feel[Pg 34]ings taken into consideration the objects of the Colonization Society, together with its movements preparatory for our removal to the coast of Africa; and we view them as wholly gratuitous, not called for by us, and in no way essential to the welfare of our race; and we believe that our condition can be best improved in this our own country and native soil, the United States of America.

Resolved, That we hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are born free and equal; and we are men, and therefore ought to share as much protection and enjoy as many privileges under our federal government as any other class of the community.

Resolved, That we will be zealous in doing all that lies in our power to improve the condition of ourselves and brethren in this our native land.

Resolved, That there is no philanthropy towards the people of color in the colonization plan, but that it is got up to delude us away from our country and home into a country of sickness and death.

Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be returned to every friend who vindicates our rights and interests.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to Boston, to be published in the Liberator.

ARTHUR COOPER, Chairman.

Edward J. Pompey, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM PITTSBURGH.

Pittsburgh, (Pa.,) Sept. 1, 1831.

At a large and respectable meeting of the colored citizens of Pittsburgh, convened at the African Methodist Episcopal church, for the purpose of expressing their views in relation to the American Colonization Society, Mr J. B. Vashon was called to the chair, and Mr R. Bryan appointed secretary. The object of the meeting was then stated at considerable length, and in an appropriate manner, by the chairman. The following resolutions were then unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That 'we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'—Liberty and Equality now, Liberty and Equality forever![Pg 35]

Resolved, That it is the decided opinion of this meeting, that African colonization is a scheme to drain the better informed part of the colored people out of these United States, so that the chain of slavery may be rivetted more tightly; but we are determined not to be cheated out of our rights by the colonization men, or any other set of intriguers. We believe there is no philanthropy in the colonization plan towards the people of color, but that it is got up to delude us away from our country and home to the burning shores of Africa.

Resolved, That we, the colored people of Pittsburgh and citizens of these United States, view the country in which we live as our only true and proper home. We are just as much natives here as the members of the Colonization Society. Here we were born—here bred—here are our earliest and most pleasant associations—here is all that binds man to earth, and makes life valuable. And we do consider every colored man who allows himself to be colonized in Africa, or elsewhere, a traitor to our cause.

Resolved, That we are freemen, that we are brethren, that we are countrymen and fellow-citizens, and as fully entitled to the free exercise of the elective franchise as any men who breathe; and that we demand an equal share of protection from our federal government with any class of citizens in the community. We now inform the Colonization Society, that should our reason forsake us, then we may desire to remove. We will apprise them of this change in due season.

Resolved, That we, as citizens of these United States, and for the support of these resolutions, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, do mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor, not to support a colony in Africa nor in Upper Canada, not yet emigrate to Hayti. Here we were born—here will we live by the help of the Almighty—and here we will die, and let our bones lie with our fathers.

Resolved, That we return our grateful thanks to Messrs Garrison and Knapp, publishers of the Liberator, and Mr Lundy, editor of the Genius of Universal Emancipation, for their untiring exertions in the cause of philanthropy.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and published in the Liberator.

J. B. VASHON, Chairman.

R. Bryan, Secretary.[Pg 36]

A VOICE FROM WILMINGTON.

Wilmington, July 12, 1831.

At a large and respectable meeting of the people of color of the borough of Wilmington, convened in the African Union Church, July 12th, 1831, for the purpose of considering the subject of colonization on the coast of Africa:

On motion, the Rev. Peter Spencer was called to the chair, and Thomas Dorsey appointed secretary.

The meeting was addressed by Abraham D. Shad, Junius C. Morell, Benjamin Pascal and John P. Thompson, after which the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Resolved, That this meeting view with deep regret the attempt now making to colonize the free people of color on the western coast of Africa; believing as we do that it is inimical to the best interests of the people of color, and at variance with the principles of civil and religious liberty, and wholly incompatible with the spirit of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence of these United States.

Resolved, That we disclaim all connexion with Africa; and although the descendants of that much afflicted country, we cannot consent to remove to any tropical climate, and thus aid in a design having for its object the total extirpation of our race from this country, professions to the contrary notwithstanding.

Resolved, That a committee of three persons be appointed to prepare as soon as practicable an address to the public, setting forth more fully our views on the subject of colonization. The following persons were appointed: Abraham D. Shad, Rev. Peter Spencer and W. S. Thomas.

Signed on behalf of the meeting.

PETER SPENCER, Chairman.

Thomas Dorsey, Secretary.

Address of the Free People of Color of the Borough of Wilmington, Delaware.

