The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-18 00:00:00

" TO THE ANTI-SLAVERY COMMITTEE.

" Privy Council, MaYl6, 1844.
" Gentlemen, I feel truly concerned to state that I shall
be unable to have the satisfaction of meeting our friends
to •morrow. I had, as you are aware, been reluctant to
break through my general rule against attending public
meetings. But having, in- cousidneation of my ancient con-
nection with tlie Anti-iavery question, overcome tbai iciti‘-
tance, I felt gratified with the prospect of once more find-
ing myself among our abolition friends, and I had received
the thanks of our venerahle Thomas Clarkson. But the con-
stitution of this Court renders it impossible to find the re-
quisite number of judges for to-morrow, when important
causes come on to be heard, insomuch (hat we are obliged
to ask the attendance of an unprofessional member of the
Judicial Committee. My being here, therefore, to preside
over the business is necessary to prevent public inconve-
nience and detriment to parties.
" Believe me, your faithful servant,
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the
to
undertake a duty for which he did not feel himself to be com-
petent, and which was of so high a character. When he
reviewed the short history of the British and Foreign Anti-
Slavery Society, and observed the very useful character of
its operations, whether they related to the spreading of sound,
true, and unanswerable information on the subject of slavery
in different quarters of the globe, or to the protection which
the Society had always given to the black population in our
own colonies, which population, without that protection,
would again have been deeply oppressed ; when he con-
sidered, again, the Society's watchful care • over all
the laws and operations of the English Government,
in reference to the slave-trade, , and its great
services in furnishing the Government, at all times, with in-
formation, and using all its influence that that information
might be well applied; when 'he considered, again, the
great activity of the Society in spreading information on this
subject in other countries, whose colonies still kept so large
a portionfof their people in a state of slavery; when he con-
sidered all this, it did appear to him that the British and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society had fulfilled, with great jude-
nient and energy, its duty to the public in reference to this
matter, and that he would notbe justified in refusing any such
assistance as might be in his power to render to the cause
by taking the chair.-,-(Cheers.) Their business on that oc-
casion, he apprehended, was to receive from the. Committee
an account of their proceedings during the past year. Many
present, he doubted not, had read that well-conducted periodi-
cal the Anti-Slavery.Reporter. Those who had done so must
be well aware that the Committee had been anxiously occu-
pied during the past year, and he had no doubt they Would
receive high satisfaction from the report which was about to
be read.

Mr. J. STUItGE said he need not offer any apology for
reading a letter to the meeting, when he stated that it came
froni Thomas Clarkson.—(Cheers.) Though he was now in
his 85th year, and had devoted 60 yeah; of his life to the
great cause which• they were that day met to promote, he
had shown in the last year so much energy in working for
it, that he thought it barely possible that he might
be present on that occasion. Having written to him on this
subject, however, two or three weeks ago, he had received a
reply, stating that he must never expect to see him again at
a public meeting. He had, however, written a letter, and
although it related to only one point, it showed the devotion of
his mind to the cause. He ventured to say, that Mr. Clark-
son had not written less than 100 letters to eminent men on
this subject during the past year. He then read the follow-
ing letter:-