The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1839-03-30
MISC ELL A N ECU S.
Letter from the Hon. william slade.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 1889.

CENT of YOUR letter in behalf of the Executive
Committee of the New York Young Mems ANU
Slavery Society, requesting my attendance az an
on,.e slavery convention on the 29th lnst with lne
view of participating in its deoerauons IL woI I
give me great pleasure 10 meet lie iriehus % aoo-
it;on in New York, on the occasion TO Whlch you
refer. No duty could be more gra'elul 10 my
heart than to give counenance' So III as my pre-
~ I'D NV voice could do it, to the noble efforts
81 ,h friends orthe slave in your city. But have
Jn';es here which claim my undivided attention,
and deprive me the pleasure OF a compliance with
your request.
! have observed, with much qualification, the
efforts of the friends Of abolition in New York to
give fresh impulse to the cause in that city The
interest feel in these efforts is greatly increased
bv consideration Of the peculiar difficulties with
which YOU are surrounded. There is on ardor
and intensity in the varied pursuits OF the popula-
ton of a great commercial city, peculiarly unta-
vorahle to the cultivation of that spirit which forms
the life and soul of abolition. That is the spirit
of deep, strong, irrepessibe, sef-sacrifcing benev
olence; the benevolence of Him who tho He was
rich, vet, for our sakes became poor-of Him who
went about doing good-who made himself OF no
reputation-who took upon him the form OF SER
want and who even washed his disciples feet, that
he might illustrate, and enforce the duty OF kind,
humble and affectionate mnis.ratlon to the wants
and the miseries of afflicted and suffering humanity.
This is the foundation of the spirit of abolition Its
sacred fame is fed at this pure and holy fire
And need say to what adverse influences this
spirit is exposed in such a city as yours !-hoW,
between the influence of the active, eager pursuit
of gain, the ever excited and never satisfied love
of pleasure, the luxurious enloyments OF accumu-
lated wealth, and the privatlons and sutenngS OF
extreme poverty, the absent enStaOed are almost en-
tirely forgotten Need | speak of the tendency
of these influences to chill the atmosphere OF be-
nevolence, and Danish from your crowded, busting,
pleasure.loving, gain-seeking city all remem-
brance of those who are held in unrighteous and
cruel bondage? Surely need not You have
seen them You have del lored them; and |
doubt not have, in secret places wept that the
claims of two millions and half Of your country
men, deprived of liberty-doomed to incessant, UNI
requited toil--shut out from the protection OF law
subjected to the caprice Of irresponsible masters,
and shut up to hopeless ignorance, were lost sight
Of and forgotten as though they were the tenants
of some distant planet, beyond the reach of hui
man sympathy or human regard rejoice that
there are those in your city who have withstood
the power Of these influences, and in the midst OF
contempt and reproach, have dared to stand and
reach forth their hands to the helpless and open
their mouths for the dumb. | bid them God
speed. And God ,cM speed them, if they work
in faith and labor in love; for, if ever there was
cause, for whose success heavens mercy was
pledged, it is the cause of the enslaved. Let not
the magnitude of the obstacles which lie in their
way deter them from patient, steadfast, I'M
flinching perseverance in their work. That great
mountain which lies before them, shall be re-
moved and cast into the sea- The steady, pa
ient persevering labor of benevolence will do it.
Truth is mighty. Thank Heaven bars and bolts
cannot confine it. Gags cannot suppress it. Its
voice shall be heard above the of the tempest
of human passion and what its friends cannot
do to aid its onward march, its enemies will be
made the unconscious instruments of accomplish
ing. Herein is hope. Heavens power is on the
side of truth and righteousness, insomuch that
even the wrath of man, aimed at their destruction,
shall, in its blind fury, be made to defeat its own
purposes, and minister TO their advancement.
And how much is this hope needed to sustain
the friends of the slave How mighty the obsta
cles with which they have TO contend How wide
spread and deep the pre- udces OF caste which are
to be overcome How difficult to bring the public
mind to kind and considerate regard for class
of men with whom aversion and contempt have
long been associated-an aversion and contempt
which have been sucked in with the mothers
lllllh, anu grown Will lIle SlONul anu StIeHSlH-
ened with the strength of every man and woman
in the community How difficult to bring a
people thus educated to regard the black man as
a BROTHER entitled to the same respect for his
rights and his feelings white man! How diff
iicu to appreciate, to their just extent, the claims
which a long and cruel neglect and contempt Of
the black man, amidst all our efforts for our own
Improvement, impose on us, to rouse ourselves to
like efforts for his And, above all, how difficult
to bring the whole mass of the white community
to make the case of the slave outlawed as he has
so long been from human sympathy-their oa0n-
to remember those in bonds as bound with
them, and to think and feel, in reference to the
TWO millions and a half Of men in slavery among
US, Just as we should think and feel if no African
blood flowed in their veins 1t is amazing, be-
yond measure, to consider the depth and strength
IF that feeling of contempt for the black race
which distinguishes our country above every 9TH
n in the world. What commentary on our
Declaration of Independence, and our boosted
equality of rights How soon and how deserv-
,dly shall we become by-word and reproach
lmong all the nations of the earth !
The great work of abolitionists is to re0olution-
re the public sentiment, in regard to the whole
African race-both those enslaved by power at