We the undersigned, in conformity to the wishes of our brethren, beg leave to present to the public in a calm and unprejudiced manner, our decided and unequivocal disapprobation of the American Colonization Society, and its auxiliaries, in relation to the free people of color in the United States. Convinced as we are, that the operations of this Society have been unchristian and anti-republican in principle, and at variance with our best interests as a people, we had reason to believe that the precepts of religion, the dictates of justice and humanity, would[Pg 37] have prevented any considerable portion of the community from lending their aid to a plan which we fear was designed to deprive us of rights that the Declaration of Independence declares are the 'unalienable rights' of all men. We were content to remain silent, believing that the justice and patriotism of a magnanimous people would prevent the annals of our native and beloved country from receiving so deep a stain. But observing the growing strength and influence of that institution, and being well aware that the generality of the public are unacquainted with our views on this important subject, we feel it a duty we owe to ourselves, our children and posterity, to enter our protest against a device so fraught with evil to us. That many sincere friends to our race are engaged in what they conceive to be a philanthropic and benevolent enterprise, we do not hesitate to admit; but that they are deceived, and are acting in a manner calculated most seriously to injure the free people of color, we are equally sensible.

We are natives of the United States; our ancestors were brought to this country by means over which they had no control; we have our attachments to the soil, and we feel that we have rights in common with other Americans; and although deprived through prejudice from entering into the full enjoyment of those rights, we anticipate a period, when in despite of the more than ordinary prejudice which has been the result of this unchristian scheme, 'Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands to God.' But that this formidable Society has become a barrier to our improvement, must be apparent to every individual who will but reflect on the course to be pursued by the emissaries of this unhallowed project, many of whom, under the name of ministers of the gospel, use their influence to turn public sentiment to our disadvantage by stigmatizing our morals, misrepresenting our characters, and endeavoring to show what they are pleased to call the sound policy of perpetuating our civil and political disabilities for the avowed purpose of indirectly forcing us to emigrate to the western coast of Africa. That Africa is neither our nation nor home, a due respect to the good sense of the community forbids us to attempt to prove; that our language, habits, manners, morals and religion are all different from those of Africans, is a fact too notorious to admit of controversy. Why then are we called upon to go and settle in a country where we must necessarily be and remain a distinct people, having no common interest with the numerous inhabitants of that vast and extensive country? Experience has proved beyond a doubt, that the climate is such as not to suit the constitutions of the inhabitants of this country; the fevers and various[Pg 38] diseases incident to that tropical clime, are such as in most cases to bid defiance to the force of medicine.

The very numerous instances of mortality amongst the emigrants who have been induced to leave this their native, for their adopted country, clearly demonstrate the fallacy of those statements so frequently made by the advocates of colonization in regard to the healthiness of Liberia.

With the deepest regret we have witnessed such an immense sacrifice of life, in advancing a cause which cannot promise the least advantage to the free people of color, who, it was said, were the primary objects to be benefitted by this 'heaven-born enterprise.' But we beg leave most respectfully to ask the friends of African colonization, whether their christian benevolence cannot in this country be equally as advantageously applied, if they are actuated by that disinterested spirit of love and friendship for us, which they profess? Have not they in the United States a field sufficiently extensive to show it in? There is embosomed within this republic, rising one million free people of color, the greater part of whom are unable to read even the sacred scriptures. Is not their ignorant and degraded situation worthy of the consideration of those enlightened and christian individuals, whose zeal for the cause of the African race has induced them to attempt the establishment of a republican form of government amid the burning sands of Liberia, and the evangelizing of the millions of the Mahometans and pagans that inhabit the interior of that extensive country?

We are constrained to believe that the welfare of the people of color, to say the least, is but a secondary consideration with those engaged in the colonization project. Or why should we be requested to move to Africa, and thus separated from all we hold dear in a moral point of view, before their christian benevolence can be exercised in our behalf? Surely there is no country of which we have any knowledge, that offers greater facilities for the improvement of the unlearned; or where benevolent and philanthropic individuals can find a people, whose situation has greater claims on their christian sympathies, than the people of color. But whilst we behold a settled determination on the part of the American Colonization Society to remove us to Liberia, without using any means to better our condition at home, we are compelled to look with fearful diffidence on every measure of that institution. At a meeting held on the 7th inst. in this borough, the people of color were politely invited to attend, the object of which was to induce the most respectable part of them to emigrate. The meeting was addressed by several reverend gentlemen, and very flattering ac[Pg 39]counts given on the authority of letters and statements said to have been received from individuals of unquestionable veracity. But we beg leave to say, that those statements differ so widely from letters that we have seen of recent date from the colony, in regard to the condition and circumstances of the colonists, that we are compelled in truth to say that we cannot reconcile such contradictory statements, and are therefore inclined to doubt the former, as they appear to have been prepared to present to the public, for the purpose of enlisting the feelings of our white friends into the measure, and of inducing the enterprising part of the colored community to emigrate at their own expense. That we are in this country a degraded people, we are truly sensible; that our forlorn situation is not attributable to ourselves is admitted by the most ardent friends of colonization; and that our condition cannot be bettered by removing the most exemplary individuals of color from amongst us, we are well convinced, from the consideration that in the same ratio that the industrious part would emigrate, in the same proportion those who would remain would become more degraded, wretched and miserable, and consequently less capable of appreciating the many opportunities which are now offering for the moral and intellectual improvement of our brethren. We, therefore, a portion of those who are the objects of this plan, and amongst those whose happiness, with that of others of our color, it is intended to promote, respectfully but firmly disclaim every connexion with it, and declare our settled determination not to participate in any part of it.

