The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-02-07
From the Edinburgh "Scoiiish Press" Of JAM l.

AMERICAN SLAvERY-On Monday evening,
the annual meeting of the Edinburgh Lad cs'
Emancipation Society was held in Nicholson
street Church. The audience was large and re-
spectacle; a considerable amount Of interest
having been excited by the intmation that Will
liam and Ellen Crafts, fugitive slaves from Amers
lea, were to be present, the former of whom
was to deliver an address. On the platform we
observed the Rev. Dr. Richie, the Rev. George
Johnston, the Rev. j. r. Campbell. the Rev. A.
Nicol, Councillor Tod, Mr. H. Wigham, Mr. j.
Ii. Stott Mr.. Millar, Mr. Thomson, Mr.. Purves,
Mr.. Grove, Missionary from Guatemala, &C.,
&c.
On the motion of Councillor TOP, the Rev
DR.. Richie was called to the chair
The Chairman having opened the meeting
with prayer, observed that although one better
qualified than he to occupy the chair might ca
silly have been found, there would be some diff
Guilty experienced in pitching upon one more
willing or ready to promote the great cause
which had brought them together this evening.
1t was more than half century since he first
embarked his energies in the cause of the poor
down.trodden slave, and he looked back with
feelings of pleasure to the time when he co OPP
Grated with such men as Wilberforce, Zachary
Macaulay, POWELL Buxton, and many others, in
endeavoing to secure liberty and freedom for
the oppressed. He need not tell those whom
he saw before him that they were on the right
side. (Applause) What were they contendng
for! Just to have it broadly stated and admitted
by ALL that man is man--that man has right
over his own body, his own mird, his own con-
science, and his own soul and that he is entitled
to the produce of the labor Of his own hands
(Hear, hear) After making some remarks on
M f,n Eoy H.
called on the secretary to read the report for
the last year.
Mr.. Ii. Wigham, secretary to the society,
then read the report Of the proceedings of the
association during the last year. The report
contained an able synopsis of the progress which
had been recently made in the anti-slavery cause,
and concluded by calling upon the friends of
the slaves to exert themselves, even more vigor-
usly than heretofore, in their efforts to deal
deatl-blow to the accursed system, which holds
in chains millions of our fellow creatures.
Mr.. J. IL. Stott moved that the report be
adopted, printed, and circulated He said that
the report was 30 excellent, tina, he need not say
word in support Of his notion and he should
therefore, content himself with advising every
lady present who was not connected with the
association to join it without delay.
Mr.. Mllar seconded the resolution, which
was unanimously agreed to-
Mr.. William Wells Brown, fugitive slave,
moved the second resolution -" Being renew
eddy impressed with the iniquity of slavery in
nil its phases, Resolped, That we adopt every
means in our power to promote its overthrow
by circulating information, so that an enight-
ened public opinion in this country NAV react
on That of America, by testifying against all
union with shareholders, religious, social, or CON-
mercial, and maintaining preference for the
products of free over those Of slave labor, by
watching over the interests of our freed colored
felow-subects in the West Indies by continu-
ng to assist the true-hearted aborers in the
anti slavery field, wherever they are to be found
by our unwearied vigilance in the cause Of the
oppressed, and by increasing earnestness in i'm
poring the Divine blessing 10 crown our abors
with sucoess'
After supporting at some length the vari-
Gus propositions embodied in the above resolu-
ton, Mr. Brown remarked that at present there
was good ground for hope as to the ultimate
success of the anti-slavery movement During
the last five or six years, many new instrument
talities had been brought into operation in the
United States; many new converts had been
added TO the ranks Of the Abolitionists and
many individuals who formerly cared nothing
'o' us tneihNeu NtutH "tIc HoW iaobftnD
zealously TO procure their emancipation. Every
session of Congress, they heard of some new
member coming forward as a noble advocate of
the rights of the slave Every new election
gave evidence of the fact that the anti-slavery
movement was progressing Some might have
been discouraged TO considerable extent hy the
passing Of the Fugitive slave bill, but no (Mr
Brown believed that the passing Of that meas
urc was to be looked upon ~ a last desperate
struggle on the part Of the Shareholders (IIear,
hoar.)
II appeared, In fact, TO DO q manrnvre by GER
tain parties who wished TO get in the President
ial chair, but he believed that that very move
would have the effect of throwing these parties
aside. The passage of that bill has reused mp
feeling in the free States that was never known
before. II had stirred up the whites to examine
carefully into the condition of the colored peo-
pie of the United States, and IL hns stirred up
the colocd people to watch more narrowly over