The Sun. — London, England, 1840-06-16 00:00:00

,VENING EDITION ANTISLAVERY CONVENTION. The following is a more minute report of the open ing proceedings of this important Convention than we `were enabled to give in our Saturday's paper : The Members of the Convention (consisting of about 300 gentlemen from various parts of the world, a list of whom we shall publish to-morrow) having assembled, WILLIAM T. BLAIR, Esq. (of Bath), rose and said —Our venerable friend, Thomas Clarkson, Esq., will shortly enter the room. lam requested to suggest, in consideration of the infirm state of his health, that there would be no feeling of popular approbation on his en trance. Perhaps the most acceptable way in which he can be received, will be by the company standing. This intimation was immediately complied with. THOMAS CLARKSON, Esq., then entered the room, supported by J. Sturge, Esq., and William Dilworth Crewdson, Esq., and accompanied by his daughter-in- - - law and gr andson. WILLIAM ALLEN, Esq.—l have been requested by the Committee to propose to the numerous and respec table assembly that our venerable and venerated friend, Thomas Clarkson, Esq., be Chairman of this Convention. J. G. BIaNIE, Esq. (of New York) seconded the motion. Josing STuaGE, Esq., after a pause, rose and said—l hope I shall be excused for making one or two remarks before the business of the meet- ing commences. Those who have known our dear and venerable Chairman only through the unim paired intellectual vigour evinced in a work which has recently appeared before the public, can little esti mate bow much he suffers from bodily weakness, and what a sacrifice it has been to him to comply with the enanimous wish of the Committee that he would preside on this occasion ; or how much cause we have for thankfulness that he is yet spared to be amongst us, for however short a period, at the age of more than 80 years. On the last occasion that our dear friend ap peared in public, except the one when the freedom of this city was presented to him at the Guildhall, he was so overcome by the heat of the room, and the applause of the audience, that he was unable to proceed with his address ; but the kind and delicate manner in which this assembly have now abstained from the usual expressions of approbation will, I trust, spare him any of those painful sensations on this present occasion. Anxious as the Committee have been to afford all the sincere friends to the cause who desired it an opportunity of be ing present at tbis Convention, they have found it need ful, if they would avoid giving offence, strictly to ad here to the rule laid down for granting tickets of admission ; but I am sure they will not be charged with partiality because they have made a few exceptions, at the express request of the Chair man. I allude to one of these, for the purpose of introducing the only living representative of Tho mas Clarkson, and who bears h;s name. It was the par ticular wish of the father of our cause, and whose labours extend over a period of 50 years, that his grand son should be present ; and I hope I shall not in the least degree wound the delicacy of his widowed parent, by saying in her presence that it is the dearest wish of her heart that her darling and only child should conse crate his future life to the great object which we are this day met to promote. It is an interesting fact, which I did not know till yesterday, that this is the birthday, nine years, of the youthful Thomas Clarkson ; and if I ven ture to give expression to the earnest prayer of my heart, that the blessing of God may rest upon him, and that with the descending mantle of his venerable and ve nerated ancestor he may catch a double portion of his spirit, I am sure it will find a response in the bosom of very many in this assembly ; as well as the earnest hope that when we may some of us be removed to that bourne where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest, and where all distinctions of clime and colour will be swept away for ever, he may live to see the day when the Divine blessing shall have so emi nently arowned this great cause of justice and of mercy that the sun shall cease to rise upon a tyrant or set upon a slave. The venerable Mr. CLARKSON then took the chair, and with a distinctness and feeling which deeply affected the numerous assemblage, said :—My dear friends, I stand before you as a humble individual whose life has been most intimately connected with the subject which you are met this day to consider. I was formerly under Providence the originator and am now unhappily the only surviving member of the Committee which was first instituted in this country, in the year 1787, for the abolition of the slave-trade. My dear friend and fellow labourer, Mr. Wilberforce, who was one of them, is, as you know, dead ; and here I may say of him, that there never was a man either dead or living to whom your cause was more indebted than to him. My dear friend and fellow-labourer, William Smith, the late Member for Norwich, who was another of them, is dead also, by whose indefatigable exertions for nearly fifty years, both in and out of Parliament, it was most vi gorously supported. As to the rest.of the Committee, S. Hoare, Dilwyn, Geo. Harrison, Richard Phillips, and the other dear friends, vaiiise names I am sorry that I cannot at this moment recollect, these also are all dead, and gone no doubt to their eternal rest. My dear friends, I was invited many months ago to be at this meeting but old age and infirmities, being lame and nearly blind and besides being otherwise seriously affected at times, gave me no hope of attending. At length I have been permitted to come among you ; and I rejoice in it ; if I were onla (Moused to say in this place, in reference co your future labours—Take courage, be not dis mayed, go on, persevere to the last ; you will always have pleasure from the thought of having done so. 1 myself can say with truth, though my body is fast going to decay, my heart beats as warmly in this sacred cause, now in the 81st year of my age, as it did at the age of .)4, when I fite.t took it up. And I can say further with truth, that if I had another life given me to live, I would devote it to the same object. So far for your encourage ment and perseverance. My dear friends, you have a most diffieult task to perform ; it is neither more nor less than the extirpation of slavery from the whole world. Your opponents, who appear the most formidable, are the cotton and other planters in the southern parts of the United States, who, l am grieved to say, hold more than two millions of their fellow-creatures in the most cruel bondage. Now, we know of these men that they are living in the daily habits of injustice, cruelty, and oppression, sad may be therefore said to have no true fear of God, nor any just sense of religion. You cannot, therefore, expect to have the same hold upon the consciences of these, as you have upon the con sciences of others. How then can you get at these so ae to influetiee their conduct ? There is but one way —you must endeavour to make them feel th it guilt in its consequences. You must endeavour, by all justifi able means, to affect their temporal interests. You must endeavour, among other things, to have the produce of free tropical labour brought into the markets of Europe, and undersell them there, and if you can do this, your victory is sure. I have therefore only now to say, may the Supreme Ruler of all human events, at whose disposal are not only the hearts but the intellects of men—may He in his abundant mercy, guide your ouncils and give his blessing upon your labours. Mr. ISAAC UREWDSON said—lt is of very great im portance to the comfort of our venerable President that the solemn feeling which has been over the meeting should be continued whilst we are favoured with his presence. I trust, that by the exercise of this feeling he may be per mitted to remain with us longer than he now anticipates. I should be sorry if he stayed to weary or oppress himself, bat for a few minutes it may be interesting to him to see what is the course which this meeting intends to pursue in the prosecution of its important labours. In the first place, I have to introduce to the meeting a communication from Lord Brougham, on whom two gentlemen with myself waited yesterday to inform him as an old, a very active, and a powerful friend of the cause in which we are now interested, of what was going forward, and to request of hi m , if it were possible, even for a few minutes only, to give his attendance at this meeting. lam sorry to say that the state of his health, and the depression of his spirits consequent on domestic affliction, are such that he thinks it necessary to decline—the' the sent a letter last night, a dd resse d to me, which I requ est et our friend the R e v. T. Scales toread to the meet ing. me The Rev. T. Scauss then rea d thefollowing letter ng. : House of Lords, Thursday. Gentlemen—l tun much h ono ure d by the request w hi c h y ou h ave made to me. thr o o ua u l gh your depu tation this morning, that I w attendunde assure you I meeting of delegates to-morrow ; an d that it is very painful for me to b. l the necessity of refusing. But the state of my r health has been such for some time past, that I am bare l y able to discharge those duties in this place from y which I cannot withdraw, and I . have b een con _ pelled to lay down a rule against going to any public meeting whatever. Of all the instances i n which I have been obliged to follow this rule, there is no one which has given me greater pain for I Deed hardly say how deeply I feel interested in whatever concerns the great cause which brings you together. I earnestly hope that all your proceedings may be guided by the same wisdom and animated by the same zeal which have from the earliest period of the controversy been displayed by the friends of humanity and justice ; and I trust that under the bless sing of Providence continued to their exertions, our earnest desires may finally be crowned with success. I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your faithful and humble servant, M. H OUGA To the Com m it tee of Management of BR Delegates. SITTINGS OF MONDAY, JUNE 15. The proceedings commenced under the presidency of the Rev. R. K. Greville, L.L.D. Minutes of the last meeting having been read, Me. G. Thom?sox and others suggested that the portion of them which referred to the motions upon Dr. Chan aing's letter, should be omitted, and that it should only a ppear that such letter bad been receiv e d an d rea d . Thi s was unanimously adopted. Minutes then con firmed. Mr. F. Buxton called in to give a friendly visit ; and it was stated that he would return as soon as he had fulfilled a previous engagement.