But if this plan is intended to facilitate the emancipation of those who are held in slavery in the South, and the melioration of their condition, by sending them to Liberia; we question very much whether it is calculated to do either. That the emancipation of slaves has been measurably impeded through its influence, except where they have been given up to the Board of Managers, to be colonized in Africa, to us is manifest. And when we contemplate their uneducated and vitiated state, destitute of the arts and unaccustomed to provide even for themselves, we are inevitably led to the conclusion that their situation in that pestilential country will be miserable in the extreme.

The present period is one of deep and increasing interest to the free people of color, relieved from the miseries of slavery and its concomitant evils, with the vast and (to us) unexplored field of literature and science before us, surrounded by many friends whose sympathies and charities need not the Atlantic between us and them, before they can consent to assist in elevating our brethren to the standing of men. We therefore par[Pg 40]ticularly invite their attention to the subject of education and improvement; sensible that it is much better calculated to remove prejudice, and exalt our moral character, than any system of colonization that has been or can be introduced; and in which we believe we shall have the co-operation of the wisest and most philanthropic individuals of which the nation can boast. The utility of learning and its salutary effects on the minds and morals of a people, cannot have escaped the notice of any rational individual situated in a country like this, where in order successfully to prosecute any mechanical or other business, education is indispensable. Our highest moral ambition, at present, should be to acquire for our children a liberal education, give them mechanical trades, and thus fit and prepare them for useful and respectable citizens; and leave the evangelizing of Africa, and the establishing of a republic at Liberia, to those who conceive themselves able to demonstrate the practicability of its accomplishment by means of a people, numbers of whom are more ignorant than even the natives of that country themselves.

In conclusion, we feel it a pleasing duty ever to cherish a grateful respect for those benevolent and truly philanthropic individuals, who have advocated, and still are advocating our rights in our native country. Their indefatigable zeal in the cause of the oppressed will never be forgotten by us, and unborn millions will bless their names in the day when the all-wise Creator, in whom we trust, shall have bidden oppression to cease.

A VOICE FROM HARRISBURG.

Harrisburg, Pa., October, 1831.

At a large, well informed and respectable meeting of the citizens of Harrisburg, convened at the African Wesleyan Methodist church, for the purpose of expressing their sentiments in a remonstrance against the proceedings of the American Colonization Society, Rev. Jacob D. Richardson was called to the chair, and Jacob G. Williams appointed secretary. After singing and prayer, Rev. Mr Richardson in some concise remarks,—equalled by few, and exceeded by none,—expressed the object of the meeting. The chairman called the house to order, and the following resolutions were unanimously acceded to:[Pg 41]

Resolved, That we hold these truths to be self-evident, (and it is the boasted declaration of our independence) that all men (black and white, poor and rich) are born free and equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is the language of America, of reason, and of eternal truth.

Resolved, That we feel it to be our duty to be true to the constitution of our country, and are satisfied with the form of government under which we now live; and, moreover, that we are bound in duty and reason to protect it against foreign invasion. We always have done so, and will do so still.

Resolved, That we view the efforts of the Colonization Society as officious and uncalled for by us. We have never done any thing worthy of banishment from our friends and home: but this we would say—if the Colonization Society will use their best endeavors to get our slave brethren transported to Liberia, when we as a free body of people wish to go, we will give the colonizationists timely notice.

Resolved, That it is the firm and decided opinion of this meeting, that were there no free people of color among us, or if those who are free had remained in the degraded character of slaves, (or, as they sometimes call us, monkeys, apes and baboons,) they would never have got up the chimerical scheme for our transportation to the burning shores of Africa, with the fancied vision of elevating us, as they say, to dignity and affluence.

Resolved, That we cannot remain inactive while colonizationists are straining every nerve and racking their inventions to find out arguments to persuade our free colored brethren to migrate to an unknown land, which we can no more lay claim to than our white brethren can to England or any other foreign country.

