The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-21 00:00:00

BRITISH AND FOR?.IGN ANTI-SLAVERY SO-
. CIETY.-EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS.

wasl T
the
crowded fifth
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ivne r
tvhl
parte
great
rbeeyae meeting g of h
room,
i gi
lyt-rEis highly-respectable, traebuy w
li
ea
li, held
ii
audience,icoh
the majority of whom (as usual) were ladies. On the
platform were the Lord Bishop of Norwich, Sir George
' Stephen, John Bright, Esq., M.P., Joseph Sturge, Esq.,
Daniel O'Connell, Esq., M.P., Samuel Gurney, Esq.,
George Thompson, Rev. Dr. Bunting, &c., &c. It
had been announced that the chair would be taken on
t the occasion by Lord Brougham. At the last hour, how-
; ever, having probably had some intimations that a row
was in the wind, his lordship pleaded other engagements,
and the chair was ultimately taken, and very ably filled,
r by Samuel Gurney, Esq. We may mention, by the bye,
as a proof of the high character of the meeting, which,
as we have said, was in great part composed of ladies,
that Lord Brougham's letter, pleading the duties of his
office, as one of the Judicial Committee of the Privy
; Council, as his ground of absence, was received by hisses !
The report, &c., having been gone through, and the
first resolution moved by the Bishop of Norwich, and
duly seconded, the demon of discord presented himself in
the solemn person of George Thompson, quack in general,
and quack, for this occasion, in particular, to the Anti-
Corn-Law League. Honest and modest George " rose
' with considerable pain," of course ; forasmuch as he
was about to bite the philanthropic bands which had
dandled him from his obscure cubhood until he could go
alone and choose a master;—forasmuch, in fact, as he
was about to lay aside the cloak of ultra-humanity in
which he has strutted and bawled from so many platforms,
and to exhibit himself as the advocate of a body whose
darling and only object is money getting. George was
about to play off the League against the Anti-Slavery
Society ; and rose, of course, " with considerable pain,"
and, perhaps, shame, to propose an amendment ! George
Thompson, nursed, fostered, fed, and inflated into his
present dimensions by the praise and the money of Quaker
sentimentalism, at last striking at his benefactors ! Eheu
And what was the amendment in question ? It was,
speaking in the jargon of the philosophers, to the effect
that it was not desirable, even if the cause of slavery could
be put down thereby, to continue our present, or any,
discriminating duties upon foreign sugars. It was not
right to discriminate between sugar which was the pro-
duce of free labour, and sugar which was the produce of
the lash and the goad. Modern philanthropy and liberal-
ism had discovered that slave sugar was cheaper and as
sweet as free labour sugar ; that it could lap treacle, for
every dozen pounds of which a human being had been
degraded by the thong, and for every hogshead of which
an African had died, with as great a relish as if it was
" warranted" from the shop of a free labour quaker ; and
honest George was presented as the apostle of the dis-
covery ! It was very costly to put down slavery, by pay-
ing dearer for your sugar. Humanity should cost nothing.
George's own, indeed, had been profitable rather than
costly. And, besides, " discriminating duties could only
be maintained by an appeal to government, and a resort
to force (!)" ; and the freedom of the negro ought only to
be brought about by moral means—by the circulation of
tracts, the publication of anti-slavery reporters, and the
rearing and feeding of more George Thompson's. The
league advocate, therefore, proposed that to reconcile
" the honest differences of opinion which prevail among
the friends of that (the anti-slavery) cause on the subject
of discriminating duties on the slave and free produce,"
the sweet-toothed public should be allowed to go without
restriction to the cheapest markets for sugar, treacle,
&c., be it a slave market or a free market!
This amendment was of course seconded. In fact it
had been a preconcerted movement. The scruples of the
society stood in the way of our trade with Brazil, and
better dissolve the society itself, withdraw its mission-
aries, and burn its tracts, than refuse to the millocracy of
Manchester the privilege of exchanging calico for slave
labour sugar. By a suggestion, however, of the commit-
tee, the amendment was withdrawn, and business pro-
ceeded, until at length Daniel O'Connell rose, and in the
course of a long address, expressed very forcibly and
clearly the grounds of his decided protest against the
Free Trade philosophy of Thompson. He " hoped that
the society would never be a pro-slavery society, either in
England or anywhere else; and that though other mar-
kets should be open to slave trade sugar, England never
will." He then proceeded to apply the knout most
heartily to the shoulders of brother Jonathan, not only on
account of his encouragement to slavery in general, but
also on account of his present movement with regard to
the annexation of Texas, and concluded with au eloquent
appeal to Englishmen and to the British Government, to
stand forward to prevent such an enormity.
The remarks of Daniel called up Mr. John Bright,
who considered that he bad spoken too harshly of
America : " Here we saw the horrors of slavery at a dis
tance," whilst Americans, who were charged with tolerat-
ing them, only saw them perpetrating them under their
own noses! He approved of the amendment of his
friend Thompson because he found that many parties in
the country refused to take part with the exertions of the
Committee, on the ground of their objection to discrimi-
nating duties as a part of the machinery used to put down
slavery. Friend Bright, in the course of a very silly
speech, received, with considerable disapprobation, was
at length called to order by Mr. Scoble, after which,
The CHAIRMAN said, before he put the resolution he
hoped, as Mr. Bright had dilated upon matters not con-
tained in it, he might be allowed to say a few words. It
was his (the chairman's) firm conviction that. if the differ-
rential duties proposed were not adopted, and if the sugars
of Brazil, Cuba, and other slave-labour countries were
admitted on equal terms to the market of this country, it
would be produced by the lash, and the lash alone.
(Cheers.) He was certain it would be the means of con-
suming the sinews and lives of the unhappy slaves of
those colonies, and those lives would only be replaced by
a traffic in slaves from the coast of Africa. (Hear, hear.)
That admits of no dispute; and he was astonished at the
assertions and inconsistent declamation of his two friends,
Messrs. Tnompson and Bright.
Mr. TiromPsort rose to order. He had withdrawn his
amendment on the understanding that his proposition
was not to be canvassed. (Cries of " Order, chair.")
He had not been dealt fairly with ; for it had been dis-
cussed by Mr. O'Connell, by Sir George Stephen, by
Mr. Buxton, and now the chairman was entering upon it.
He called upon the chairman to adhere to the strict line of
his duty. Terms had not been kept with him ; and he
should now move the amendment that he had previously
withdrawn. (Great confusion.)
Mr. O'CONNELL denied that he had violated any
pledge ; for he was not aware that any had been given.
Mr. THOMPSON.—You have misrepresented me; and I
shall reply to you, even if there are only twenty persons
left in the room. (Renewed uproar.)
Mr. O'CONNELL repeated that he had only spoken his
own individual sentiments, and they had been ably replied
to by Mr. Bright. Where was the necessity for further
discussion? _ _