—(Hear, hear.) and was well received Sir E. Wilmot also appeared, Mr. FOSTER. addressed a few observaticns to the Convention, as to the order of their pro eedings. The Secretary then stated the progrminme of the business to be first the subject of Committees, and then American Slavery. Mr. BOULTBEE said, he was anxious to adopt the advice of their zealous friend, Mr. O'Connell, to 'ollow practical measures. He felt the great importance of dif fusing full and cu►recr information as to the immense benefits which would result, even to the planters, from the abolition of slavery. With that view, he moved the appointment of a committee to collect and arrange facts, showing the advantage of free, over slave labour, and to devise the most effectual means of procuring the adoption of the former. Mr. W. KAY seconded the motion, which was unanimously agreed to. RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION. Mr. S. Bowr.ev moved the appointment of a com mittee to obtain and arrange evidence on the results of emancipation in our colonies, and the best means of procuring universal freedom in those colonies. This was also carried. J. G. BURNEY, Esq., of New York, was then called upon to introduce the subject of American slavery. He had been one of the Committee appointed to digest and prepare the question, but they had not had time to produce it in the most compact form. They would, however, detail the principal points on which they wished the action of the Convention, and the whole might be a pretty fair view of American slavery, H e would state as succinctly as possible the different rela tions of the American Central and State Governments, the various orbits, so to speak, of which were often confounded.--( Hear, hear.) The 13 colonies, before the Charter of Independence, acted under incorporations ; they then procured each several forms of State Govern ment. In 1788, the second year after the struggle for in dependence, there were articles of confederation, the ex periment of which satisfied the people that it was not sufficient for all Government purposes, and, with the advice of General Washington, a more compact union was adopted, for States could each make war or peace, coin money, without reference to the whole. The attempt was made to form the Constitution of what was now called the United States. To this end there was a Convention in 1789, composed of Delegates selected by the people at large. They were to confer such powers as they thought proper on the Geacral Govern ment, the remaining powers being reserved for the Lo cal Governments. Thus, se far from the Constitution of the United States being the original, it was merely secondary, and could only carry out powers which had been conferred upon it. For instance, as to the collect ing revenue, the power was conferred, the means, though not defined, following, as far as necessary. Now, complaints had occurred of the Central Government not sufficiently repressing abuses, as of slavery ; but the reason was that the requisite power had not been conferred upon it. From 1797 there was a general opiedon that slavery should not be of long duration ; hence slavery was not men tioned in the Constitution.—(" Hear, hear," from Mr. O'Connell.) He would not dwell minutely on the present state of public feeling, or the conduct of Congress for past years on the subject, but on the reason why the influence of slavery had so far guided and governed powers intended for the preservation of liberty. Prior to 1787 the cotton manufacture had not advanced to any great extent, so that the demand for slave labour had not been large. Massa chusetts alone had adopted a glorious principle of freedom, which eventually triumphed over slavery. In the other States, no obstacle had been then interposed to what was unwisely hoped would have been the gradual extinction of slavery. Hence the inutility of yielding to expediency in opposition to principle.—( Hear, hear.) Such minds as Franklin had been deceived by the delusion, and were not prepared for the event which upset all their expectations, namely, the invention in 1793 of the cotton gin, which greatly increased the productive powers of labour—the la bour of 1,000 hands being performed by one. This opened a door to a prodigious demand for what otherwise would have been a slight article of trade. From that moment might be traced the influence of slavery on the public mind, and the General Governraent.—(Hear.) This did not of course allow of any excuse to the Government for net act ing when they could, particularly for not preventing the re-delivery of slaves escaped to free Staters Congress had also the right (though not undisputed by slave-holders) of abolishing slavery in Colombia, where there were 6,000 or 7,000 slaves. So, also, in the territories, as they were called, in opposition to the States—as in the territory of Florida. No excuse could be offered for the neglect of Congress on these subjects. Now for the immediate ob ject to be presented to the Convention. The slave-holding interest in America was to be distinguished from the great mass of public opinion which was opposed to them—( Hear, hear, hear)—and this interest was greatly alarmed at the agitation upon the subject, but trusted to the influence of self-interest on the Government of America to maintain the system. To this end the slave-holders were always endeavouring, by every means, to commit the Go vernment to the maintenance of that system. In the pro secution of this design, they had tried to commit the Government to a claim for compensation against the British Government on account of slaves libel ated through their having been thrown, by stress of weather, on the coasts of British settlements. Negotiations had, accord ingly, been carried on between the two Governments on this subject, which bad terminated thus In cases before the Emancipation Act the British Government agreed to give proper compensation. In another case, which oc curred since that Act, the British Government refused, declaring that they would not recognise any property in human kind.—( Loud cheers.) In this state of the case Mr. Calhoun moved, in the American Senate, the follow ing resolution : " That ships on the high seas, in time of peace, engaged in lawful traffic, are, according to the laws of nations, under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State to which they belong, as much so as if constituting a part of its own dominion, and that if such ships be cast by stress of weather or other unavoidable cause, into the port of any friendly power, they are under the same laws, and the persons and property on board are under the protec tion of those laws ; and further, that the brig Enterprise ( the slave-ship in question, the last of those negotiated about), having been forced into a part of the Bermudas, while on a lawful voyage from an American port, is ee , - hraccd within the principle laid down in these resolutions awl that the detention of the negroes on board that vessel, and their subsequent liberation, were in violation of the laws of nations, and unjust to American citizens." These resolutions were substantially agreed to, March 13, 1840, with no dissenting voice. —( Hear, hear.) The object of these resolutions was not so much the expectation (which could hardly be entertained) that foreign States would bring tho rights (so called) of slave-holders into the laws of nations, as to commit the American Government to the support of slaveholders' claims. Now it was a most important thing that this Convention should admonish England and the world of the real design and effect of the doctrines set forth in these resolutions—( Hear, hear, hear)—and to expose the flagitious principles in volved in them.—( Cheers.) Witk this view he should move a preamble and certain resolutions, to express the sense of the Convention upon the subject. He would here state that the Congress did really possess the power of preventing the carrying on of the infamous slave trade ; for though the power to abolish internal and do , mestic slavery had not been reserved to the Congress, there had been expressly reserved to teem the power of regulating commerce, not only with foreign states, but with other states of the Union. And the best jurists of America held that this enabled them to put down the traffic in slavery be their own citizens. Now, in respect to the means of influencing the public mind to the sup pression of slavery in America, he wished to observe that the main difficulty was in bringing before the public mini the real state of the question; and the diffusion, by the press, of information, and appeals upon it, was one of the most powerful influences that could be brought to bear on behalf of the abolition cause.—( Hear, hear.) The legislative body of the Union was completely under the mercy and dominion of the slaveholders, who, by a refinement of criminal ingenuity, were actually entitled to the elective franchise in proportion to the slaves they possessed ; that is, five slaves gave a vote.—( Loud ex pressions of surprise and indignation.) Thus in the Se nate there was a slave party of twenty-four that could turn any of the great State questions of policy. —( Hear, hear, hear,) A very important element in the consideration of this subject was the proposed annexation of the Texas--( Hear, hear)—an attempted act of violence and wrong, which if it had been successful would have rendered the abolition cause less hopeful than ever. Blessed be Providence however, that the project had not succeeded ; and this was one among the many proofs of the greatly beneficial results which followed from the ex ertion of the influence of other nations on the side of jus tice, and humanity, and sound policy. Let it be the effort of this country, then, who would be followed by Franco in the noble example—(Cheers)—and then by other Euro pean States, to exert all possible influence on the American people to induce the abolition of the slave sys tem. That system was only to be reached by the influence of external appliances ; for the result of a long experience in American abolition exertions enabled him, sorrowfully yet confidently to state, that unaided by such external influences, the exertions of the American abolitionists would be hopeless.