Resolved, That we reject the inhuman and unchristian measures taken by the Colonization Society, for the illumination of the colored citizens of the United States, their appropriate home, in a land of sickness, affliction and death, when they are not willing, with few exceptions, to give us a christian education while among them. We would wish to know of the colonizationists, how, in the name of common sense and reason, do they expect to do any thing for us thousands of miles across the Atlantic, when they oppose almost every measure taken by our white friends and brethren to improve our condition here?

Resolved, That it is the united opinion of this meeting, that the enemies of our race, who are members of the Colonization[Pg 42] Society, see that the great Author of universal existence, who 'is no respecter of persons,' who taught Balaam's ass to speak, and taught Solomon wisdom, is now enlightening the sable sons of America: hence their object to drain the country of the most enlightened part of our colored brethren, so that they may be more able to hold their slaves in bondage and ignorance.

Resolved, That we object to leaving the land of our birth, as there is sufficient land in these United States, on which a colony can be established that would be far more consonant to the wishes of the colored population generally, and would be more adapted to their constitution: neither would it involve the country in such expense as would be incurred by sending them to a howling wilderness, far away from the graves of their forefathers, unknown to us in every respect, unless by geography, which few of us understand.

Resolved, That this meeting look upon the Colonization Society as a vicious, nefarious and peace-disturbing combination, and that its leaders might as well essay to cure a wound with an argument, or set a dislocated bone by a lecture on logic, as to tell us their object is to better our condition; because its members acknowledge slavery to be a national evil, and use no means to annihilate it, but are exerting all their energies and influence to persuade the free people of color to remove to Africa, whose rights to Columbia's happy soil holds good with any other citizen in America.

Resolved, That we look upon the conduct of those clergymen who have misled their respective congregations with the preposterous idea of the necessity of transporting the free people of color to Africa, as highly deserving the just reprehension directed to the false priests and prophets by the true prophets of the Most High; yet we gratefully acknowledge the respect we entertain for those who have defended our cause—we mean our white friends.

Resolved, That this meeting appoint Mr George Chester of Harrisburg, as agent for the Liberator, and will use our utmost endeavors to get subscribers for the same.

Resolved, That we will support the Colony in Canada, the climate being healthy and the rights of our brethren secured.

Resolved, That the gratitude of this meeting, which is so sensibly felt, be fully expressed to the Editors of the Liberator and Genius of Universal Emancipation, Messrs Garrison and Lundy, whose independence of mind and correct views of the rights of man have led them so intrepidly to speak in favor of our cause.[Pg 43]

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to the Liberator for publication.

JACOB D. RICHARDSON, Chairman.

Jacob G. Williams, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM ROCHESTER.

Rochester, N. Y., October, 1831.

A large number of the colored citizens of Rochester having convened themselves together, for the important object of taking into consideration the anti-republican principles of the American Colonization Society, the Rev. Mr Johnson was called to the chair, and Mr A. Lawrence was appointed secretary.

The meeting was then briefly addressed by the secretary as follows:

Countrymen and Brothers—When viewing the inhumanity and anti-christian principles of the American Colonization Society, in plotting our removal to Africa, (which is unknown to us as our native country,) it seems as though we were called upon publicly to express our feelings on the subject. We do not consider Africa to be our home, any more than the present whites do England, Scotland, or Ireland. This is the land our fathers have tilled before us; this is the land that gave us our birthright.—The meeting then

Resolved, That we never will remove to Africa; but should any of our brethren wish to emigrate, we would recommend Canada as a country far more congenial to our constitutions;—that we give our most sincere thanks to our friendly advocates Messrs Garrison and Knapp, and Mr Benjamin Lundy, who are crying unto their fellow men, night and day, to let their countrymen go free: they will be called blessed by many generations yet to come. The Colonization Society say that they cannot treat us as men while we are with them; but if we will go out of their reach, they will begin their charity. What should we think of such religion as this? Because our skin is a little darker than theirs, they say they cannot think of treating us as men. The scripture says, 'Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing'—and such they seem to be. We earnestly believe, with our generous friend Garrison, that it would not be a hard matter to exceed them in doing right. Our blessed Lord said, that we should do to all men as we would have them do to us. Now what would they think, if we should tell them that they would be better off in New Holland or in Tartary?[Pg 44]

Resolved, That we will do all in our power to support the Liberator, printed by Mr Garrison, and all other works in our behalf.

Resolved, That the foregoing proceedings be published in the Liberator.

HENRY JOHNSON, Chairman.

