The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1839-04-27
From the Pennsylvania Freeman.
A Vnice from the Grave.

source of the highest political authorization a
statesman not politician, and Is addressed to
gentleman whose name and sentiments are known
to the people of the United States generally-we
refer to Edward Coles, late Governor of Illinois,
and who, being descended from one of the Oldest
Virginia families, removed to the former state,
where he liberated all his slaves, setting an exam
pie as worthy of imitation as it was honorable to
himself. Governor Coles is an abolitionlst OF the
old Quaker school, acho preach and practace-and
whose example is more loud than their words. We
feel sure that the general circulation of this let
ter when it is known to contain the sentiments OF
Thos Jefferson, Shareholder, addressed to
slave emancipation, Gov. Coles, will be calculated
to do much good
MONTICELLO, Aug. 25, 1914.
Dear Sir-Your favor of July 81 was duly re-
ceiveG, and was read with peculiar pleasure. The
sentiments breathed through the whole, do honor
to both the head and the heart of the writer
Mine on the ubject of the slavery ofnegroes have
long since been in possession of the public, and
time has only served to give them stronger root.
The love of justice and the love of country plead
equally the cause of these people, and it is NOR
tai reproach to us that they should have pleaded
it so long in vain, and should have produced not
single effort nay, fear not much serious will
present condition of moral and political reproba-
ton. From those of a former generation who
were in the funess o. age when | came into pub
lie life which was while our controversy with Eng
land was on paper only, soon saw that nothing
was to be hoped. Nursed and educated in the
daily habit of seeing the degraded condition, both
bodily and mental, of those unfortunate beings,
not rejecting that that degradation was very much
the work of themselves and their fathers, few
minds had yet doubted but that they were as le
Ultimate subjects of property as their horses or
cattle. The quiet and monotonous course of colo
NAL life had been disturbed by no alarm and little
reflection on the value ofliberty and when alarm
was taken at an enterprise of their own, it was
not easy to carry them the whole length of the
principles which they invoked for themselves. In
the first or second session of the Legislature after
! became member, drew 10 this subject the at
tention of COL Bland one of the oldest, ablest
and most respected members, and he undertook
to move for certain moderate extensions of the
protection Of the laws to these people. second
ed his motion, and as younger member, was
more spared in the debate; but he was denounc-
ed as an enemy to his country, and was treated
with the greatest indecorum From an early
stage of our revolution, other and more distant
duties were assigned to me ; so that from that
time till my return from Europe in 1859, and, II
may say, till returned to reside at home in 1909
| had little opportunity Of knowing the progress
of public sentiment here on this subject. | had
always hoped that the younger generation, receiv-
ing their early impressions after the fame of lib
erty had been kindled in every breast, and had
become, as it were, the vital spirit of every Amer
lean, that the generous temperament of youth, an
alagous to the motion Of their blood and above the
suggestions of avarice, would have sympathized
with OPPRESSION wherever found and proved their
love of liberty beyond their own share of it. Butt
my intercourse with them since my return, has
not been sufficient to ascertain that they had
made towards this point the progress had hop
ed. Y our solitary but welcome voice is the first
which has brought this sound to my ear, and
have considered the general silence which prevails
on this subject, as indicating an apathy unlavora
BILE to every hope. Yet the hour of emancipation
is advancing in the march of time. twill come,
and whether brought on by the generous energy
of our own minds, or by the bloody process of
St. Domingo, excited and conducted by the pow
er of our present enemy, if once stationed perma-
nently within our country, and offering asylum
and arms to the oppressed, is leaf of our histo-
nv not yet turned over. AS to the method by
which this difficult work is to be effected, if per-
mitted to be done by ourselves, have seen no
proposition so expedient on the whole, as that Of
emancipation OF those born alter given day, and
of their education and repatriation at a proper
age. This would give time for gradual extinc-
ton of that species of labor and substitution of
another, and lessen the severity of the shock
which an operation so fundamental cannot fail to
produce. The idea of emancipating the whole
at once, the old as we'll as the young, and retain
ing them here, is of those only who have not the
guide of either knowledge or experience on the
subject. For, men, probably of any color, but of
this color, we know brought up from their infan-
cy without necessity for thought or forecast, are
by their habits rendered as incapable as children
of taking care of themselves, and are extinguish-
ed promptly wherever industry is necessary for
raising the young. In the mean time, they are
pests in society by their idleness and the depreda-
tons to which this leads them Their amalga-
nation with the other color produces degrade
ton to which no lover Of his country, no lover of
excellence in the human character, can easily con-
sent | am sensible of the paralites with which
you have looked towards me as the person who
should undertake this salutary but arduous work.
But this, my dear sir is like bidding old Priam to
buckle on the armor of Hector, tremendous arvo
humors ct inutile ferrumeigne No, have over.
lived the generation with which mutual labors and
peris begat mutual confidence and influence