—( Hear, hear, hear.) How then was this external influence to be exerted on our part? Let us exhibit to America the glorious spec tacle of our emancipated negroes in the British colonies— especially the West Indies—supplied with all the advan tages of education, and right moral tr-ining, and religious instruction—peaceful, prosperous, happy communities ; and r_ re h sti en iht t ys he noble example shouldihave been imitated by other E worthy States, the prin c iples of freedom carried out with system o e inf m d u isp lat u i t o a n bly i n demonstrated,al l their would t beneficial be t u h o e t bmei grhatrydistant slavery force h of peunbliite wouldfeelin the f g, o a r n e d ver( would Loud cheers.) This was the crisis so ardently d e si re d by th e abolitionists, an d to bring it t baboeiriet, whichit wasnecessary ould toin fluence the mind of Englandproduce action on the part of its Government. That could not )f h France, and she fail to tell powerfully on the mind ty obei and the noble jd would influence Spain ; and so the mighty mn spirit of freedom would travel through the cheers.) In this view he begged to propose to theu con vention the consideration of the following Resol ut i ons Whereas, since the termination of the negotiations of the American with the British Government, under which the British Government refused to grant indemnity for certain slaves who, on their passage from certain ports in the United States to other ports within the same, were providentially cast on the Bahama and the Bermeda Islands, and, therefore, made free by the operation o f British law, the slave -bolding interest in the United States is attempting, in the Congress of the United S tates, to stir up the American Governm ent to resist the principle on which such indemnity was refused. And whereas, in the prosecution of this attempt, a resolution was recently received in the House of Representatives of the United States, urging that Government to insist on an arrange ment with the British Government, by which slaves escap ing from their masters in the United States into the British THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1840. the declaration of Independence or the Constitution of ' 1787, they must hold that it was not acknowledged by the Constitutien.—(Cheers,) Slavery was a deep crime which multiplied robbery and murder, but the Americans added hypocrisy to their other accomplishments. He flung it upon America that she stood in this predicament. They say they have no power to emancipate the slaves. He would whisper in their ears—Colombia.—( Cheers.) Co lombia was not bound by any Constitution—there they had the power if they pleased to use it. Then, why come down upon him with such hypocrisy. They said they were the first gentlemen and the most enlightened Legis lature in the world,—(Laughter.) He would whisper to Colombia then, " You have the power to remove this foul blot—you have the authority —you have everything, in fact, but the will—that alone is wanting." He would now turn to a subject of congratulation—he alluded to those noble-hearted men and women in America, who through difficulties and dangers were hearty in the cause of abolition. —( Loud cheers.) He held them all as friends. He implored them to think him as one of their body.—(Cheers.) He:wanted no higher station in the world, but he did covet the honour of becoming a brother among the American Abolitionists. Here the Abolitionists were in safety, and more honoured for their exertions by the good; here they were encouraged and cheered by the smiles of the Fair ; they were bound together by godlike truth. But far different was it with their friends in Ame rica ; there they were vilified and insulted. Very lately did not a body of so-called gentlemen —men who would call any one out to try rifle shooting who denied them that cognomen—break in upon the Ladies' Anti- Slavery So ciety, and assault them in the most cowardly manner ? And where did this happen ?—why, in Boston, enlight ened Boston, the capital of a non-slave-holding State. The Aboliticnists hero had nothing to complain of. In Ame rica they are met with the Bowie knife and Lynch Law. There had even been martyrs in the sacred cause, and their blood cried out not for vengeance, butthat the friends of the cause in which it was shed should not re lax in their endeavours. No human being could be placed in a more glorious position than those Americans who are friends to the negro. Ho was delighted to be one of a Convention in which so many of those bravo and good men were—he trusted that their reception would be such, that their zeal would be strength ened; it was a noble struggle they were engaged in, and they would yet raise a shout of liberty that would make their enemies tremble. Those brave and glorious men ought to have their names immortalised.—( Cheers.) The habits of this country bad forbid them from receiving some female delegates, because of the ridicule which ignorant people would have thrown upon their proceedings, but al though they bad not received them as delegates, were they the less esteemed or the less respected on that account. or at his age, he might be allowed to say less loved ? They all remembered Angelica Grimkims, and her zeal in the cause of abolition, for which they owed a deep debt of gra titude. The societies in America were deeply persecuted, and were therefore deserving of every encouragement they could bestow upon them. Had he the ability he would tell them how deeply he loved and honoured America and the Americans ; he loved their institutions, but he denounced the anathema of civilized Europe upon them as slaveholders; they ought not to b. received in society. Even the American Minister at our Court was a slaveholder ; whether ha bred them for sale was still a disputed point, which he would not then enter into. The Government of this country should refuse to have any dealings with him, and tell America that they would not receive any sleveholder or recogdze him. He would tell them an anecdote. Last year a very well-dressed gentlemanlike person addressed him in the Lobby of the House of Commons, and said he was from America. He begged him (Mr. O'Connell) to afford him the means of hearing the debate. He said, with pleasure ; but first let him ask him a question—from what State was he ? Alabama. Was he a slayeowner ? Yes. Then he (Mr. O'Connell) bowed and left him.—( Laughter. ) Now that was an example that ought to be followed. Hold no intercourse with a slavebolder. They might deal in business with him, but even then they must be cautious— ( A laugh)—but they ought to be very scant of courtesy towards him until he had cleared himself of the foul spot. He wanted a declaration of that kind from the Convention ; they ought to proclaim to the slave-holders that as long as they were engaged in the accursed traffic they held them to be of a different race. Such a declaration from such a body would make the slaveholders tremble. He knew the bravery of the American nation, but still he wanted to frighten them by the powerful force of public sentiment.—. ( Cheers.) In order to do so they ought to lay hold of all that would assist them. The Learned and Hon. Judge wl.o had addressed them had himself set a splendid exam ple to all the slave-holding world.—( Cheers.) He had called their attention to Texas. It was only a few days ago that he was favoured with a Texian newspaper, and, blesed be Heaven, it most cordially abused him.— (Great laughter.) He was as well abused in it as he had ever been in any one in this country. He read with delight in it that that monster, O'Connell, had been the means of preventing the English Government from acknowledging the Texas.—(Laugh ter.) He, on reading it, took off his hat, and made a low bow, saying, " You do me too much henour, Mr. Texian." He would most cheerfully submit to any such attacks in such a cause. No party in England would dare to ac knowledge such a nest of plundering brutes.—( Cheers and laughter) They actually stole the land, and their first act was to introduce slavery, which had been abolished by the Mexican Congress, and they made a law by which it is impossible for any one to stir the Abolition question for a certain number of years ; and when they expired, no person could do so, unless he had the authority of three fourths of the people. That put him in mind of a story toll as having happened in chivalrous times. A knight was placed upon the top of a church, where he was to re main seven years. On the opposite end to him was placed a sheaf of wheat, and in the middle a needle, and he was to be fed by the wheat which the wind blew through the eye of the needle.—(Laughter.) So it was with the people of Texas and the abolition of slavery ; it would be impossible far any one ever to get three-fourths of the slave-holding people to concur in its abolition. The first acts of the robbers were to murder, systemati cally, all Indians, and to et slave the African. Only lately seven chiefs had been induced, by some means, to enter their town, and all of them were barbarously murdered. They might call him monster as long as they pleased, but so long as he had a tongue, he would call them foul robbers and murderers ; and he would never vote with any Ministry who recognised them.— ( Cheers ) He felt deeply grateful for the attention they had been pleased to afford him. It was a glorious strug gle they were engaged in—it was a holy cause ; let them persevere, and sacred freedom's banner would soon float over emancipated America, and they would rejoice in the good work.—( Loud cheers.) The Rev. GOLUSHY, of New York, said that, as an American eilzen, he telt himself placed in a peculiar and responsible situation, but he trusted he should not be found deficient in that moral courage which had been so highly commended by the eloquent gentleman who had just sat down. He knew not but when it was known in his own country in what manner he had given his vote he should be charged with high treason. He spoke not be cause he regretted God had placed him in a situation of such responsibility, or trom any reluctance to meet the cir cumstances which might result from it, but for the pur pose of letting the friends of humanity and justice in this country know on what principle he founded a vote for which he might be traduced as a recreant and traitorous citizen in his own country.