A. Lawrence, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM PROVIDENCE.

Providence, November 1, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of the colored people of Providence, R. I., duly appointed and publicly holden at the African church, on the 31st of October, 1831, to take into consideration the objects and motives of the American Colonization Society, Mr George C. Willis was called to the chair, and Mr Alfred Niger appointed secretary. The meeting was then addressed at some length by the chairman, stating their object in assembling together, and exposing the injustice and prejudice by which he believed the friends of African colonization were actuated. The following preamble and resolutions were read by the secretary, and unanimously adopted:

Whereas our brethren, in different parts of the United States, have thought proper to call meetings to express their disapprobation of the American Colonization Society; we, concurring fully with them in opinion, have assembled ourselves together for the purpose of uniting with them, in declaring that we believe the operations of the Society have been unchristian and anti-republican, and at variance with our best interests as a people. Therefore,

Resolved, That we will use every fair and honorable means in our power, to oppose the operations of the above mentioned Society.

Resolved, That we are truly sensible that we are in this country a degraded and ignorant people; but that our ignorance and degradation are not to be attributed to the inferiority of our natural abilities, but to the oppressive treatment we have experienced from the whites in general, and to the prejudice excited against us by the members of the Colonization Society, their aiders and abettors.

Resolved, That we view, with unfeigned astonishment, the anti-christian and inconsistent conduct of those who so strenuously advocate our removal from this our native country to the[Pg 45] burning shores of Liberia, and who with the same breath contend against the cruelty and injustice of Georgia in her attempt to remove the Cherokee Indians west of the Mississippi.

Resolved, That we firmly believe, from the recent measures adopted by the freemen of the city of New Haven, in regard to the establishment of a College for our education in that place, that the principal object of the friends of African colonization is to oppose our education and consequent elevation here, as it will deprive them of one of their principal arguments for our removal.

Resolved, That as our fathers participated with the whites in their struggle for liberty and independence, and believing with the Declaration of that Independence, 'that all men are created free and equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;' and as we have committed no crime worthy of banishment—Therefore

Resolved, That we will not leave our homes, nor the graves of our fathers, and this boasted land of liberty and christian philanthropy.

Resolved, That, our unfeigned and sincere thanks be tendered to Messrs Garrison and Knapp, and to every true friend to our cause, for their unwearied and truly benevolent exertions in our behalf.

Resolved, That we will earnestly recommend the Liberator, published in Boston by the above mentioned gentlemen, to the patronage of our friends throughout the country.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to Boston, with the request that they may be published in the Liberator.

GEORGE C. WILLIS, Chairman.

Alfred Niger, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM TRENTON.

Trenton, November 30, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of the free people of color in Trenton, convened in the Mount Zion church, November 30, 1831, for the purpose of considering the subject of colonization on the coast of Africa—On motion, the Rev. Lewis Cork was called to the chair, and Abner H. Francis appointed secretary. The meeting was addressed by Messrs Gardener and Thompson; after which, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.[Pg 46]

Resolved, Inasmuch as we, free people of color, have done all that is in our power to convince the white inhabitants of these United States, that it is our wish to live peaceably with all men; and inasmuch as our general demeanor has been that of industry and sobriety, notwithstanding there are some among us to the contrary, as well as among the whites; therefore we do most solemnly declare, that the statements made to the contrary by the Rev. Mr Crosby, in his late addresses in this city, and all statements by petitioners to legislative bodies, and by the Colonization Society, or any thing of the same nature, are a positive libel on our general character.

Resolved, Whereas we have lived peaceably and quietly in these United States, of which we are natives, and have never been the cause of any insurrectionary or tumultuous movements as a body, that we do view every measure taken by any associated bodies to remove us to other climes, anti-christian and hostile to our peace, and a violation of the laws of humanity.

Resolved, That if, in the opinion of government, our stay or liberty can no longer be granted in the States in which we live, we see nothing contrary to the constitution of these United States, or to christianity, justice, reason or humanity, in granting us a portion of the Western territory, as a state, with the same franchise as that of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or any other free State; for we challenge the Union to prove that, as free men, we have ever given the least ground for the uncharitable censures that have been cast upon us.

Resolved, That we view the American Colonization Society as the most inveterate foe both to the free and slave man of color; forasmuch as the agents thereof, and its members who have petitioned the several legislatures, have unequivocally declared its object, to wit, the extermination of the free people of color from the Union; and to effect this they have not failed to slander our character, by representing us as a vagrant race; and we do therefore disclaim all union with the said Society, and, once for all, declare that we never will remove under their patronage; neither do we consider it expedient to emigrate any where, but to remain in the land and see the salvation of God. Nevertheless, if any of our brethren should be compelled or see proper to emigrate, we would recommend to them Upper Canada or Mexico.

