Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-12-09

al condition Of ltay) at the close Of the 18th CEN
tury an edict was put forth, which John Locks has
preserved in the journal Of his travels "that those
who merchandise, but do not use the yard, shall
not lose their gentility;" (admirable discriminn-
ton y and in Eng land, at the close of the 18th
century, his former degradation and growing i'm.
portance were attested in the saying of pr. John
son, that "the English merchant is n newly dscov-
cred species of gentlemen" But this high arbiter,
who bent under feudal traditions, would not even
tnen concedc 10 him any merit, saying; that there
were no QUALITIES in trade that should entitle man
to superiority &c cannot thina fellow by
sitingall day at desk is entitled to get above us
and to the suppOsiion that a merchant might be
n man of enlarged mind, replied to his faithful
Boswell, "why sir, we may suppose any fictitious
character; but there is nothing in trade connects ed
with an enlarged mind ?"
In America feudaism never prevailed, and our
revolution severed the only cord by which we were
with this ancient system. 1t was fit
that the Congress which performed this memorable
act should have for its Presidenta merchant; and
that, in promulgating the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, by which in the face Of kings, princes and
mobiles the new era was inaugurated the education
of the counting house should haunt conspicuously
in the broad and clerkly signature of John Han
cock. Our fathers "builded wiser than they knew"
al these things are typical Of social change then
taking pi;,ye. And by yet another act, fresh in
your recollection and OF peculiar interests to this
assembly. has our country borne the same testimo-
ny. A distinguished me. chant of Boston, who
has ascended through all the g.adations Of trade
honored always for his private virtues rs well as
public abities-l may mention the name OF Abb
bot Lawrencehas been sent to the Court of St.
James as the ambassador of our Republic, and
with that proud commission higher than any pat
ent of nobility has taken precedence of the mobiles
Of that ancient realm. In this circumstance | see
the triumph Of personal merit, but still more, the
consumaton of new epoch
Yes, Sir say what you will, this is the day of the
merchant AS IN the early ages war was the great
Of society, and the very pivot of power so
is trade now and as the feudal chiefs were the
"notales," who answered to TIE requirements Of
the time, so the merchants now. All things
attest the change. War, which was once the uni
yersal business, is now confined to few once a
daily terror it is now the accident of an age
Not for adventures Of the sword but for trade
do men descend upon the sea in ships, and traverse
broad continents on iron pathways. Not for pro-
lection against violence; but for trade do men
come together in cities and rear the marvellous
supcrstructure of social order. If they 20 abroad
or if they stay ut home, it is trade that controls
them, without distinction Of persons. And here
in country every man is trader The ply
scian trades his benevolent care and the law
yer trades his ingenious tongue: the clergyman
trades his prayers. And trade summons from the
quarry the choicest marble and granite to build
its capacous homes, and now in our city dis
plays warehouses which OutdO the baronai castle,
and sales rooms which outdo the palace With
these magnificent appliances the relations OF de
pendcnce and protection, which marked the early
ieudalism, are Reproduced in the more comprchcn-
Sive ieudliism OF trade. Even now there arc
European bankers who will vie il power with the
dukes and princes Cf other days, and there are
tratickcrs everywhere, whose title comes from the
ledger and not the sword, fit successors to counts
barons and knights. AS the feudal chief alloca-
ted 10 himself and his followers, the soil which
was the prize Of the strong arm, so now the mer-
chant with grasp more subtitle and reaching,
allocates to himself and followers ranging through
degrees Of dependence all the spoils OF every land,
triumphantly won by trade. | would not presS
this parallel too far, but at this moment in our
country, the merchant, more than any other char
acer, stands in the very boots Of the feuIal chief
OF all pursuits relations, he is the most cx
tensye and formidable, making all others it. tribu-
tlres, and bending at times even the lawyer and
the clergyman to be its dependent stipendaries.
Such in our social system is the merchant; and
on this precise and incontrovertable statement
found his duties. Wealth power and inlu ,nce
are not for self indulgence merely, and Just ac-
cording to their extent the obligations to others
which they impose. If by the rule of increase to
him that hath is given, in the same degree new
duties are supcradded; nor can any man escape
from these bGhests. If the merchant be in reality
our feudal lord, he must render tcudnl service if
lie DC our modern KNIGHT, ne must 40 KnlSnly
deeds if he be the baron of our day, let HIM
maintain baronical charity to the humble aye,
Sir and baron,cal courage against tyrannica wrong
in whatsoever form it may assume. But even If
err in attributing to him these duties for his in
Huence is surely great, and he is ut last man
bound by his simple manhood to regard nothing
human as foreign to his heart.
T. the merchant, then--especially to the young
merchant appeal, by the position you have won
and by the power which is yours 60 forth to re-
dress these grievances, whatever they may be-,
whether in the suferings of the solitary soul or
audaciously organized in the likeness of law. And
now, that | may not seem to hold up any imprac-
ticabe standard, that the path of duty may not
appear difficult, and that no young man need hcsi-
tate, even though he find himself alone, let pre-
sent briefly, as becomes the hour, the example and
special achievement of Granville Sharp the hum
bic Englishman, wEo, without wealth, fame or
power, did not hesitate to set himself against the
merchants Of tho time, against the traditions of
the Engli;h bar, against the authority Of learned
lawyers and against the power Of magistrates,
until, by preserving effort, he compelled the
highest tribunal of the land to declare the grand
constitutional TRUTH that the slave who sets his
foot on British ground becomes that instant free.
His character of pure and courageous principle
may be little regarded yet but as time advances
it will become a guiding luminary. There are
stars alo centres of other systems, in such depths
of frmanent that only after the lapse of ages does
their light reach this small ball which we call
earth.
Mr.. President, do not start. | shall not tread on
forbidden ground. To this occasion and to your
association, shall be loyal; but let me be loyal
also to myself. Thank God, the great volume Of
the past is always open with its lessons of warning
and example. Nor will the assembly which now
does me the honor to listen TO me- be willing to
initiate the pous pirates of the caribbean seas who
daily recited the ten commandments, always omit
ting the junction, Thou shalt not steal" know
we'll the sensitives of certain consciences. This
is natural. 1t is according to the DEGREES Of Prov;-
dence that whomsoever has been engaged in mean
ness or wickedness, should be purused whenever
he moves by reproving voices speaking to him
from the solitudes of nature, from the darkness Of
night from the hum of the street, and from every
book that he reads like fiery tongues at Pentecost,
until at last the confession of Satan himself can
alone express his wretchedness:
"Ma miserah which vav shall nv9