—( Hear, hear.) The Convention must be aware that the resolution reflected most seriously on the Government of his country, and he hailed it with the more pleasure on that account—( Cheers)—because he thought the censure was deserved, and he hoped that by their unanimous vote it would bejustly, amply, and effectually inflicted—( Cheers.) For a minister of the Gospel to act thus might be deemed by some of the lo gicians of his land extremely indecorous and presump tuous ; but he wished it to be known that the principles on which he acted were of higher and more paramount obli gation than an others. He was called to do it by the dic tates of his nature—by the principles imprinted on his con stitution by the finger of God ; and as a Christian minister, whose duty it was to teach the principles of his religion. —( Hear, hear.) He held it to be treason against Heaven, for any man, especially for any Christian man, to unite in any act, or any compact, which contravened the principles of justice and humanity—( Cheers.) He held, that by being an American citizen he was not obliged to be a party to the violation of those immutable principles. A pledge was given in their great Magna Charta, to which allusion had been made, that these first principles should be carried out by the Government ; and when he saw the administration of that Government repudiating these eter nal principles, he was bound to go back to the principles themselves—to the origin of the principles on which his Government was founded, which be traced back to this country. He spoke not now of civil power, but of the great moral principles which moved the hearts and souls of those great men who first landed in the American colo nies, and planted there the tree of liberty, the seed of which they brought with them from this land—the germs of woich had been nourished by British blood.—(Cheers.) It was by these he justified his vote —to these he clung. These principles were recognised in that sacred book which commanded them to " Honour the King," which he supposed by a liberal construction m i g ht be rendered " Honour the Queen," and when the principles of the Queen's subjects were conte.mable to the dictates of God's Word, he was bound to honour both the people and the Queen of the land as well as the King of Heaven. Mr. JONATHAN BACKHOUSE thought it would be be that the resolution should be submitte d to the Committeetter for examination, and he would also suggest whether a per tion of the Convention should not make an appeal to the f Queen, and thus secure interferenc e in a quarter rom whence it would be most likely to be aeailing.—(No, no, —Question, question. ) Mr. I3uasev said there was in the preamble of the lered solution a succinct statement of the facts w hich had to it. The Lea rne d Gentleman also sugge sted that the i for"u ; "camewords' w l "unchristian" a cbrbisatd grace," which be substituted sophical," and " oug ht never to have emanated,"nP Ie for The resolution was then againwhich wa eads, a unani mously amid loud c h eer i n g. Mr. O'CON NELL sa id it appeared to him the Conven tion would d o we ll to ex p res s their sentimen ts res p ectin g the nobl e con d uct o f t h e A m erican Anti-sl av ery Advo cates, and th at t h e l ast act o f the Convention wo uld be th e read, and carriedt o unani best time for it. He should feel proud to propose a rose lution to that effect himself.—(Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN said perhaps the Convention would before they passed such a resolution, to bear a few more of those gentlemen, in order that they might be able to do so with greater knowledge, unanimity, and cordialit and then called on Mr. STANTON, the Secretary of the Abolition Societ y of America, wh o said he had had much experience in ad. dressing public Conventions, and had ever found as they approached the period of adjournment they were like him self fatigued both in body and mind, and therefore he felt embarrassed in bringing forward a resolution at that stage of their proceedings ; he felt thus also on another ac count—the resolution was very important, and he thought involved in it a principle which had much to do with the extinction of slavery in America. It was no formal intro duetion of himself to say, that be felt great cruherraseteent in bringing forward this iewlntiouraft , "" l le:4 ) " 4 tikul had just heard from the eloquent and enlightened Gen tleman of the Emerald Isle—(Cheers)—whom he took great pleasure in assuring that his eloquent denunciations had " careered against the blast as thunder against the wind." However, he would say with one of their poets, " Hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear,"—adding to it, if not poetically, yet sincerely,—ani that you may believe. The resolution was, " That while the literature of Great Britain exercises so vast an in- fluence over the public opinion of America, we deem it the duty of British Abolitionists, individually as well as col lectively, to make systematic efforts to secure a frequent, clear, and full expression of the sentiments of the nation, through its leading religious, political, and literary pe riodicals, on the subject of slavery and the anti-slavery en terprizo in the United States,—to fix the attention of the world on the successful results of the West India experi ment, and to spread before the American public evidence of the deep indignation of the civilized world against a slave-holding republic." On account of some sentiments advanced by the gentleman who had supported Mr. Birney's resolution, he wished to pass to what he said with regard to the operation of the American Constitution with reference to slavery. They admitted that at the outset their fathers had sinned, and that they, their sons, had sinned also, with regard to the constitution of America. He begged, therefore, to make a plain exposiCee of one or two principles of the con stitution as they bore upon slavery, and he would take an opposite course to Mr. Birney to show what the Ge neral Congress could do indirectly for the extinction of slavery. The Hon. Member for Dublin had alluded to the district of Colombia. It was true the General Con gress of the United States had not power to abolish slavery through all the States, but they had the power to do it in this district. Did they ask what is the extent of slavery in so small a district ? In the first place the occa sional discussion of the whole question must take place, and all the various objections of the slave holders must be met and must be, as they would be, completely answered. Now, in his country, as in this, it was the habit to report speeches at length ; these reports were printed in their newspapers, and carried into every part of the slave-holding States, where an Anti-slavery Delegate could not venture, but to meet certain destructioh by Lynch Law, or the yet more summary jurisdiction of the bowie-knife. Thus they would bring the subject home to the planter's bosom, and thus sooner or later they might operate upon his heart.—( Hear and cheers.) Again, with regard to the district of Colombia, not only would it be the subject of discussion by the highest legislative body in his nation, but by their abolition of slavery in that district, this body would say to the nation that it was a system that was not fit to live. It would be a declaration by the highest autho rity in the land that slavery ought to be exterminated.— ( Hear, hear ) It was in allusion to this that Senator Preston in South Carolina, who strongly resembled the Hon. and eloquent Gentleman (Mr. O'Connell) beside him, not only in personal appearance—( Laughter)—but also in the use cf the argument ad hominem—and who said " We must resist the abolition of slavery in Colombia." And why? "Because it is the gateway of American slavery." On this ground the American Congress had refused even to receive petition on the subject in defiance of the right of petition, in defence of which, when refused by the British Throne, his fathers went to battle and to death ; and thus—(l am, said the Hon. Gentleman, an American, and you will pardon me for saying so)—wrung from it that independence which they regarded as their birth-right.—( Cheers.) Yet this same people for five successive Sessions have denied this right.—( Hear, hear. ) We, therefore, think this abolition in Colombia would in a great measure tend to remove from it those slaves which now tarnish the American flag. " While every flap of England's flag Proclaims that all around are free, From farthest Ind to each blue crag, That beetles o'er the Western Sea. Yet, yet we scoff at Europe's Kings, While Freedom's fire is dim with us, And round our country's alter clings The damning shade of Slavery's curse." —(Cheers ) Again, Congress had the power, not only to abolish slavery in Colombia, but indirectly to extermi nate what is called internal, but what Quincy Adams rightly called on the floor of the Senate, infernal slavery.—{Cheers.) It is admitted generally that Con gress has the power to exterminate this, the main pillar of American slavery. He had called it the main pillar—if permitted be would vary the figure, and call it the jugular vein of the system, without which it would cease to live. The northern States were the breeding states, while the southern States were the consumers. The northern slave States reared slaves, whom the southern States worked into premature graves.—( Hear, hear.) The former were the Congos and Guineas of American slavery to the extreme southern States. In raising hemp and tobacco at home they did not need slave-labour. Slavery, therefore, was made profitable in the northern States by raising men and women for sale—( Hoar, hear)—and he would only say, with regard to their Ambassador to this country, that while he was a slaveholder, if he did not traffic in human flesh, be was an exception to the great mass of Virginian slaveholders, and he thought it incumbent on that gen tleman to prove that he came within the exception, instead of the general rule.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. O'CONNELL—He denied any knowledge of such practices in America. Mr. STANTON-Then I say he is too ignorant to repre sent the American people here—( Loud cheers)—or too dishonest,. for there lies on this table a document from the press of his native State, which says that in 1806 twenty millions of dollars worth of slaves were sold from Virginia to the other States.—( Hear, hear.) Virginia not a slave breeding State 1 In what else is her prosperity but in human flesh ?_( Hear, hear.) Now what would be the effect of the extermination of the internal slave trade? The answer was—lt was made profitable there in the cul tivation of cotton, sugar, and molasses, by urging men to labour beyond what human nature could bear. The slaves in the cotton fields were worked into their graves in seven years—a system which, if carried on, would depopulate the world in a century. How was this vacuum supplied ? By slaves from Virginia and other breeding Steel.— ( Hear, hear.) He would mention a fact, by way of iilus tracing this, which had been told him by a Baptist minis ter who attended the Convention from Virginia. He said that he had asked a Biptist slaveholder, a member of his congregation, in Virginia, whether he was not apprehen sit e lest the ,laves should rise in insurrection against their masters ? and the answer was, that there were sometimes apprehensions of it, but that God, in his Providence, had °pence' for them a safety valve in the extreme Southern States, which purchased their slaves, and worked them to death in seven years.