Resolved, That we view with the highest emotion of gratitude, the benevolence of Great Britain and that of the Canada Company, in affording an asylum in the Wilberforce settlement, in Upper Canada, for our oppressed brethren of the South, who have been or may be forced, by unconstitutional laws, to leave[Pg 47] their rightful home and place of nativity, without any cause except that of having a dark skin.

Resolved, That this meeting approve the establishment of a college, as recommended by the Annual Convention held in Philadelphia last June, and that we give all possible aid to that institution.

Resolved, That we view the Liberator, edited by William Lloyd Garrison, as a great herald in the cause of liberty, and that we recommend to the colored citizens of Trenton the utility of subscribing to the above named paper.

Resolved, That there be a committee of three appointed to draft an address more expressive of our views on the above subject.

Resolved, That the following persons compose that committee—Sampson Peters, Robert Thomas, George Cole.

LEWIS CORK, Chairman.

Abner H. Francis, Secretary.

ADDRESS.

We, the undersigned, in conformity to the above appointment, beg leave to present to the public, in a calm, unprejudiced manner, our decided disapprobation of the American Colonization Society and its auxiliaries, in relation to the people of color in the United States. We are well convinced, from the mass that has been written on the above subject by those who have preceded us, that it will be difficult to avoid repetition; nevertheless; we hope to touch some points which have not been fairly understood by that Society. They have supposed that our objections are to civilizing and evangelizing Africa; but we beg leave to say, that it is an error. We are well aware, that there is no surer way to effect this great object than to plant among the heathen, colonies of Christian missionaries. We wish, therefore, to be understood, that we highly approve of the evangelizing of Africa, but disapprove of the present measures of the American Colonization Society, if their motives have not been misrepresented by their agents and others, in some previous addresses in this city and elsewhere. But viewing them as we now do, we must say that, in our opinion, their false representations of our general character—their recommending our removal from our native land—their opposition to our having a part of the West appointed to us—their objections to our proposed college, and of our march to science—their false statements in relation to the health of the colony at Liberia, with a variety of other subjects of the same nature—all lead to a conclusion, that it is our greatest foe.[Pg 48]

We would here ask the public a few questions. First—Is the gospel of Jesus Christ calculated to lead to insurrectionary measures? If so, why then send it to the heathen? Second—What gentleman, who has set his slaves free, has been murdered by them for so doing? Third—What have those States, who have washed their hands clean of the cursed stain of slavery, lost by it? Fourth—What neighborhood, where education and general information have been disseminated among the people of color, is the worse for it?

In closing our remarks, we would say, that we do think that the subjects looked to by the Colonization Society, to civilize Africa, are incompetent; for we do suppose that men selected for such an important enterprise, should be men of deed and sound piety—men of regular and industrious habits, of scientific knowledge and general experience: that such men can be obtained, we have no doubt; and if there cannot, let us first prepare some in this country.

A VOICE FROM LYME.

Lyme, Ct., January 9, 1832.

At a respectable meeting of the colored citizens of this place, held pursuant to public notice—Mr Luther Wright was called to the chair, and Mr Daniel R. Condol appointed secretary.

After some animated remarks by Messrs Wright and Condol, it was

Resolved, That it is the sincere opinion of this meeting, that the American Colonization Society is one of the wildest projects ever patronised by a body of enlightened men; and further, that many of those who support it would be willing, if it were in their power, to drive us out of existence.

Resolved, That though we be last in calling a meeting, we feel no less the pernicious influence of this Society than the rest of our brethren; and that we will resist every attempt to banish us from this our native land.

Resolved, That we place unshaken reliance upon the promises of Jehovah, and believe that he will take our reproach away, and give freedom to those who are held in captivity.

Resolved, That we are not for insurrection, but for peace, freedom and equality.[Pg 49]

Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be rendered to Messrs Garrison and Knapp, for their benevolent exertions in behalf of the oppressed descendants of Africa; and that they be requested to insert these proceedings in the Liberator.

LUTHER WRIGHT, Chairman.

Daniel R. Condol, Secretary.

A VOICE PROM LEWISTOWN.

Lewistown, Pa., January 9, 1832.

At a numerous meeting held by the free people of color of the borough of Lewistown, in the African Methodist Episcopal church, Samuel Johnston was called to the chair, and Martin Johnston appointed secretary. The following resolutions were then read, and unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That we will not leave these United States, the land of our birth, for a home in Africa.

Resolved, That we will strenuously oppose the colonizing of the free people of color in Liberia.

Resolved, That we are willing to emigrate to any part of the United States which may be granted to us.

Resolved, That we will support the Liberator, a paper published in Boston, edited by William Lloyd Garrison; and also the colony in Upper Canada as an asylum for our oppressed brethren.

