Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1852-10-16
NO. 4.
Letter from Josephine s. CrlftIng.
RAIsIN, Lenawec Co., Mich. !
October Sth, 1912. (

q rich and beautiful variety of country, we ar.
rived at Mich. in time to meet our appointment
Of the 25th. had seen the notices Of meet.
ings in Michigan by J. w. Walker and II. C,
Wright, with their incidental remarks, but had
formed no just conception Of the condition in
which they found this State in regard to Anti
Slavery, and certainly less Just one in regard
to the change which this first preaching of An
t.slavcry had produced.
The evidence Of susceptibility to change and
Improvement in the people are most remarkable,
as are the evidence of effective, truthful and
hightoned labor by our Fellow Workers, II.
c. w. and J. w. w. bestowed upon this vino
yard.
Our meeting at Adrian the 25th, which was
held in Odd Fellows Hall, was large in the
morning, and increased through the day and
evening, till the large hall was filed with intel
ligent and earnest listeners, who heard with
almost breathless silence, the most radical and
ultra doctrines of Anti. slavery, from Mr.. Pills
bury and others, with spirit and fOrtitudc
truly heroic. Atthe close of this meeting, the
announcement of a State Convention was
made, to be held on Saturday and Sunday the
10th and 18th of Oct, when we hope to meet
our friends, J. W. Walker, and l.. A. Hino, the
latter of whom has lately lccturcd in this part
of Michigan on Education and Land Reform,
with great success.
From this meeting we were invited to hold
meeting in Juckson's mills, by Prior Foster,
The proOrintar rf pp1nrnJ coh,,1 o1
somewhat upon the plan Of the Obern Inst-
tute. As it was vacation, VIC had not the plea
sure of personal observation, in regard to the
school, but were assured that it was well con-
Quoted. The number Of scholars is at present
about sixty. We were most cordially entertain
cd by the Fosters, an intelligent, generous and
high.minded family-illustrative Of the truth,
that indiviunls or nations can only rise in the
scale Of being, by comprchcnding and laborng
for their elevation, and that according to
their opn standard will be the level of their
position in society.
The Fosters have. in great measure, lived
down the national barrier to their freedom
prejueice against color--and orc considered
worthy from their self reliance, intelligence, and
high moral worth, to mingle with the rcspcc-
table and even aTistocratic. Our meeting
which was held in the Institution, was larger
than We had anticipated, as the morning was
rainy, and the neighborhood scattering. Sew
eral came from distance Of six or seven miles,
over a new and muddy road, among whom was
a.Baptist Elder, who came, VIC were told, to
hcnr nothing but our Infhehty and Atheism.
- lie however gave us a candid and gentleman
ly hearing to our exposition of Slavery as seen
in its effect on the Domestic relation, both of
the oppressed and the opprcssor; and the sup
port which such a system receives from tho
Law and Il clieion of the nation. While our
friend, Mr.. Pillsbury. laborcd to show that the
American Church, which welded tho religious
sentiment of this nation in favor Of cnsluving
one-sixth of its population, was at war with
Justice and Humanity that while its profession
was hostility to Sin, its influence sanctioned
and went to perpctuate the greatest sin of the
age. 1t was therefore bascly hypocritical, and
that while Jesus, whose mission was TO preach
delvcIance to the captive, vos held up as their
author and leader, their support of Slavery
and the FugitivcDill proclaimed them Infdels Of
the darkest die, whose practical doctrine would
annihiate from the universe the idea af a true
God. At the close of our meeting, after n
friendly recognition, he cvinccd his sympathy
with us so far as to suggest thought in addi-
tional proof of Mr.. Pillsburys argument.
Our next meeting was at Hickory Grove.
where We found an intelligent Ecighborhood,
aud audience. who were prepared by their
individual investigation, together with the off.
cial labor of the friends of Humanity who had
preceded ,as,- for radical truths and high posi-
tions. Many of them were Free Sellers, who
were ready to admit that the moral agitation
was the only positire means of abolishing Sla-
very. while the political effort was barely cxpe-
dient. From such the Slave may hope.
On Friday evening we held meeting at Bed
ford. six miles beyond Battle Creek, at Sem
mary devoted to n Liberal and Practical culture
of tho manhood as well as the minds of its
students, under the direction of Hiram Corn
well, a man of sterling character and high in
tcllcctual attainments.
The meeting was well calculated to impress
the minds of the young, of whom the audience
was mostly composed, with tho necessity of a
true and earnest liie-a reliance upon self, and
individual development, and strict adhcranco
to the propulsions of truth and justice, from
within. The meeting closed with an Anti
slavery song appealing to the boasted Freedom
of those who are in great measure responsible
for American Slavery.
We reached Battle Creek on Saturday morn
ing in time 20 attend the first session of the
Congregational Friends Yearly Meeting, which
was devoted somewhat to the examination of
the old, and the organizing of new religious
platform-which should optn to their thought,
noAin.. thn kranl IIL-