--( Great sensation.) Therefore he (Mr. Stanton) asserted that if Congress took up the sword of constitutional power and cut thisjugu lar vein, slavery would turn pale and gasp at the southern end, and die of apoplexy at the northern end.—( Hear, and laughter.) There was another way in which this might be accomplished, namely, by the non-admission of what were called free States to the Union. At the period of the passing of that splendid declaration, That all men were created equal and entitled to equal rights, there were thir teen States of the Union, of whom six were free States or just on the point of being free, and seven were slave States. Since the American confederacy was formed thirteen other States had been admitted to the Union, eight of which were slave, and five free States. But this admission was voluntary on their part, and thus they had swelled the numbers in Congress ,both of senators and representatives. Yes, like him of old, they had sold their birthright, but they had not, like him, obtained for it a mess of pottage, for they now ruled them with a rod of iron. These slave States now controlled the nation. But there was hope for freedom even yet. In the north-western section of the republic there was a most splendid country now rapidly filling up with the free population of the United States. This formed what was called the north-west territory, the land of which was of the most fertile kind, which steam. boats traversed for upwards of three thousand miles, and which was fertile in towns and cities.—( Hear.) The population of the United States flowed over, not into the slave States, but into this district; and now there were two States—Wisconsin and Jowa--ready for admission to the Union. If these States were admitted to the Union, they might by and bye give the antislavery party the prepon • derance, for the South had nothing wherewith to coun teract them but swamps and Indians. Here then was the reason why Texas wished for admission to the Union. These far north-west States were rapidly making New Englands, and the southern States would not be able to withstand them, unless Texas were admitted to the Union. Was it asked, Is this the situation of America ? Even so. The general Government had no power to abolish slavery, but in the indirect manner of which he had spoken. They had the power to alter the constitution, but it would re quire the assent of two-thirds of the whole States to accomplish this. Hence the necessity for reliance upon moral power : and when he spoke of moral power he meant also political action—( Hear, hear,)—and hence the resolution he had the honour to submit. They relied on external application ; the civilised world must erect a wall of exterminating fire around American slavery that would melt the hard heart of the slaveholder. (Hear hear.) The abolitionists were feeble in body, but strong in power.—(Cheers,) As yet their numbers were contemptible, though, thank God, they were growing in strength. Therefore they fell back for assistance on the civilised world. One great power they desired to bring to bear for this purpose was the literature of the world. He thought he was paying a compliment to this nation when he said they were a reading people. He had tra velled from Torquay to London, and had hardly seen a newspaper; but everybody read with them—everybody in America was a politician—everybody had a title to nobi lity—everybody was heir apparent to the throne—(Laugh ter)—hence they were politicians from necessity. Every mechanic had his summary, and every gentleman his broad sheet ; the former was to be seen in every workshop, and the latter in all the saloons of their aristocracy, for such they had. The Americans were a reading and a discus sing people, but he took pleasure in saying the fountain head of their literature was Great Britain.—(Cheers.) It was from the land of Shakspeare and of Milton, of Bo lingbroke and Pope, of Hume, and Robertson, and Mack intosh, they gathered all the gems which sparkled intheir li terary diadens. He came then to England, and said, Give us an Anti-Slavery literature.—( Hear, hear.) He would state some facts on this subject, which might be thought amusing. He had already alluded to the effect of British literature upon America, and such was the case with its theology. Their theology was that of Hall and Baxter, of Warbur ton and Paley, of Tillotson and Taylor. "We got it here," said Mr. Stanton, " take heed that it be pure." Their law was derived front that of Coke and Blackstone, and others down to Mansfield, who made judicially the glorious decision, that the moment a slave set his foot upon British ground, that moment be was free. Their histories were those of England, from Hume to Mackintosh. He would take the branch of history. They had all heard of Tytler. He would show they got up an expurgated edi tion of his histories, suited to the prejudices of America. It was found necessary, on account of some utipleasant re miniscences of the slavehoHers, to taboo or expurgate it. The latter was therefore done, and it now sold well.— ( Hear, hear.) Again the Rev. J. H. Hinton published a History of America, an edition of which was published in America by a firm, which, the moment a work arrived, put it into the hands of their compeeitors, . and sent the sheets immediately flying over the whole United States. Ovtir came this history of Mr. Iliriton, which was circulated in this manner, but it was not lon., before these gentlemen found letters on their counters, from their customers in the Southern States, informing them they must expect less of their custom if they sent to them such works as that ; and this was, because this work related the fact, that two millions and a half of men were held in bondage in America.—( Hear, hear.) Then, again, the politics and eloquence of America were derived from Eng land. It was on those great principles which, previous to thc Revolution, had struck so deep, and thrown up their trenches so high, which were to be found in the works of Burke and the other distinguished men who then thun dered in the Senate, and which had made the hearts of the Americans burn within them, on which the eloquence of America was founded. Why, from the days of Chatham to O'Connell—( Cheers)—the eloquence of the British Senate had found attentive listeners in America. The eloquent denunciation of the scalping knife, by Chatham, had not only been thundered in the British Senate, but in every city in America. It was recited in every school ; and when a lad at school, he had ofttimes repeated it. And even now, in Boston, the denunciations of American slavery, by O'Connell. were repeated amid enthusiastic plaudits. Therefore British eloquence was the eloquence of America. But not only was this exclusion and expur gation confined to the higher literature. A little work was published here, entitled " Woods and Fields," which was tabooed in America, because it contained the truth that man was not born to be a slave. They all, no doubt, read Pollok ; if they had not, they should have done so. This work Caine also to America ; but the publishers found that it contained certain sentiments in favour of freedom, and therefore would never do to sell in the southern market. The new play of Love was performed at New York and in other theatres of the States ; but be cause in that play Sheridan Knowles denounced slavery, it was expurgated, for they could not even bear the mimic freedom exhibited in the theatre.—(Cheers.) Dr. Bow ring's Minor Morals shared the same fate—the chapter on slavery being omitted. There was also another portion of her literature by which England might reach the Ame rican mind, namely, by reviews. Ten or fifteen thousand copies of reviews published in this country were circu lated in the United States. An American house had ten or twelve thousand subscribers for those reviews, who subscribed on condition that they should be reprinted en tire. An article in one of them, by Miss Martineau, ex cited so great a sensation there, that the publishers were obliged to apologize for its insertion. In the Southern States a man must run the gauntlet, if suspected of enter taining Anti-slavery principles. If such a one attempted to go into the birth-places of Rush, Jay, Franklin, and Washington, he must almost take his winding-sheet with him; but these men would read their publication ; they might feel disturbed by it, and put it down ; but the next day they would feel perhaps some shame at being thus discon certed by a book, and take it up again, and thus these principles might strike into their hearts, and take root downwards, and branch upwards.---( Cheers.) He asked then on behalf of the American abolitionists that England would saturate her literature with abolition principles— ( Hear, hear)—that her periodicals should join with them. There were novel readers in America as well as here, and they asked Edward Lytton I3ulvver to introduce these principles into his works, they asked Dickens, who was read and honoured throughout America for his: deep insight into human nature, to do so also ; and they asked the newspaper press which, though of less importance, was also read in America, to assist in the great work, and it this were done, as slavery was abolished in the Indies, so would the American slavery fall. They had heard of re sistance to moral power. The American people were a brave people, they had this moral power, but they would be unable to resist the influence of the literature of this country. This was his last hope. He spoke as one who had stood up against slavery, amid strife and op position, with those who had bared their breasts to the bowie knife in defence of their principles.—( Cheers.) They fell back for assistance on British sentiment—on O'Connell, on Buxton, and on Clarkson, to reach forth their hands in their support, and cheer them on. To be a British abolitionist and an American one were very diffe rent things—( Hear, hear)—and if he might be permitted to spy so, but few of their British abolitionists had stood fire on the other side the Atlantic.—( Hear, hear.) He did not speak invidiously, for he saw one ( Mr. G. Thomp son) present, who had literally stood fire.—(Cheers.) But there were some of whom he felt constrained to say, Save me from my friends." Send us, concluded Mr. Stanton, good men and true ; and I add, Send us, I will not say a purified, but a vivified literature, instinct with the principles of freedom. Let it come in your literature, your periodicals, and your newspapers, and speak for free dom—and thus reach the ears of men whom the voice of the abolitionist cannot reach, until they shall feel a plea sure in the knowledge of the truth of our principles, arid unite w ith us in their dissemination, until slavery shall cease.