The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-18 00:00:00

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20 years—l don't know, but in less than 10 years every
Friend was free from this curse. (Applause.) Now, if
every other denomination had proceeded in the same
course, there would not have been a slave in the United
States at this day. At the close of the revolutionary
war it was generally hoped that slavery would be
abolished. At that period there were slaves in my na-
tive state, and there never was a law passed emancipating
them, but yet they were set free. And how was it done?
Aftei the revolutionary war, a slave, who was called the
boatswain, brought his master into court and sued him
for wages. They cause came on, but they did not like
to try it, and the master was advised to settle the mat-
ter, but by and by the boatswain came and said,
" Massa, give me a 100 dollars, and I won't take that,"
and the court decided that he should be paid the same
wages as white man, and that abolished slavery. (Great
applause.) That decision was founded on the true
Christian principle that the labourer is worthy of his
hire. About the same time slavery was abolished in
one half of the States in the Union, many of the slaves
became free, and it was hoped they would all become
free, when Missouri came in amongst them, and from
that moment the cause of emancipation has been going
backward as far as the Government is concerned. But
the Almighty once said, "Thus far shalt now go and no
farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." He
may be saying so now in regard to the feeling in favour
of American slavery ; and I believe it is at present mak-
ing its last desperate efforts before its dying struggle.
(Great applause.) But there are real difficulties con-
nected with this slave question in the States where it
exists. The people who whave been accustomed to it
hardly know what they would do without slaves. I
went out to preach once in an. obscure place in Ohio,
where I found in a lone cabin a delicate young woman
with white hands and slender limbs trying to do her
own work, and her husband with something of the same
appearance trying to cultivate a small farm. I inquired
how they came to be in that condition, when I was in-
formed that the husband was a respectable trader in
Richmond, earning a fair livelihood, but that almost all
their property consisted in a family of slaves, that he
had set them free, and with the little he had left, had
come out there and was trying to make a living by
farming. I said that it was a very hard position they
were placed in, and asked if they did not wish to be
back at Richmond ; when the woman said—"Ah, no ;
I would rather be oppressed working with my hands,
than have my conscience oppressed." (Applause.) That
illustrated one real difficulty. After mentioning another
case of a similar kind, he went on to show that the
slave-holding states, being, as it were, independent so-
vereignties, constituted another difficulty which had yet
to be met by the anti-slavery movement in this country.
It was the slaveholders themselves who held the power
of emancipation in their own hands, and there were only
two ways by which which a change could be established
—either the slaveholder must be persuaded to emanci-
pate his slaves, or it must be brought about in the end
by a bloody revolution. In these circumstances, it
must be the desire of every Christian mind, that the
slaveholder might be persuaded to do his duty ; and
very few of the slaveholders pretended that the sys-
tem was right, unless when they got into a contro-
versy with the abolitionists. (Hear, hear.) He then
went on to state that Dr. Breakenridge, who debated
the subject in Glasgow at one time with Mr. George
Thompson, was at home a keen opponent of the slave
system ; and that the hearts of the people generally were
better than their tongues. It only required that their
consciences should be awakened, and the only way in
which they could he awakened was by Christian truth
and love. There was nothing rejoiced him more than
to see in Britain the kind feeling entertained towards
the United States. He had not met a man, woman, or
child who had the slightest feeling of hostility towards
the United States. (Great cheering.) The utmost
charity seemed to exist in the minds of all ; and he would
say to them—" Let your kindness and truth abound
more and more, and do not be discouraged, and in due
time the seed will spring up and bear fruit ; God will be
glorified, and man will be freed." (Great applause.) He
then showed that it was the great demand for cotton
which makes slaveholding so profitable, and slaves so
high priced, and that as the greatest consumers of that
article, the people of this country, were as much re-
sponsible in that respect as they were in the free States
of America. So long as the system was profitable, it
would be terrible hard work to persuade men to abandon
it, and the prayers of all Christians and the efforts of all
Christians must be united if there was to be any hope of
bringing it to a speedy end. But still it was his solemn
conviction that nine-tenths of the Americans felt just as
they did, but that the timid and the comfortable, and
those who wished to live easy, were unwilling to meddle
with the matter. Professor Stowe resumed his seat
amidst
Rv.
loude .Dr.
applause.lA
vR
The DLAW came forward to move the
first resolution which was in substance as follows :—The
members of the Glasgow Ladies' New Anti-Slavery Asso-
ciation and the citizens of Glasgow, now assembled, hail
with no ordinary satisfaction, and with becoming gratitude
to a kindly protecting Providence the safe arrival amongst
them of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Rev. Dr. said
as a work cf art, " Uncle Tom's Cabin" bears upon it
throughout the stamp of original and varied genius.
And yet, throughout, it equally bears the impress of
nature—of human nature—in its worst and its best,
and all its intermediate phases. The man who has read
that little volume without laughing and crying alter-
nately—without the meltings of pity, the thrillings of
horror and the kindlings of indignation—would supply
a far better argument for a distinct race than the negro.
(Loud laughter and cheers.) He must have a humanity
peculiarly his own. And he who can read it without the
breathings of devotion must, if he calls himself a Chris-
tian, have a Christianity as unique and questionable as
his humlnity. (Cheering.) On the whole, I cannot but
regard the agitation which has been produced as an
auspicious rather than a discouraging omen. It was
when the waters of the pool were troubled that their heal-
ing virtue was imparted. Let us then hope that the
troubling of the waters by this ministering angel of
mercy may impregnate them with a similar sanative in-
fluence—[the Rev. Dr. here pointed towards Mrs.
Stowe, while the audience burst out with enthusiastic
acclamations and waving of handkerchiefs]—and thus ul-
timately contribute to the healing of the ghastly wounds
of the chain and lash, and to the setting of the crushed
and bowed down erect in the soundness and dignity of
their true manhood. (Loud cheering.) After some
further very eloquent and excellent remarks, the Rev.
Dr. sat down loudly cheered.
The resolution was seconded by Dr. ROBSON, and
adopted by acclamation.

At this part of the proceedings Mrs. Stowe left the
Hall, accompanied by Mr. W. P. Paton, amidst the most
enthusiastic demonstrations of respect and admiration.
The Rev. Dr. KING then proposed the next resolution,
which was a condemnation of American slavery, in a
very effective speech. •
The resolution was seconded by the Rev. Dr. ARNOT,
and supported by the Rev. Dr. SMYTHE.
A service of fruit followed, and then
The Rev. Mr. BEECHER delivered a short address.
After some remarks about Scotland and Scotsmen, and
about the latter being the lovers, and the former the
land of liberty, he went on to show that their desire of
emancipating the slave was just a manifestation of the
same principle which had enabled them to maintain their
own freedom. He then referred to the genius and talent
which had been recognised in his beloved sister's work—
showed that genius was a two-edged sword, which might
be turned to either good or evil account—that God
looked at the spirit with which that sword was wielded
—and if it stood the test, it would stand for ever and
ever. He believed that God was moving in the hearts
of Scotsmen and Englishmen in the cause of freedom,
and carrying them forward by a way which they knew
not, so that they might arrive at an end that they could
not foresee. He then thanked them for the welcome
which had been extended to him as well as his relations ;
and concluded by making a few observations bearing
upon the object of the meeting, in a very religious
strain.

The last resolution was moved by the Rev. Mr.
EDMOND, and seconded by Dr. RuNclmAx.
The benediction was then pronounced, and the com-
pany separated.