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare an address to be published in the Liberator.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and forwarded to the editor of the Liberator for publication.

SAMUEL JOHNSTON, Chairman.

Martin Johnston, Secretary.

ADDRESS.

We, the undersigned, in conformity to the above appointment, beg leave to present to the public, in a calm and unprejudiced manner, our reasons for opposing the scheme of African colonization. This is the land of our birth. The Declaration of Independence declares, that 'all men are born free and equal:' it does not say that the white man or the black man is free,—but all, without respect to color, tongues, or nation. We therefore consider all laws to enslave or degrade the people of color as contrary to the letter and spirit of this Declaration;[Pg 50] and that according to it we are freemen, and have as indisputable a right to enjoy our liberty as any white man. To deny it to us, because we differ in color, is oppression. To say that Africa is our native country is untrue. Here we were born, and here we mean to die; for all men are born free.

We wish to return our grateful thanks to our friends, and to the friends of the abolition of slavery. We consider slavery a national sin, which, if not speedily overthrown, will cause this nation to mourn and weep; for God has declared that Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto him, and he will hear her cry.

We would say to colonizationists that we consider them our foes instead of our friends. It is vain for them to say that we would do better in Liberia; for we do not believe it. There is room enough in this country for us; and if they be our friends, let them meliorate our condition here. Let them join in the work of immediate abolition of slavery. Let them wash out the stains which disfigure the national character. And then let them tell us about Liberia.

One reason why we are opposed to leaving these United States is this: you have so long denied us the enjoyment and protection of the laws of God and man in this country, that you wish now to oppress us still more. But thanks be to Him who holds all things in his hand, we believe He will plead our cause. Your skirts are already dyed with the blood of millions of souls. 'Vengeance is mine—I will repay,' saith the Lord.

Awake, ye wolves in sheep's clothing. Your cup is now full. You are daily causing innocent blood to be shed. How long, ye slavites, ye kidnappers, ye that traffic in human flesh, will you sleep? When will you awake to your best interests? For remember that you will not always be able to hold your victims in servile chains.

A VOICE FROM NEW-BEDFORD.

New-Bedford, January 23, 1832.

At a meeting of the people of color in New-Bedford, January 23d, for the purpose of considering and giving their opinion of the American Colonization Society, and the actual evil or benefit of that Society to the objects of its supervision, the free people of color, Mr Richard Johnson was called to the chair, and Richard G. Overing appointed secretary. After an ad[Pg 51]dress from the chair, it was moved that resolutions expressive of the views of the meeting, respecting the Colonization Society, be drawn up, and published in some newspaper not adverse to the rights and well being of all men, be their color what it may. The following are the resolves of the meeting:

Resolved, That in whatever light we view the Colonization Society, we discover nothing in it but terror, prejudice and oppression; that the warm and beneficent hand of philanthropy is not apparent in the system, but the influence of the Society on public opinion is more prejudicial to the interest and welfare of the people of color in the United States, than slavery itself.

Resolved, That the Society, to effect its purpose, the removal of the free people of color, (not the slaves) through its agents, teaches the public to believe that it is patriotic and benevolent to withhold from us knowledge and the means of acquiring subsistence, and to look upon us as unnatural and illegal residents in this country; and thus by force of prejudice, if not by law, endeavor to compel us to embark for Africa, and that too, apparently, by our own free will and consent.

Resolved, That as great a nuisance as we may be in the estimation of that Society, we yet have a hope in Him who has seen fit to continue our existence through days worse than which we do not fear, and which emboldens us as peaceable citizens, to resolve to abide the issue of coming days in our native land, in which we ask no more than the age in which we live demands, and which this nation, as republicans and christians, should not refuse to grant.

Signed in behalf of the meeting.

RICHARD JOHNSON, Chairman.

R. G. Overing, Secretary.

The foregoing resolutions and addresses are given in plain, it may be occasionally in severe language; and display an intensity of feeling, a depth of abhorrence, and a firmness of purpose, honorable to men who appreciate their rights and love their country. Before I proceed, however, to comment upon these important proceedings, I shall make some quotations from the essays and addresses of colored writers, in order to sustain my assertion that the American Colonization Society is directly opposed to the wishes of our free colored population.[Pg 52]

'A Colored Baltimorean'[AH] records his sentiments in the following style:

[Pg 58]

If excellence of style, a dignified carriage, sound logic, a high and abiding faith, and fervent piety, confer credit upon a writer, few have ever better illustrated these traits than 'A Colored Baltimorean,' or deserved a nobler tribute of praise. He who would be ashamed to acknowledge such a man as his countryman and brother, has yet to learn his own insignificance and what constitutes the majesty of human nature.