—( Loud cheers.) Mr. ALLEN said, that understanding there was to be a public meeting after the sitting of the Convention, ho wished to remark, that he knew, from the principles which had ever been entertained by the Duke of Sussex, his Royal Highness would feel great pleasure in being their chairman on that occasion —(Cheers)—and he would propose that he should be invited to be so. The CHAIRMAN having put this proposition to the meeting, it was carried with loud acclamations. The meeting then adjourned till four o'clock. The Chair was (Tali, taken at four o'clock by the Rev. R. H. Grevillc, LL.D., when the discussion of the state of slavery in America was resumed. Mr. \VENDALL PHILLIPS, upon being called upon by the Chairman, rose to second the resolution which had been proposed previous to the adjournment by Mr. Stan. ton. He had but a fact or two to add to the statements which had been made by Mr. Stanton, and, as he had gone through the ground so thoroughly, it was not necessary to detain the Convention any length of time. What be wished to call the attention of those present more particularly to was the fact of the southern portion of the Union being shut against all the efforts of the abolition press, and the north itself had also laid an embargo upon all anti-slavery proceedings. If any thing issued from the Anti- Slavery Society of New York, what became of it ? Why it died there. (Cheers.) They could not even persu. de any of the great leading newspapers of the north to insert their publications, or the facts they stated with respect to the \Vest India experiment, and it was utterly impossible for many of those present to imagine the igno. ranee that pervaded the northern public with respect to the question of slavery ; and in spite of that ignorance they would not be instructed. Though there was no room in any portion of the American press for the advocacy of the slavery abolitionists, or the statements of their proceedings, yet full latitude was given to the distorted calumnies of the Jamaica press. ( Hear, hear.) There was, in fact, no attention paid to any anti-slavery publication in the United States, with the exception of some of the slave holding portion of the community,who occasionally alluded to them because their feelings were harrowed up by them, and they were told truths which they did not like and could not deny. Now in order to show the manner in which those who advocate the abolition of slavery were treated in Boston, he would advert to a circum stance which took place. In that city they had an Athenaeum, in which was a very exten. sive library. Lydia Maria Child, an individual who must be known to all present for her literary produc tions, was some time since allowed the use of the library there, but since she had written works against slavery, that permission had been recalled. She had been told that her works had been thrown out of the window by the Solicitor-General of Massachusets, and the greatest in dignity had been used towards her. Several similar cases had taken place in other parts of the United States, and the fact was, that unless some different course was adopted the Anti-slavery Society might just as well bottle up their publications and place them under the corner stones of the great builslings in America, as attempt to give them circulation through the whole community of the United States. The voice that was put forward in this great cause, and which spoke so loudly in England— was in America only a whisper, which was drowned in the discussion of parties. Mr. O'Connell had told them that morning that the flag of England floated in every sea, and its voice was heard in the remotest parts of the world. He agreed with that Honourable Gentleman in all that he had stated upon this important subject, and he trusted that this country would make its voice heard in America, in behalf of those who were in bondage there.-_ ( Hear, hear.) They had been asked if they had not agitated the anti-slavery question in America as Wilber force did in England ? They were doing so, and all they wished was, that the English people, through the press, should state that they were doing so—( Hear, hear, and cheers)—as that would effectually silence the malice of those who call the advocates of the abolition of slavery fanatics.—( Cheers.) When he went back to America, and told them that he had seen the white man and the black man walk arm in arm, be should not be believed. Why ? Because he was an abolitionist.—( Cheers.) He wished to have it recorded by the British press, that the coloured man was to be received in the same manner as the white—that they were to be considered as brothers, deriving life and health from the same beneficent Creator. That was the principle, and the true principle, of the abolitionist, the man who was so despised and so little heeded in America. All the publications of the Anti-Slavery Society were discarded in America ; and he would venture to say, that even the tract of Mr. Weld would not be read by one in a thousand persons in America. But if these things were only no ticed in the Edinburgh, and some of the other publications in this country, they would be read in America with the greatest avidity.—( Cheers.) Mr. Staunton had alluded to the East India question, and had said that they should strike off the shackles of the slaves, by appealing to the slave-owners' pockets. That might be all very well, but there was something more required than that. There must be an appeal to his conscience ; he must be persuaded that the slave was a brother; and that his duty towards his God, his duty towards man, forbad him to deal in human blood and flesh. Such was the object of the Anti-Slavery Society such was the object of those who advocated its principles. Their wish was to raise the man who was a slave to a level with his fellow-man. They wished to do that by education, and also by exciting the sympathy of Christians in his behalf. That was only to be done by the expression of the public sentiment—the religious public sentiments of England in their behalf.—( Hear.) To show again the spirit which existed in America against those who advocated the abolition of slavery, he might just mention that the Emancipator, a publication the object of which was to be known from its name, had frequently been returned from the north to the south, because the post master would not send it forward ; and such was the height to which prejudice was carried on this subject in America, that if the) were told in the pages of the Emancipator that such arid such and such was the case, they would not believe it, hut would say it was an Anti- Slavery lie.—( Cheers.) But if the same things were only told them by a portion of ti e British Press they would believe every word of it. The fact was, that it might be said of America in this country that the sceptre had not departed from Judah—( Cheers)—that though the con nexion had been dissolved been this country and America, rs far as holding its own Parliaments and directing its own affairs, yet they were in its vassalage, as far as talents and genius were concerned. The Anti- Slavery abolitionists had eloquent and devoted reen in their eause, but tl:. , American public would not listea to them. England, au.l .England alone, was the fulorum which Atherican dependencies on the American continent should either be delivered up to their masters, or a full indemnity paid for them. And whereas, in the further prosecution of the said unjust object the Senate of the United States, by a resolution passed in April last, declared in elifect that if an American ship or vessel carrying on the slave-trade from one of the ports of the United States to any other port within the same should be forced, by stress of weather or any other unavoidable cause, into the port and under the jurisdiction of a friendly power, she and her cargo, and the persons on board, with their property, and the rights belonging to their personal relations, as established by the laws of the State to which they belong, would be placed under the protection which the LAWS OF NATIONS extend to the unfortunate under such circumstances. Wherefore, " Resolved,--As the sense of this Convention, that the proposition embodied in said resolution, viz., to sustain, by the sanction of public law, which is founded on the princi ples of natural justice and right, the pretensions of the slave system, which exists only by disregarding justice and annihilating right, is not only unchristian and absurd, but disrespectful to the common sense of mankind. " Resolved,—That this, the first attempt known in the history of nations, to convert the pretensions of slave holders into rights, and, as such, to engraft them on the system of public law, by which the intercourse of nations is regulated, ought never to have emanated from the Senate of a people who, from a period of time coeval with their independent national existence, have asserted before the world, and in the most solemn manner, that all men are created equal, are entitled to their liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness. " Resolved,—That to allow such a proposition as the one referred to, would be not less inconsistent with the honour and dignity of Great Britain, and of such of the other nations of the world as have either abolished slavery within their respective limits, or are, in goad faith, pro ceeding so to do, that it is hostile `so the avowed principles of that people among whom it has originated, and to the cause of humanity, with which, under God, all Govern ments are solemnly charged." Sir E. Witstor and Mr. O'CONNELL rose together— the latter Hon. and Learned Gentleman courteously gave way to the Hon. Baronet, who was cordially received. He said if anything could have induced him to interpose before the Learned Gentleman, who doubtless would soon address the Convention, it was the satisfaction he felt at seconding an American.—( Cheers.) From the time (said the Hon. Baronet) when I opposed the apprentice ship system—(Cheers)—to the time when I placed the Government in a minority of three on the Jamaica Bill— ( Cheers)—and the yet more recent time when I resisted them on the Hill Coolies question—( Hear, hear)—l have been hearty in your cause, and shall deem it my greatest honour to be a participator in your holy struggle. Mr. O'Cossisst. then rose, and was greeted with the loudest and most general cheering. He said, after re• posted mute acknowledgments of his reception, I have two excuses for my intrusion upon you—first, I was alluded to by the Hon. Baronet, a more sincere friend of the cause does not breathe than himself—( Cheers)—and next, as he said, he was happy as an Englishman to second an American. I am anxious to intrude an Irishman upon you.