Mr. THOMPSON again rose amidst great confusion and
uproar, and insisted that his amendment should be put to
the meeting, He complained of the chairman designating
his speech as " inconsistent declamation."
A long and angry conversation, carried on amidst the
most indescribable uproar, and confusion, followed, and
at length it was put an end to by
The CHAIRMAN declaring his intention to put Mr.
Thompson's amendment to the meeting. A show of
hands was then taken, and upon it the chairman declared
the amendment to be carried. The announcement was
received with loud cheers.

A resolution condemnatory of the present system of
African emigration having been put and carried, . .

Mr. Er.r.i&H WltiGni, of Boston, took occasion to
defend his countrymen from the attack of Mr. O'Connell.
Mr. O'CONNELL said he had been evidently misunder-
stood by Mr. Wright. His censure was upon the Ame-
rican slaveholders and those who countenanced slave
holding in America, and he thought he had made a
distinction between them and the abolitionist party in
America. The abolitionist in America was to be highly
esteemed, because he took part against the prejudices of
his countrymen, and against their supposed interest
(cheers).
On the motion of Mr. G. CARLISLE, a Dissenting
minister, seconded by Mr, SCOBLE, a vote of thanks was
passed to the Chairman for his kindness in presiding,
which was briefly acknowledged, and the meeting separated.

FIRST GRAND FETE AT THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.
—Last evening the first Gala night of the season at these
beautiful gardens drew together a very numerous and
respectable assemblage to witness the novelties which Mr.
Atkins and his talented assistants have provided for
the season. Notwithstanding the long prevalence of dry
weather, the gardens were in fine order and splendidly
lighted throughout, with ground glass chandaliers. The
excellent band of Mr. Parker was stationed upon the
green and played a variaty of airs during the evening.
Close by, a Tower had been erected as the starting point
of the Centrifugal Railway, surmounted by a large Bude
light which threw a grateful radiance over the gay scene
below. Adjoining the lake a very tastefully designed
building has been erected as a saloon for refreshments, in
which confectionary of all descriptions, and excellent
coffee and sandwiches, &c., were provided for the visit-
ors. The stands in front of the Lake are very commodi-
ously fitted up; and the whole arrangements, in fact,
display a disposition on the part of the proprietors to pro-
vide for the comfort of the visitors which is highly
commendable and entitle them to the hearty support of
the pleasure-loving community. In the centre of the
space surrounding the Lake, which is usually devoted to
the spectacle, fireworks, &c., was erected a Hindoo Tem-
ple, with neighbouring buildings of the Hindoo character,
forming with the background a stupendous panoramic
model, all fresco, of the caverns, aubterraneous palaces
and far famed excavated temples of Ettore, and caves of Ky-
las. At cach side was placed a gigantic elephant. from which
a succession of fireworks was discharged, andwhich served
as screens for the parties engaged in the management of
the gorgeous scene presented. At about half-past nine
the company congregated to this part of the gardens, and
the display was commenced by a discharge of rockets and
simultaneous fires, in red, blue, green, &c., from within,
which exhibited in a splendid coup d'ceuil the whole scene
for a few minutes, after which it was enveloped in dark-
ness, for the better display of the works which, gliding
from the temples upon the surface of the lake, discharged
themselves in some most beautiful devices. At the con-
clusion the central temple opened slowly, and a colossal
figure of a Hindoo God floated out, surrounded by fire-
works, which exploded in a succession of most beautiful
fires, and concluded the evening's amusements. From
the late hour at which we write, and the pressure upon
our time and space, we feel that we have very insufficiently
described this unique display. No description, however,
could do it adequate justice ; and we must urge upon all
our readers to pay the gardens a visit, and judge and ad-
mire for themselves. If the specimen of a Hindoo festi-
val be anything like this mimic scene, the world has
hitherto much underrated it.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.—We are requested to call
attention to an advertisement calling a meeting on this
subject.