The following is an extract of a letter from a colored gentleman of wealth and respectability in Philadelphia, whose friendship is courted by honorable men, and whose usefulness is scarcely exceeded by any other citizen:

[Pg 73]

Other extracts might be recorded, but these must suffice. I have given the sentiments of the people of color as expressed individually, in public orations, in conventions of delegates, and in popular assemblies. Their proceedings evince a keen discrimination between true and false philanthropy, and an intellectual ability successfully to defend their cause. Their instincts are more than a match for the specious sophistry and learned sense of colonizationists: they meet them on every point, and on every point achieve a victory. Conscious of the fact that in their complexion is found the only motive for their banishment, they clearly illustrate the hypocrisy and injustice of the African crusade. Their union of purpose is such as cannot be broken. How intense is their love of country! how remarkable their patient endurance of wrongs! how strong their abhorrence of expatriation! how auspicious the talents which they display!

Every humane and honorable man will assent to the proposition, that no scheme for the removal of a numerous people from one continent to another, ought to be prosecuted contrary to their desires. A scheme cannot be benevolent which thrives upon persecution. Benevolent oppression is a solecism.

Another self-evident truth is, that no such removal can be effected merely by the presentation of selfish inducements, or without resorting to coercive measures. To show that coercion is openly advocated by some of the prominent supporters of the Colonization Society, I make the following extracts from the speeches of Messrs Broadnax and Fisher, delivered during the 'Great Debate' in the Virginia House of Delegates a short time since. Mr Broadnax said:

Mr Fisher said:

What a revelation, what a confession, is here! The free blacks taken from their beds, and severely flagellated, to make them willing to emigrate! And legislative compulsion openly advocated to accomplish this nefarious project! Yes, the gentlemen say truly, 'few, very few will voluntarily consent to emigrate'—'they never will give their consent'—and therefore they must be expelled by force! It is true, the bill pro[Pg 75]posed by Mr Broadnax was rejected by a small majority; but it serves to illustrate the spirit of the colonization leaders.

The editor of the Lynchburg Virginian, an advocate of the Society, uses the following language:

I close this work with a specimen of the sophistry which is used to give eclat to the American Colonization Society.

In the month of June, 1830, I happened to peruse a number of the Southern Religious Telegraph, in which I found an essay, enforcing the duty of clergymen to take up collections in aid of the funds of the Colonization Society on the then approaching fourth of July. After an appropriate introductory paragraph, the writer proceeds in the following remarkable strain:

'The mechanical arts!'—with whom did they serve an apprenticeship? 'With philosophy!'—in what colleges were they taught? It is strange that we should be so anxious to get rid of these scientific men of color—these philosophers—these republicans—these christians, and that we should shun their company as if they were afflicted with the hydrophobia, or carried a deadly pestilence in their train! Certainly, they must have singular notions of the christian religion which tolerates—or, rather, which is so perverted as to tolerate—the oppression of God's rational creatures by its professors! They must feel a peculiar kind of brotherly love for those good men who banded together[Pg 76] to remove them to Africa, because they were too proud to associate familiarly with men of a sable complexion! But the writer proceeds:

So! every ship load of ignorant and helpless emigrants is to more than compensate Africa for every million of her children who have been kidnapped, buried in the ocean and on the land, tortured with savage cruelty, and held in perpetual servitude! Truly, this is a compendious method of balancing accounts. In the sight of God, of Africa, and of the world, we are consequently blameless—and rather praiseworthy—for our past transgressions. It is such sophistry as is contained in the foregoing extract, that kindles my indignation into a blaze. I abhor cant—I abhor hypocrisy—and if some of the advocates of the Colonization Society do not deal largely in both, I am unable to comprehend the meaning of these terms.

Of the whole number of individuals constituting the officers of the Society, nearly three-fourths, I believe, are the owners of slaves, or interested in slave property; not one of whom, to my knowledge, has emancipated any of his slaves to be sent to Liberia!! The President of the Society, (Charles Carroll,) owns, I have understood, nearly one thousand slaves! And yet he is lauded, beyond measure, as a patriot, a philanthropist, and a christian! The former President, (Judge Bushrod Washington,) so far from breaking the fetters of his slaves, actually while holding his office offered a large reward for a runaway female slave, to any person who would secure her by putting her into any jail within the United States! What a mockery it is for such persons to profess to deplore the existence of slavery, or to denounce the foreign slave trade! for they neither cease from their own oppressive acts, nor act much more honestly than the slave dealers—the latter stealing those who are born on the coast of Africa, and the former those who are born in this country![Pg 77]

END OF PART II.