—(Laughter and cheers.) But I have another more important reason. The subject mooted by the Hon. Judge (for he is a Judge) who has just addressed you, is one of international and constitutional law, and perhaps, as I am a lawyer, you will allow my experience in the subject to compensate for my want of ability.--( Laughter and cheers.) The proposition of the American Senate is inadmissible. It is an outrage on common sense—it is a violation of public honesty.-- ( Cheers.) They claim—a property in man ! Why, that is inconsistent with, not only all constitutional law—and their own Constitution above all—but with the eternal principles of justice.—(Cheers.) How would they like that the blacks should do unto them as they delight to do unto the blacks ?—( Hear, hear.) I have not the heart to wish any man a slave; but really I am tempted almost to do it for once, and wish Calhoun a slave.—(Laughter.) It would not, perhaps. be an inappropriate retribution for his infa mous disposition to act with injustice, iniquity, and inhu manity, to subject him to the lash, which he would inflict on others. Oh how indignantly and pathetically he would plead oa behalf of his outraged nature I —(Laughter and cheers.) Why, some of you may recollect the case o f the American Adams, who having been lost in Africa, the dark, swarthy natives said he was only fit to be a slave ; he was evidently inferior to their race—the whites were good for nothing but slavery—(Roars of langhter)—to which lie was consigned four years. So you see how the rule would work if equally applied.—(Hear, hear.) The proposi:ion of Calhoun is untenable, even as an American proposition.—( Hear, hear.) The resolutions of our friend the worthy Judge set forth its inconsistency with the first clause of the American Charter of Independence, which declares all men born equal ; but there is a stronger word,—it declares that all men have the same inalienable right to equal laws;—yes, inalienable is the word.—(Cheers.) That is the sacred basis of Ame • rican independence,—it is not confined to caste, colour, sect, or creed —( Hear, hear.) And from this spot I wish to rouse all the high rod lofty mind of America. Repub canism necessarily gives a higher and a prouder station to the human mind than any other form of government.— ( Hear.) lam not comparing them as any thing else at present, but history shows there is a pride of manliness about republicans, which, perhaps, is a consolation to them for many other things in which they may possibly be infe rior.—( Hear, hear.) But from this spot, I repeat, I wish to rouse all the honesty and pride of American manhood, and would that the voice of Europe would aid me in the appeal, and swell my feeble voice to one grand shout of indignation ; and when these Americans point to their boasted Charter of Independence, exclaim, " Look at uour pi-sac-men 1" Buv can there be held faith in man when we find that to their vaunted principle of equality, they so lemnly pledge their lives, fortunes, and " sacred honour ?" —( Hear, hear.) Here is all the solemnity, without the profanity of an oath, in sanction of a principle thus di rectly, dreadfully, thus diabolically violated. (Hear, hear.) America must know that all Europe is looking to her.—(Hear, and cheers.) She must know that the world consider that her Senate, her Calhouns, are, while attempting to assert their infamous claim of property in human kind, incurring that blackest of all stains, because carrying with it the imputation of personal dishonour— shall' I say, perjury—ill the practical violation of a princi ple they have so solemnly sanctioned.—( Loud cheers.) France and England, without any violation of principle, might adopt such a resolution ; but, in the case of All4C : ica, it doubly dyed her in disgrace. He felt proud to say that they might pays and adopt as many such resolutions as they pleased ; they wculd be all idle, all useless, be cause the British Government had no power to acquiesce in any one of them.—( Cheers.) The British Govern ment had no funds, out of which they could grant com pensation. No party in the State would ever propose a grant for such a purpose---;le resolution was th ere f ore idle. England had nobly paid twenty millions, for the purpose of redeeming their black brethren ; and row, wherever England's flag floated upon the breeze ; there was glorious freedom.—( Hear, hear. ) The moment the foot of a bondman touched the shore of England, or any of her depeniencies, his slavery vanished. ( Loud cheering.) There is now no such thing known to the British law as that one man might have a property in his fellow man—there was an Act of Parliament against such a crime. It had been often laid down that an Act of Parliament which was notoriously against justice and humanity was void—he was afraid, however, that in prac tice that maxim was not cared for.—( A laugh.) But no man, not one of any party whatever, would dare to come down to the House of Commons and propose a grant for the purpose of making compensation; if one could be found of any party whatever, he would he shouted down and scouted from society. It was impos sible it could be done, because it was totally inconsistent with our law. All the States of Europe had now ad mitted the great evils of slavery ; it had been admitted in France, and the cause of abolition was deeply in debted to a gentleman whom he had the pleasure of seeing present (M. D. Isambert, of the Chamber of De puties of France.) The French were a glorious nation, they were very fond of glory, they were inferior to none. He wished to see no rivalry between them and us, except a rivalry to do good ; it was a glorious rivalry, and although we might now good-humouredly taunt them and say, " You have not gone so far in the glorious work as we," he trusted the day was not far distant when our French neighbours might return the taunt and say, " We have gone before you now, and done better ?"—( Cheers ) Well, then, the Government had not the power to pay the compensation, unless indeed they agreed to do so out of their own pockets, by a club of their salaries—a thing that was not very likely.—(Laughter.) How, then, was it to be paid? There was one way in which it could be done—that was, by a vote of the House of Commons; and God help the Minister who made the proposition.— ( Cheers and laughter.) The Senate of America showed an excessive desire to put forward a wicked claim for a horrible injustice, but it was one which it was lucky could net be carried into effect. No man detested war more than he did, for even war that was justified, and in its best form, was accompanied by thousands of murders and robberies. He hoped such a calamity would be spared them ; but if anything short of the honour of the nation could justify recourse to such an expedient, it was the resolution read to the Convention by the Hon. and Learned Judge. He was truly rejoiced to bear from that able and excellent Gentleman that the present agitation was striking terror into the hearts of the slavemongers, and was calculated to do much good. They were a de testable race of aristocrats, who wanted to have property and ease also—who would not labour themselves, nor pay others for doing so ; therefore they seized upon their fellow-men, and dared to call them their slaves. Even , in Colombia, at the foot of the temple of freedom itself, the wretch ed negro was writhing d u o n o d m er ed th to e a l l a l s t h he hrrofoaborrus o ta f l taskmaster , slavery the negress was and the poor infant hanging at its mother's breast, good Godl it a l so was a s a l n a d v e w ; moth er a t s ha e t lmost te m l op o t k ed ed tc uy s o e n nd its it sm to il a in p g face in agony, grave, because it was not a man, but a slave. Yet this happened in America. He said it with all respect for his American friends present, but he felt bound to say it, that upon the American escutcheon there was written in characters of blood, " We are patronizers of slavery, the necessary re sult of which is, that we are perpetrators of robbery and murder." They might say, they had not the power to eman cipate the slaves ; but he would refer them to the De claration of Independence and the Constitution of 1787, and he would defy them to point out one single mention of slavery in either of the documents.—(Cheers.) No man could deny the personal courage of the American people—there was not a braver or better . nation upon the face of the earth ; but there was not one man in the Con vention of 1787 who had the moral, he had almost said the immoral, courage to mention the word slavery.—(Loud cheers.) Was slavery then to exist as a thing when they did not dare to pronounce its name ? (Cheers.) Undoubtedly they met with the phrase of " persons held to labour" in those documents ; but dare any one say, that under those words slavery was meant ? Any man entering into any contract for work, any one who gave his labour for an euivalent, ryas " held t o l a b our ," b ut did th a t make hi m a save? but no, that was as near as they dared to approach slavery. There was nothing in the Constitution but what was fair I a nd.iliFt. Had they meant to acknowledge and sanction i the existence of slavery, They. would have done so boldly ; 1 they dared not, aaa as there was no mention of it • made in EVEN ING ITION. --.,.-.'''' slavery was to be uprooted for ever. It resied i.'°t with America, for itwas beyond her power.—( Hear, hear. ) The worthy gentleman concluded by seconding the:. resolution. Mr. STAUNTON wished, before the question was put from the Chair, to state one or two facts showing 0 2 palpable ignorance in America of the proceedings of those who advocated the abolition of slavery. In one instance, a Senator of Connecticut had stated to him that he did not know the fact that Great Britain lied emancipated the: slaves in its colonies —( Laughter.) Another tact was: with; respect to a Member of the Congress of Ohio, who had stated that he did not know that Great Britain Dad put an end to slavery in her West Indian colonies.—(Hear. ) Mr. G. BRADFORD, of Massachussets, wished to make a. few observations before the resolutions were put, He agreed wit'a the statements of his friend who had preceded him wife respect to the ignorance of the. Americana as to the proceedings in this country of those who advocate the abolition of the slave trade.- He was, however, afraid that that ignorance was tot genuine. He believed that they knsw the truth well enough, but they were not willing to admit it ; and the only way to make them do so was by publishing the ex ertions of those who endeavoured to put an cud to slavery, in the publications of this country.