The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-10-21

5 Mrs Harriet B. Store.
With these letters before her, Mrs. Stowe o
the 22d of May two days from the receipt G
, DIR. P's second, and about ten days from To
: receipt of his first, addressed to DR.. Parker th
following letter. Besides the reasons for dela
which she gives. there was another, viz: iron
something said in her husbands letter to heI
she expected n visit from DR.. Parker. and wa
for several days momently hoping to see him :
Mrs STORES first letter TO DR.. Parker.
DEAR SIR: Your letter, ria Brunswick, reach
ed me in this city about a week since, and onl.
feeble health and the multiplied engagement
of anniversary week, have delayed my reply Il
this time
Give me leave to assure you that you have
entirely Inexperienced the purpose and spir
it with which | quoted the remark attributed
to YOU with your name 1t had nothing to dc
with personal feeling, one way or the other.
simply quoted you as well-known leading
man, whom supposed to be an acknowledged
supporter of the pro-slavery side Of the ques
ton; and quoted you in preference to any o.
the other clergymen on that side of the ques
ton, simply because the remark attributed &C
you was more neatly and pointedly expressed
and more summarily included the whole sub
ect, than any remarks of others to the same
general purpOrt.
In the chapter in which your remark occurs
| considered myself ~ the advocate OF the poor
and uneducated against the educated and the
powerful have ever considered the Amer
can Internal Slave Trade as the vital support
Of the syStem-that without which it would
Immediately be worthless in a pecuniary point
of view and of course cease TO exist; and. there
al. thn 1ea
matte reality of the slave trade
My reason for considering you on the pro-
slavery side of the question. will be better ap-
precated by you, by showing the manner in
which was led to that opinion.
IL is considerably more than year ago that
| saw the sentence in question quoted in one of
the leading papers of the day with your name.
! | said Immediately that | did not believe you
! had said it, and that knew you would contra
! diet it, searched the papers week after week
with the eye Of friend, for that denial. |
only found the thing re-ahrmed in paper after
paper both religious and secular. 1t was en-
braccd in II schedule of the sayings and senti-
mcnts Of American ministers in regard to sla-
very, which was read ut II public meeting in
the Worlds FAIR, and which formed a basis of
some considerable discussion and action on the
propriety Of admitting American preachers,
without examination. into English pulpits
These papers, in which all this was recorded
were the leading religious prlnts-prnts which
| could not suppose you were not familiar with !;
and could not suppose that you would allow
any sentiment to 60 the rounds of them, print
ed in capitals, with your name in full, unless it
were statement to which you were fully COM
mltted, and which you were determined to
abide by and sustain. therefore with great
regret, set you down in my mind as leader on
that side of the question, and quoted you as
such-and think that had reason to do So
If you thought the imputation of this senti-
ment Il STAIN on your character, an injury
to your Christian and ministerial reputation,
why have you never before contradlcted it
Why have you allowed it quoted and re-quoted
from paper to paper proclaimed IN "a public
meeting at the Worlds Fair and returned in
capitals to this country, and not come out with
the most earnest denial of which you were ca
! pable
Yet your note was the first had0p of any
reason ! have ever had for thinking that this
| opinion was not yours, and that you were not
willing to be considered on that side of the
question.
Under this attitude, you must perceive that
1t is not in my power to set you right before a
Christian public, who probably have formed
their opinion from the same sources from which
! have formed mine. The quotation of it in
the book is only one indication of that very
general belief which attributes to you such SEN
timents. And it is to the Christian public gen.
orally, as apprehend, that yOur denial of such
sentiments and expressions should be address
ed and to them you should explain why you
have allowed yourself to be 80 publicly and fire.
! quently and VIGOROUSLY ranged on that side of
the question and why you have taken no no
tce of what you say you consider as libel
when it has been so very publicly and for such
81 long time proclaimed in the ordinary chan.
ncls OF intelligence.
| need not say that satisfactory explana-
ton Of this matter would give me pleasure. II
is no pleasure to me to have it proved that any
minister of the Saviour could have said such a
thing and shall be sincerely glad to sec you
exonerated before the public, of any such i'm
putation When you shall have satisfactorily
explained the subject, | will with pleasure do
anything that may lie in my power to obviate
the misconceptions that have arisen from your
long silence. Truly yours, H. B. SrowE.
Req Joel Parker
The history of this somewhat famous sen.
tence is nearly this. In the year 1916, a con-
trUvcrsy of sixteen weeks duration was held in
the (Philadelphia) Christian Observer between
DR.. Parker, employing the signature CO. r.
MeudionH,' and Rev. A. Rood The sentence
which we have already extracted occurred in
that controversy. How it was changed into
the popular and current form, | do not know
1t has been told to me that it was published at
that time in the various Anti-Slavery journals
By some means it appeared ius England
! When in view of it and other not greatly dis.
similar opinions of American clergymen, the
semi-annunl Congregational Union OF Glouccs
tershre and Bristol, England, April 1851
adopted II resolution that bore severely upon
American clergymen who were expected in
London ut the Worlds Fair and the May an
niyorsares the wisdom of their action wa,
questioned, on the ground that no such afro
cous sentiments could be held by American
cergymcn IA was alleged
In reply to the, the Bristol Hercuru one O
the oldest and the most widely circulated Jour
nal in the West of England published opinions
of DIR. Spring, Dr. Wood, Bishop Hopkins, DR.
Dewey, DR.. Rogers of Boston, Prof Stuart, anC
this sentence ascribed to DR.. Parker. 1t hai
been said to me that the same was published
IN the Brtish Banner and the London Anti
Slavery Reporter, but have not been able t.
verify the fact.
In this form the paragraph came back tC
America in the letter of Agricola, the English
correspondent of The Independent, and was
published, in connection with the opinions O
the aiore- mentioned gentlemen, in The indie
pendent for May, 18th, 1851.
1t was inserted in the annual report Of the
Anti-Slavery Society which, like the report o
the Colonization Society, is made up of fact
and documents, which are supposed to have
permanent and historical Importance A cop,
of this report was sent to DR. Parker, and h,
saw the passage, and gave to me, during oui
only interview, rs reason for not noticing it
IL H.,