Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1854-11-24
H-.""-- From the Boston Fost.
DR. Adams on slavery.


the south the present year. has given the impressions
made upon him on the subject of slavery, during this
visit 1t is worth while to look at his stand point.
He one of the northern clergymen who, heretofore,
has felt il to De his duty to deal with TINS SUBJECT
professionally He stat9s as one OF his efforts, that,
in fourth of July Grafton, he represented three
millions " of our fellow population to be uttering
groans and clankng chains, while the joyful noises
ushered in the nations birthday; and that the last
thing of the sort he did to help frame the famous
New England clerical remonstrance against the Ne
braska bill and sign it. We gather from this that
DR.. Adams has been an agitator and believed in the
good policy of northern intermeddlng; and thus has
acted his part, with the -four hundred others" OF
his denomination in 'conversng: and preaching and
praying about slavery"
A gentlemen of his weight of character position.
and ability. is ordinary observer; and testimony
! from such source would be received IN certain
quarters which, coming from other sources, would be
rejected. This would naturally be the case, aside
| from the of giving it. In this case the
manner adds force TO the matter. The subject is
handled in way as peculiar as it Is conclilatory,
and that cannot fail 10 cause good men, not excepting
political clergymen who have lent their aid to the
savage war now being waged on the south and the
constitution, to pause and re-eXamne the ground
they stand upon. Surely one of their number has
right TO be heard who claims to speak mot as par
tlZan, but as Christian not as northerner but as
an American; not a politician, but friend OF
| the colored race"
in amusing way, his first impressions of slavery,
proceeds 10 present its favorable aspect, and next its
| revolving features. His descriptions sometimes
amusing. Thus his preconceived notions, those per-
haps he had preached from the desk, led him to ex
pect to see "the whole black population cowed down.
TO " faces, limbs and actions,' ndened, as ii
were, 9 am slave' Here the doctor gives his
first surprise =
" The steam tug reached the landing and the slaves
were all about US. One thing Immediately surpris
ed me; they all in good humor, and some of
them in broad laugh The delivery of every trunk
from the tug 10 the wharf was the occasion of some
hit or repartee, and every burden borne with
jolly word, grimace or motion. The lifting of one
leg in laughing seemed as natural as Frenchman's
shrug. | asked one of them to place trunk with
lot Of baggage; ii was done; up went the hand to the
hat-'Anythlng more, please sir! What contrast
voluntarily said to myself, to that troop at Albany
landing on Western Railroad and on these piles
of boards, and the roofs of sheds, and at the piers
in New York ! began to like these slaves. | began
to laugh with Them 1t irresistible. Who could
have convinced me, hour before, that slaves could
have any other effect upon me than to make me feel
sad! One fellow, in all the hurry and bus;e of land
ing us. could not help relating how In jumping on
board, his boot caught between two planks, and
pulled clean off :; and how dis ole feller went clean
over into de woter,' with a shout though it was
a merry adventure"'
We must pass DR. Adams description of slavery 10
allude to his view of the duty of the north In the
first place there is much here relative to the south
and north rearely seen in such quarter. Here is
specimen-the italics being ours
'What has she Ohe soulh) done, except in
self defence, in our long quarrel which, upon recon-
citation, would rankle in memories and make it
hard for US to forgive and forget? Positively not
one thing. We haze been the assaitants she the
mark the Prosecutors she DEFENDANT qCe the ac-
cusers she the selfjustJyng respondent.
UNLESS we choose to live in state of perpetual
war, must prevent and punish all attempts to de-
coy slaves from their masters. Whatever our repug-
to slavery may be- there is law of the land
constitution, to which must submit, or employ
suitable means to change it. While it remains, all
our appeals to higher law are fanaticsm
" Until ue dir,de the Union, or procure change
an the constitution, # resist Of ITS provisions
from repugndqCe TO at, and so nullty 1t, make q
breach IN dam achich has behind tt desolating
TlUer."
And here is another view of south and north--the
italics being
"On what subject except slavery has the south
ever divided from the north, in congress out of
/ congress, in peace
What pride we have had in her patriots, states
men, and scholars, aud what fellowship wit her
ted dead
What goodly land she possesses; what hist orical
associations belong to her what of wealth
are there; what lenown by and land in cabi-
! nets, at home and abroad
IF the south should by any means obtain and keep
the Gscendency an our national councils an arat acaJ
COtud she hdCe e p0lCer ana disposition 10 COnf1C
1rih northern interests leaUg the subject of aUerl
and our sens1bilnties out of the question
o With regard to arhat called the cnCroachments
of the sldve poaoer, the demands Of the south, they
at all to injury ercept as they offend opinions
and feelings the sub ject Of stauery? Political ap
pointment would be made with less of a sectional
spirit if we were at peace.
One would think that the south were Philip o
Macedon, and we at The north the states of Greece
l. Judging from philIppies against her. But he
# great offence is independently OF every thing else
d the perpetuaton of an evil under which both of us
If were born, but which al the north were enabled
to remove an effort the part of the south to defend
and maintain her institution of slaUery under the CON
Stiuton TO maintain the right guaranteed by ou1
social compact, but aSsaued by We seem to have
forgotten how the royal family Of the mother coun
try the king and queen at the head and many of tn
nobles contributed towards the first importation O
se slaves from Africa to this country how Jefferson
his first draugh of the declaration of independence
i'd charges the king with making depredatons an in
ee nocent people, and inhIctng them slaves us
al and how at the close of the war, at the nortl
heightened out the importation of slaves to the sout
beyond the term voted for majority of the souther
states Nor do consider that the south aUaS appror
it imating the ocork Of emancipation by public discuss
ions By acts of assembly drawn up and ready to
proposed and by UoteS her ecclesiastical bodes Whe
the outbreak of northern opposition 20 SlGUery and
temps emanepate the staUeS at once, droue back til
south from her purpose, and that all her SubSequen
attempts at the extension 9 sla gerry hare been intende
as retaliatory acts or in seLf.defence.
" After this the reader will not be surprised at all
&C. read Dr. Adams's chapter containing strong dissua
y, sive from interference with the south He comes Il
o. the conclusion that the only true adopt
m to take what TO would "a backward step
Let u.s." he says, ''adopt the principle that tie south
competent TO manage the subject of sGvery and strait
ei tcdy cease from all offensive action This is the
act principle of action of large growing and inuen
tial Oft 1afiO sfnad