Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-06-14
SPEECH OF GEORGE THOMPSON.
AT THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN A.
S. SOCIETY.

AT THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN a.
S. SOCIETY.
GEoRGE THoMPsoN was repeatedly and
loudly called for, aud at length come for
ward and spoke Ms lollows:-l merely rise to
| terminate the suspense of this audience 10y
making an apology lor my silence. should
feel It an uct of great indlscrctiOn TO weaken
10y amy speech OF mine the effect Of the adj
miruble address we have listened to.
No man can disguise from himself the inn
porlance Of the topic that MIR. Garrison has
discussed tonight liz clief importance
lies IN this that il is question that must he
discussed because it is one embedded in
the great subject of the emancipation Of
three millions in this land. Ii is not ques-
iion for me to debate il is peculiarly your
own question. My province is simply
10 declare the principle which lies ut the
root OF this great matter of American Slu-
very; aud that principle is of universal APP
plcutlOn, that no man can hold property in
his lcllow-man.
Ii it be eiernally wrong for man TO Gu
slave his iellow-men, then, my friends, the
world from lis commencement to the pres
ent hour has never before Witnessed the
commission of so colossal crime as that of
q hSHbttdlt Ullu oIEblliLtu NuiSpht'g bh
the part OF twenty millions Of men TO en-
slave three millions of their iellow-mcn.-
All other tyrannics from the beginning sink
INTO iusignifcancc in comparison with this.
| cannot measure the guilt Of your country,
nor can you
Rail at Bussia and Austria, and the tyran-
nies OF the Old World! Go hang your
heads, and learn of Ausirians and of Rus
sians the first principles OF human rights;
aud when YOU have set free nation in
bonds,-whcn you have humhlcd yourself
To the very ust,-when you have clothed
yourselves ia sackcloth and ashes,-when
you hnye purged the temple of liberty irom
the sircams OF blood that have flowed there
for seventy-livc ycars,-when YOU have purg-
cd your Constitution from u compromise
with siu,-whcn You have redeemed your
land from universal depreciation and pollu-
tion,-when you have sileuccd the clank of
the icttCr, the crack of the whip, and the
sighing of the prisoner you have
done that, then read lessons to Europe, ard
set the world I'm example worthy of being
followed But I'LL then, any rebukes you
utter 10 the nations of the Old World rccoil
in thunder tones upon yourselves and you
do but hurl those rebukes to come back cch-
oed with trumpet voice, Base hypocrits!
learn liberty AT home, aud learn that liberty
consists in righteousness, aud in using the
strength which it gives TO deliver the OPP
pressed from their bondsn
can tell you this, because | am repub-
licun in soul. can say TO your country,
Would that all the nations of the earth !
were even as thou art, save these bonds.'-
lApplause.l
tell you this, not rs an enemy, but rs
friend. ltcll you this, because | wish your
country well, aud because it can never be |
wei with you until slavery is abolished.
a nation in chains and talk of sympathy |
with the llungnriuns, and of sending ship |
to bring TO the shores OF this Country Koss-
nth Why, il kossuth he n consistent man, |
instead of bandying compliments with Lew
is Cass, he would send him words that |
would scorcll his very soul, and say, Keep |
your compassion for 5000 COO, of you conn-
trymen in chains IL You have sympathy |
to spare, pour it over 100000 Of chattel |
slaves in your midst! Though banished |
from my country, from the banks of the |
Danube TO the banks of the Bosphorus my |
limbs wear no chains! No oyerseer drives
me to labor in the morning No tyranrs |
frowns witlIer my manhood! am free un-
der the Sultan OF Turkey, and surrounded |
by his protection If you, Lewis Cass, or
you, Millard Fillmore, or you, Daniel Web
ster, have superAuity Of sympathy, send 1t
Southward, aud let il console 100000 of
Americans in bonds! kossulh has enough |
for himself and something TO spare for them, /
and he makes contribution TO the slaves OF J
America of the sympathy rendered to pat !
riolic Hungariansn Loud applause.
shall doubt the patriotism and love of
liberty nl m tkln from rpXD- |
lutionary Europe to these shores, to accept /
the hospitality of shareholders. (Cheers.) II /
he he patriot, lover of liberty, whether
he fly from the banks of the Danube, the |
Seine, or the Tiber, let him go to New Eng !
land, and find home with the prosecuted |
aud maligned aboitionists Of the country =
Let him throw in his lot with them; let him |
range himself under the banner of No |
Union l0ih tFanisp But let him not quit
the tyranny of crowned despot in Europe,
to lay his manhood before 20OOO,OOO OF con-
federated Republican(') despots in this coun-
try [Applause.l
The question we have to do with is the
right of man 10 hold property in man; that
Is the whole question. 1t is that which is
the entire framework of your re-
publican iabric-which gives the lie to every
profession you make--which makes you n
by word and a Kissing among all The ma
Iions.
In this cause, it is the duty of every man
10 help the AbolitiOniss of America. There
is not a man OH earth that has not nm interest
in this greut question. America is the worlds
properly. She has protessed 10 raise her
institutions upon selfevident truths aud to
make them subservent to, and promotye OF
liberty and justice throughout the world
We have right to demand of you, that