Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1850-08-03


devotions, and sit down from time to time
at the table of the Lord. If your neighDor
wrong you of few shillings, you think him
utterly unfit to attend that sacred ordinance
with you: but what is this to the wrong you
are doing to your brethren whom you are
holding in slavery Should man at Al
giers have a number Of your children MS
slaves, and should he by soine means be
converted, and become professor Of Chris
tianity, would you not expect he would soon
set your children at liberty"
4 These two tracts were, by the order OF the
Society, sent to each member Of Congress, to-
gether with the Constitution, and the names
of the officers. You will be amazed, SIR, at
the -oudacious impudence Of such meas
ure, and especially when you recollect that
JoHN JAY, under whose "presding auspices
all this was done, was at the vely moment
holding, at the pleasure of Congress, the
most important and believe the most lu-
cratiye office in the Government Yet
strange MS il may appear to you, and the pres
ent race of Northern politicians, he was
neither removed from office, nor rebuked for
his fanatcism and irreligion.
i MIR. Jay was not a nominal President. In
his official capacity he correspouded with an
Anti-slavery Society in France, and with
another in England, and in his letter TO the
latter remarked, " We will cheerfully co-ope-
rate with you in endeavoring to procure ad-
vocates for the same cause in other countries"
I'm this same letter he declared that it was
undoubtedly very inconsistent with the dec
larations of the United Stntes, son the sub
ject of human rights, to permit single siave
to he found within their jurisdction," and
added, awe confess the justice of your
structures on that head" Aud all this to En-
| glishmen Certainly John jays patriotism
was much on par with that of modern Abo-
| litionists. He continued to occupy the chair of
the Society till 1892 when Inc resigned it, on
taking his seat on the bench, us Chief JUS
tice of the United States. The elevation of
an avOwed Abolitonist, and the President of
an Anti-slavery Society, 10 such station
must excite your astonshment. To use
your words in respect TO his son, it was alb
solutely shocking" The reason was, sir,
that the servility of Northern politicians had
not then, as at present, conferred on the
shareholders the power of excluding from
Office under the Federal Government every
known advocate of tho rights of men.
During the Revolutionary War he wrote
"Till Ameri ca comes into this measure,n
| (gradual abolition, her prayers to Heaven
for liberty will be IMPIousp and at the same
| period, huying occasion 70 draft deed of
manumission, he prefaced il with" Where
as the children of men are by nature equal
ly free, and cannot without injustice be eth |
er reduced to, or HELD in slavery"
On the whole, sir, l fatter myself that
there are some minds to which my fathers
portrait at the late meeting would not have
suggested the words, degenerate offspring"
when they beheld Inc following his example
in presiding over an Anti-slavery Society,
and using strong language in reference to
human bondage.
You are pleased TO ask in reference to my
self, "Woud not his immortal ancestor have
looked down with mixture of sorrow and
of frowning on a descendant who could ex-
hort his countrymen to disregard and tram
pie under foot the Constitution which his
father had so sgnally helped to establish ?"
Your whole book bears ample testimony TO
the heedlessnesss with which il was written.
The extreme irritatio on caused by the obloquy
you had incurred by unadvisedly endorsing
the dubious morality of Mr.. Websters
course, did not permit you to weigh the
terms you employed, nor to consider the
justice of the denunciations you Illuminated.
The charge you prefer against me is found
ed on my printed Address; yet il did not oc-
cur to you that il would be but fair TO quote
the eShortation to which you refer. Had
you looked for il for the purpose of trans
y |
found it. gave my reasons for believing
the Mason and Webster bill of denominations
gross violation Of the Constitution, and l
did exhort such of my hearers as regarded {
slavery sin not 10 incur tho guilt of that
sin, by aiding in reducing fugitive once
more TO bondage; and l contended that, in all
cases, il was our duty to obey what we be-
lieved TO be the commands of God, in pref.
erence to the opposite commands of men,
Al the same time j reminded my hearers
that, when we could not coDscientiously
obey the laws of tho land, we were bound
to endure the penalties of our disobedience,
without making any forcible resistance to
their infiction. Ii is strange that Chris
tlan divine, who had spent forty years in the
study OF the Bible, should controyert these
great principles, or insult me for uttering
them. Had my father, sir, listened to my
address, he would have rejoiced in the eyi-
dence it afforded that his efforts to bring me
up in the nurture and admoDition of the ,
Lord had not been wholly unavailing. As
President of the New-York Society, he ,
drafted petition to the Legislature, praying ,
for law prohibiting the selling OF slaves
out OF the State. The petition thus COM (
menced: " Your memorialists being deeply
affected by the situation of those who, though ,
FREE BY THE LAWS OF GoD, are held in
slavery by the laws of this State" His name
was placed at the head of this petition, and
was followed by one hundred and twenty
two more. Here was declaration of one |
of the most offensive principles of the
modern Abolitionists,-a principle which |
you, if understand your book, deem impi-
olls. 1t is because regard fugitive free
by the laws of God, that cannot aid in re-
ducing him to slavery; and because refuse
to join you and MIR. Webster in catching
runaways, you pour upon me the vials of
your indignant wrath.
feel little disposed, sir, to examine your
argument in behalf of slavery, since il is
the strange peculiarly of your very queer
book, that on building up and completing an