The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1843-08-10
From the Philanttropist.
AN ADMIRABLE LETTER.

nc lo.loW'ug almiTaUle letter we con
: mend TO the attention of every citizen q
Oaio, and especially to the colored peopl
everywhere. Let but the manly, indie
pendent spirit which it breathes becom
Characteristic of our colcred friends, an,
they will accomplish more than all tn,
societies in the land can accomplish 70
them. We need hardly say how mucl
praise should be awarded to Augusta.
Watles, for his decided efforts in behal
Of the settlement in Mercer county.
C@rthagenia, Mercer Co. Ohio, }
April 29th lS43. {
All meeting of the colored people o
this settlement, held in the school house
on the 18Th inst, the undersigned were
appointed committee 10 take into consid
Grafton the call for convention, to be
held IN Columbus, on the 10Th of Auous,
next and to prepare such a communion
ton as would express the views AMI feel
ings OF the settlers on the subject of the
convention. The committee prepared the
following, which was read in the meeting
to-day, and united in by the settlement
generally, and ordered 10 be sent 10 the
Phllahthropisl for publication:
To d, Jenkins, and others, gentlemen OF
tie Committee:
II is with feelings of pleasure that we
acknowledge the receipt of your letter,
requesting our cooperation in the great
work OF Obtaining our rights as citizens.
II is a subject on which we have thought
and prayed and labored much. We are
glad to see an increasing interest growing
up among our coored friends on this
great question. If we are discreet in this
matter, and are guided Alright, we believe
that 1t will end in great good. As we
may not send delegate to your conven-
tlon,we take this method of making known
to you our faith and practice on this sub.
Ject. Most of US who reside here are
from the slave States.
We came to Ohio to enjoy more liberty
than we enjoyed where we were born -
Since coming here we have followed diff.
ferent occupations. Some of us have been
BARRIERS, and boot blacks, and osllers, and
walters and cooks, in cities, and on ST cam.
boats. Some have been working on leased
land, and some have followed trades
Some of the females have been washers
and ironers. That is, we have filled the
places in the community which Popular
opinion has assigned to coored people.
After living in this condition for Some
lime. and feeling our degradation, we
resolved to do something for our own ed.
ucation. We conversed with the white
people around US, and told them our de-
sire for the protection of law. Their an
swer was, You have nothing to protect.
The black people are nuisance. They
are nothing. They eat and drink al they
hey earn. We must make laws to pro.
ect ourselves" We then, agreeubly to
The advice Of our abolition friends, re-
solved to save our money, and move into
The country, and try, by labor, and econo.
my, and honesty, and temperance, 10 earn
for our people better name than they
had heretofore enjoyed. We have found
by experiment, that the same money which !
paid our rent and marketing in the city,
will purchase new land, and improve it,
in the country. lis true, our undertake
ing was for US, a new and an arduous
one. But the result is, several hundred
Of US left our former occupations in the
cities, and are now living on our own
land. 1t was new timbered land when
we bought it, and the nearest place we
could purchase provisions, was thirty
miles distant But we struggled along
through the hardest OF it. We own many
thousand Of acres of land. We have built
comfortable houses to live in. Oar land
is cleared. We raise our own provisions,
and manufacture most of our own cloth
ing. We have horses, and hogs, and
cattle, and sheep. We have meeting
houses and schoo'-hcuse. We have had
a good school most of the time for six
years. Our children have learned 10 read
and write and cipher. We have Sunday
schools, where they ale taught the prin-
cIples Of morality and religion. We have
a sawmill and grist-niiI. We are
striving to live a quiet and orderly life
We wish to have our character plead for
us. We wish to have our properly stand
out and ask for the protection of law
We wish 10 have those who oppose us,
witness our quietness and industry, that
they may be satisfied of our character, not
by what we say, but by what we do. Our
voice has been heard but once at Coum-
bus, oy the legislature, asking fora repeal
of the "black laws" Aud we may not
now send delegate to your conventions;
not because we dsapprove of the object,
but because we believe there is a more
excellent way.
All great changes in public sentiment
are made slowly; and we are neither dis
hearlened nor quietly resting, because we
have mol yet reached the object of our
hopes. We still hold on industriously,
hoping that the time will come when we