The weekly Anglo-African. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1859-1861, 1859-12-03
HENRY WARD BEECHER AND THE
VIRGINIA OUTBREAK.

NIX. EDlIok. MUCH Has DccIl Sdlu anu
written relative to the invasion of Harper's
Ferry; yet | do not nor can endorse any
of the views | have heard expressed or
read. The standpoint from which they
all discuss is 50 limited that my views of
freedom, of right, and of justice have been
entirely set aside. Although much has
been said, land we'll said, SO far as it went, }
and | may not be able to throw much
light Oh the subject, yet | wish to expend
a thought or two in respect to what has
been said, which consist mainly in two or
three ideas. First, old John Brown is a
good, courageous, honest man. This no
one can deny, unless their moral sense is
so dead and their intellect so blighted that
they are alike incapable of approaching
and discriminating the moral qualities of
an act, or else their moral obliquity is so
is so great that they are rendered imper-
vious to all right feelings and right impress
pressions Second, Rev Ii. w. Beecher
and others sympathise with him, but still
regard him as insane, because he loved
liberty better than slavery. | wonder if
they would express and entertain the same
opinion if the people for whomh he sacrificed
himself had been whites? Some claim
that such a step would have been right on
the part of the slaves themselves, thus at
tempting to establish a distinct nation,
class and people, unallied by blood, senti-
ment, or feeling. Such an idea | regard
as the climax of absurdity, because man is
an individual unit, and if it is right for me
to fight for my individual freedom, it is
equally the right of Beecher and all 9th
ers to fight for it.
This is view of the subject i'll which
these reverend gentlemen need to be in
doctrinated. Is not the negro man?
Are not his rights as sacred in the eyes of
God as the white mans2 Does a mere
given complexion give superior rights, and
if so how do they know that that COM
plexion is white what is the proof2 Is
not the command, Glove thy neighbor as
thyself," as binding as respects the blacks
as the whites Hungary and Italy can
claim large share of sympathy, men, and
assistance if wanted; but alas | cannot
counsel, or advise, or justify rendering as
sistance to the enslaved African, especially
when he needs it more than the rest; but
if they, when all the elements of strength
are against them, will rise and assert their
rights, and obtain them, all well--if not,
let them remain in hopeless bondage This
halfway, milk-and-water dough-faced SEN
timent is too contemplate to require fur
ther comment Iregard man, (made in the
image Of God,) of whatever color, race or
cast, as alike entitled to an equality of
rights on Gods footstool.
Third. How keen and delicate are the
sensibilities at the idea of the indiscrimi-
nate bloodshed of men, women, and child
rem for such an object; and yet how little
do they feel for the millions of bleeding
hearts and the thousands of lives annually
slaughtered on the altar of slavery They
never calculate, automatically, the amount
OF human woe these millions experience
day after day; and if John Brown had sue
ceeded, and the result had been an indis-
criminate slaughter, doubt if itcould have
equalled, with all its horror, the amount of
woe caused in single year by the iron
hand of slavery, both as regards the num-
Der of lives destroyed and hearts rent in
twain.
This is standpoint from which some of
you learned theologians and philanthro
pists would do well to consider this subject.
This l offer only as an offset to their rea-
soning. 1 do not advise or counsel such