Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-08-15
REMARKS OF MRS. A. X. FOSTER.
Al The First Of AUgust meeting at abingdon, Mass.

MRS. ABBY NELLY FOSTER camo forward, and
with an earuestness and depth Of feeling, to which
no report can do justice, said
| do not rise to make a speech, though l sup
pose | shall make q short one, notwithstanding
that is not my object. The 6rst speech l ever
made in New England, to u public audience, was
for funds; | hope the last will not DO for that OBJ
ject. hope to live to see the day when it will not
be necessary 10 ask for funds, because the work
for which we ask them shall have been accomplish
ed. Whcn | made that first speech, | dated eman-
cipation ten years later, possibly twenty. Here
we are today; twenty years have passed away, but
still the slave wears his bonds, when his emanci-
patton will come, | know not. But, Mr.. President
neither you norI understood, at that time, the length,
the height the thickness of the prison wall OF the
ancient city, Its strength, its oyerhanging gardens,
its sentincls and watch towers but We did not
dream that the length of the wall that hens in
the slave is the boundary of the United States
we did not dream that that wall was garrisoned
by forty thousand churches, with their members;
we did not dream that intervening between
church, aud church was the United States army
all armed and equipped, and ready for active serv-
ice.-aye iR active service, with musket loaded
and bayouet pointed we did not dream that lead
ing Doctors of Divinity were sentinels on its watch
towers we did not dream that State Houses were
at convenient distances, and The Capitol over the
portico I'VE did not dream this then, but we know
il now. But, Mr.. Chairman, although the strength
of that wall, the length, and height, and breadth
tu6TtOi ave HCNST UtCu HltUSuTeu, one InlDG we
know, and that il, that its foundation is Of sand,
and that the waves of public opinion which have
been brought to bear upon them have loos-
ened them somewhat. Yet now, those waves
of public sentiment do not run So high and
strong as they ought to run,-and why? 'Ag-
itation,' said OCoNNELL,--thanks to that master
spirit | hope it is looking down upon us to-day,
Agitation is the soul of REFORM Mr.. CLARKE
said this forenoon, what We all know, that the bust.
ness of the Anti-Slavery Society was to create agi-
tation, to send out missionaries to change the pub
lie mind. We come here delighted to hear fine
speeches ;and |; own to the weakness Of loving fine
speeches myself | love to sit here and have my
heart touched; and the sympathetic tear spring to
my eye, as it did to the eyes of many Just now; but
still, there is another work to do. | want the time
to come when we can have q First Of August jubi.
lee for four millions Of slaves in this land. You
desire it as much asI In order to get it, what is
the work we ought to do? We think all of US,
that our work far trauscends that of our fathers
We are to plant, in the prejudices and habits of
the people, a conviction of what they merely utter
ed. We are % educate q nation, whereas they had
but the small work of obtaining for themselves the
right to rule. They got the liberty for three mil
lions OF people to tax themselves we wish to re-
leave four millions of people from chattel slavery.
We have got to do il by educating the people into
the idea that the fathers announced. We must,
therefore, support the missionaries. We have got
to carry the means of anti slavery grace to those
who are without those means. They do not come
here. Those who come here are those who did
not need Missionaries, and we are to send them to
those who will not come to our meetings. We are
to send out colporteurs, mot merely scatterers OF
tracts, but missionaries, to carry the Gospel OF
Christine doctrine of doing to others as we
would have them do to us-of loving God the
Father, and giving evidence of it by showing love
to His children. We have got to send missionaries
to ministers, doctors of divinity, and bishops
Mr.. Chairman, we have n few now, but we want
more. We want them to so to those who VIII MOI
come to US, We need scores instead OF half Q
dozen. Why have we not got them? Why hav'
we not in the field all those who have a tongue y
speak, and a heart to feel? 1t is because we hav
not the material means for their support.
a short time since, after urgent requests TO
years, l consentented to take the general agency G
the American Anti-Slavery Society, and l Will nc
be a general without soldiers (applause); and m
soldiers must be fed and clothed. and their fam,
lies must not be left to starve for he that PROVE
eth not for his own household is worse than an II
fdel,' and / do not mean that any of my soldier
shall be p0rSe than infidel, though l expect thei
oil to be that,-and | have resolved to enlist IN IN u
anti-slavery service every man and woman wa
has the gift Of tongues, for public service, and the
shall lash The waves of public sentiment into a fur
such as they never felt before. and the walls
slavery, garrisoned by Church and State Hous'
and Capitol but founded on sand, shall tremble
agitation will make them tremble land 1t q 10
steps upon the wall, | ask, does it not tremble 2
ready? (Applause,) And therefore, Mr.. Cha:
man, as we must'have the material means, l wei
Southwark, (who would have thought it'll to Phi
a~delphia and New York, and felt the antl-slavei
pulse Of those cities,-mucht to my discouragcme'
If Encouragement was not a word not to be us'
in such a case as this and therefore / have con
back to New Englahd, to Massachusetts,; fer alt
all-and it is not in the spirit of bSasting, that
say it, only in the spirit of fact-we know tn
Massachusetts does more even for the false Churc
land the false Church, of course, is thus suppo,
ed because it is taken to be the true by the poop
for the Tract, Missionary and Bible Societies., a
for every benevolent enterprise, than any oti
State, in proportion to its population and veal
hence | made q mistake in going Southwark, AM
come back here and ask Massachusetts to set
examples and Plymouth County to set the examp
and | implore the spirits of the Pilgrims to co
here they are here!) and inspire us with that l(
of liberty of conscience which they came here
gain for themselves and for us, if we are not b
tard sons and daughters of noble sires. III
ZANE here for conscience sake, to secure liberty
conscience. and they look down with tears OF bio
if angels can weep tears OF blood,-on To
children, moi possessed of liberty OF conscience
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, or shelter
houseiess. No conscience of ours is free to exte
such acts of charity and mercy to the most wret
ed and furiorn of Gods suffering poor, except
tho hazard Of fine, imprisonment and death. !
Pilgrims stand here and see that we are free OF
60 be the wateh-dogs, the sentineis OF the verl
despots that ever cursed Gods earth. o., D
Chairman, shall we suffer this? A lady trie
said to nae the other day, that a certain man oui
to bleed for his country;-are we not ready
bleed? Our fathers bled from their pockets 4
and from their hearts afterward. Are we ready
bleed from our pockets to-day!
saw MIR. Chairman, that my soldiers shall
fed and clothed, and that their families shall
be left to stsrve; and further, that | am resol
that every man and woman who can be Of ser'
20 this cause shall be enlisted in it, | an de
mined to go forward, and / ask you to help me
NV soldiers must have money, and money Z
shall have, il it can be raised, in DO other way
shall be by mortgaging the little farm that l
part oun. I have pledged myself to raise
thousand dollars to carry on this work, before
first of September. 1857. We ought 20 have
hundred thousand but, O. 1 ana myself corr,
ed by the tainted atmosphere around me. and
- that VA lava /. zeaI M earnest q