The weekly Anglo-African. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1859-1861, 1859-12-03

Does not the Holy Bible teach that it is
the duty of the strong and powerful to as
sst the weak and helpless, and that the
rich should succor the poor and needy ?
Does it not command us to remember those
in bonds as being bound with them Does
it not tell us to loose the bonds of wicked
ness, undo the heavy burdens, and let the
oppressed go free2 Does not the Bible
plainly say, "Whatsoever ye would that
man shall do to you, do we even so to
them? 7" And further: He that stealeth
a man and selleth him, or if he be found in
his hand, he shall surely be put to death"
Did not Capt Brown act in consonance
with these Biblical principles and injunc-
tons? He went into Virginia to aid the
afflicted and helpless, to assist the weak,
and to relieve the poor and needy; to I'M
do the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed
60 free, to do to others as he would have
them do to him; and above all, to put to
death, as the papers tell us, those who steal
mer and sell them, and in whose hands
stolen men are found His actions, then,
are only the results of his faithfulness to
the plain teachings of the word of God
The renowned fathers of our celebrated
revolution taught the world that resist
ance o-tyrants is obedience to God" that
all men are created equal, and have the in
alienable right to life and liberty. They
proclaim death, but not Staoery, or, rather,
"give me iborty, or give me death" They
also ordained an established constitution
to secure the blessings of liberty to them
selves and their pOSteraty. Ut is to be
remembered that they have large colored
posterity in the Southern States.) And
they further declared that when any gov
) eminent becomes destructive of these ends
namely, liberty, justice and happiness
it is the right of the people to abolish it,
and to institute a new government. On
these pure and holy principles they fear
lessly entered into seven years war
| against the most powerful nation of the
earth, relying on a just God whom they
believed would raise up friends to fight
their battles for them. Their belief was
more than realized The friends of free
dom came to their assistance.
, Did not Capt. Brown act in accordance
with the foregoing revolutionary princi-
ples2 Did he not obey God by resisting
tyrants2 Did he not in all things show
) his implicit faith in the equality of all men
and their inalenable right to life and lib
erty2 When he saw that the govern.
ments of the South We're destructive Of
these ends, did he not aim to abolish them
its foundation on such principles as to hin
: seemed the most likely to secure Re happi
l ness and safety of the people?
; Some will say, no doubt, that & teach
ings of the renowned fathers haG no ref
erence to the negroes, for, says Judge Ia
ney, the prevalent opinion at the time Of
: the Revolution was that "black men had
: no rights which white men were bound tc
respect. In sober earnestness, did "the
great and good men of those days which
tried mems souls" have no higher idea O
liberty and the rights of man than that
Did they believe in a one-sided, selfish
partial, sectarian freedom ?-Gberty for the
proud "Anglo-Saxon," and chains and fet
tiers for call the world and the rest o
mankind p | think they must have haC
higher, nobler idea of man and his in
alienable rights. But be this as it may
the Abolitionists-the true friends of Goo
and humanity-are applying both the doc
trines of the Bible and the teachings o.
the fathers to every human being, whethe,
white or black, bond or free. We Adolf
tionists profess to propagate no new doc
trine in politics or morals, but to urge al
men to practice the old well-defned ant
immutable principles of "the fatherhood o
God and the universal brotherhood o
man." Liberty and equality belong natur
ally to the entire brotherhood, and the mar
who takes from his brother his liberty be
comes tyrant, and thus forfeits his righ
to Ire
Now, it is plain to be seen that Captain
Brown only carried out in his actions the
principles emanating from these three
sources-viz: First-the Bible; second
the Revolutionary fathers; third-all gooc
Abolitionists
If, then, Brown acted on these pure and
righteous principles, why are the friends o.
justice, liberty, and right SO hasty in deny
ing all connection with him or sympathy
with his ends and aims ? Perhaps they
see the bloody gallows of the "afrighted
chivalry" rising before them in awful hor-
ror-or, more probably, they see politi-
cal grave yawning to receive them.
But, to speak,of myself, have no politi-
cal prospects, and therefore no political
fears, for my black face and curly hair
doom me, in this land of equality, to po-
litical damnation, and that beyond the pos
} sibility of redemption. But have neck
as dear to me as Smiths, Hale's, or Gid
dings', and therefore / must, like them
| publish card of denial So here it is.
But what shall l deny2 / cannot deny
that feel the very deepest sympathy with
the immortal John Brown in his heroic and
daring efforts to free the slaves. TO do
this would be, in my opinion, more criminal
than to urge the slaves to open rebellion.
To deny any connection with the clark
and fendish plot" would be worse than
nonsense; the fearless chigalry of the Old
l. Dominion would prove me guilty without
!, the least difficulty, for their heroic imagin-