—( Hear, hear.) The Americans called themselves a Republic. Now he thought that it might be as well to try those who were against the abolition of slavery by their own theory. Now, what was the meaning of the term Republic? Why it meant a State governed for the interest of the whole community. Was the interest of the whole community, he would ask, considered by any State, whether a republic or not, when slavery was allowed to exist ? Yet such was the state of things in Republican America. Why even the Autocrat of Russia, who held his authority from God alone, admitted that the Government should be carried on for the benefit of the people ; and he would venture to say that the Go vernment of Russia was far more like a republic than the Government of America, for in the latter country they did not profess to carry on the Government for the benefit of the whole, for there it was said thst all men were born equal with one another, with the exception of negroes.-- (Laughter.) They had not the liberty of the press in America, neither had they religious liberty, for a man ins that country could not alter his religious convictions with. respect to slavery unless that conviction was that it was patriarchal. He hoped the periodicals of Great Britain would take some pains to bold up in their true character a large number of persons in America who called themselves abolitionists. Those who did so were the very worst enemies the anti-slavery advocate had to deal with, for they called themselves abolitionists because they did not wish it to be known how hostile they were to the just principles of humanity. It was one thing for them to call themselves abolitionists, and another to be so in reality. It was upon record, and his tory would therefore prove it, that at the time of the adop tion of the American Constitution it was stated, that not half a century would elapse before every State in America would put a total and entire end to slavery, and but for these terms, it was his firm belief that that instrument would never have received the sanction of the States. The truth was, that every State in America was by that instrument placed under a solemn obligation to put an end to slavery. He trusted that the British people would labour to convince the clergy of the necessity of this great work, for hitherto he must confess that the British clergy were more in favour of emancipation than they were in America.—( Cheers.) He trusted that the people of this country would send forth the voice of earnest but affectionate remonstrance among the clergy on this subject, in order that they might impress upon the American clergy what their duties really were ; and he would venture to say, that if they enly put the 17,000 clergy of America right upon this subject, they would deal such a blow upon the monster slavery as would send bin staggering to his own dark hiding place. They did not want ministers in America to partake of their hospitalities, and pronounce them to be excellent, but what they wanted was, that they should come there prepared heart and soul to exert every power that they possessed to accomplish so great a work as that of the total extinction of slavery from the face of the globe.—(Cheers.) By accomplishing such an object they would do something for the cause of hu manity, Christianity, and justice. But then it was said that slavery was advocated and was enforced in the Bible. Now if it were so, with all the veneration that he had for that Holy Book, if it were shown to him that it sanctioned the traffic in human flesh, he would throw it from him, and learn again his religion and philosopbY from the flowers of the fields.—(Cheers.) It had been proved that emancipation was not only practicable but profitable, and the slave-owners must therefore either admit themselves wrong, or assert that slavery was 1 ! Christian institution. They had chosen the latter, and they must abide by the decision. The worthy gentleman sat down amidst much cheering. Colonel MILLER wished to make a few observations be fore the resolution was put. He was sorry to say that in America every species of Christian, the Baptist, the Wes leyan, the Presbyterian, and all other denominations, were owners of slaves. This was alike d.isgraceful to the parties concerned and the country in which, it took placae; Some discussion ensued between several .Pciegatesthe to whether the Bible sanctioned slavery, whic, h . sco . Chairman having put an end to as irrelevant, the " 1 sion was resumed by , e bvindi. e had Capt. STEUART, who said, he for one should f ee l come hero in vain unless their common God w as eated from what he deemed the aspersions that had iseen uttered against Him. They ought to go into the m at ter like brethren, and fully, fairly, and freely declare to tile world what they thought the mind of the God of love to b e e about slavery. If the dear brother, whose heart of love he, knew, meant by affirming that there were slayeholdcrs in the primitive Churches in the same sense that there were incestuous persons in the primitive Church—drunkards and persons who went to the table of the Lord in the way they read of in the Corinthians, then he admitted that, and would bid them who stood up for the siaveholder to take what courage they could.—( Hear, bear.) conviction and experience went with his dear American brethren in affirming that the preachers who went to the [Mittel States from England were among the foremost and most powerful supporters of the slave system in that land.—( Hear, hear.) Dr. Cocas, of Hackney, protested against the grotsa personal allusions that were made respecting persons int that Convention. If that course were continued, not only would their great cause be obstructed, but their eneraies would rejoice at their disunion. Mr. BRADMAN, in making the remarks he did, had not the slightest intention of alluding to any individual present. The Rev. Mr. KEEP, from the Oberlin Institute, next addressed the meeting. He had intended to have done so at some length, but many of his observations had been anticipated by those who had preceded him, who had come from his native country. He felt that scarcely any individuals of the human family were ever convened under circumstances of so deep and solemn a character as those that attended that Convention. He had-wished to have presented a few statements in regard to the ministry and churches. He had bee', in the ministry in America ever since 1605, and would give his public attestation to the fact which had been so often persisted in on the floor of that room, that it was in the ministry and in the churches that slavery now found its strongest possible support. The Rev. Gentleman then m cntioned several facts and anecdotes illustrative of the contumely and cruelty with which A coloured person was treated in America, and proceeded to observe that the abolition enterprise in America had its foundation in deep and solemn spiritual feeling. There were those in that country who had sighed and cried for the abominations of the land—who bad gone before God in sackcloth, and habitually from week to week, and year to year, and who now saw the fruits of their prayers in such instances as that of their brother near him, who a little time ago was a slave-holder, but who now, by t h e grace of God, had been able to shake from himself that enorm it y , and to be righteous before God and just in his generat ion. —(Cheers.) He thought the debate had better be ad journed till the following day, and allow their Amer ican brethren to tell their story in their own way. He ar them them through, let them state all, and then they would know what American slavery was. They would then know how to pray for them, and how to help them. English people hardly knew the degradation of the co loured population. There were three millions of human beings, who had been crushed and kept down from gene ration to generation, with the utmost contempt heaped upon them, and the severest injury inflicted. The people of England had felt themselves degraded by the system of slavery which existed in their colonies ; but what would they have felt if they held one-sixth of their population in that state ? However, if that Convention proceeded, ai d though he did not expect to live much longer, be th that in five years he would see its exertions crowned " success.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. FOSTER could not leave the room, without craving the indulgence of the meeting fur a few moments. He hoped that the statement of his friend, who was not novr in the room, should not be misunderstood, so as to lead to injurious consequences to the cause, and to Christianity.--• ( Hoar, hear.) The Society was based on Christian prin ciples, and recognised no rules of action that were not sanctioned by the Holy Scriptures.—(Applause, ) The Rev. Mr. COLVER, of Boston, in reference to the allusions which had been made to his country, would only say, in the language of one of the beautiful poets of Eng land, " America, with all thy faults, I love thee still."-- ( Applause,) He admitted that there was a great reproach upon his country for its support of slavery, and he believed that the service in removing that stain.—( Hear, hear.) It might do much towards liberating the slave-owners, the judges of the land, and the representatives of the people, from the bondage in which they were held in respect to this ques tion._-( Hear, hcar.) Mr. GAL USIIA said the meeting must remember that there was but one odious blot upon the character of America. 'I he only apology he could offer for his coun try, was that it was possessed by the devil.—( Cheers.) Tb o delegates from Ameriea asked for the aid of the people of England, through their literature, their religion, and their prayers to exorcise America, and drive the demon of slavery out of her.—( Cheers and a laugh.) After a few words from Mr. Fuller end Mr. Lester, the resolution was agreed to. The CHAIRMAN wished to say a few words, in respect to the feelings of their American friends. It was the duty of the English public to recollect that, under the blessing of God, they had been healed only very lately of their own sores.—(Cheers.) 'I hey ought to thank their American brethren for exposing their ailments, and asking for assistance in removing them.—( Hear.) Mr. I3aessnousE moved a resolution to the effect, that the documents which lay on the table, relating to the state of slavery in America, should be referred to a com mittee to consider and report thereon, with a view to theit publication. After a prolonged and very desultory conversation , the motion was agreed to, and the Convention adjourned till ten o'clock to-morrow (this day). A Committee on Free Labour was appointed, consist ing of Messrs. John Cropper, Josiah Condor, John Sturgc, William Boultbee, and William Kay ; also a Committee on the results of Emancipation in the British colonies, t'onsisting of Messrs. Samucl Botrley, K‘i,bb; Jos• Prescod ; Captain Stuart, W. IN; Audersun, ancl V , . Morgan.