Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-01-02

| ical excitement, and his feelings pr0mp-
ted him to engage i'm the controversy
Outside of the little circle of friends in
Ohio, this WAS his first conflict with the
tpowsrfnl influences then besinRing 10
work for the spread OF slavery into the
new Territories. He writes:
II devoted myself seduiousiy to an
exposition the newspapers of Mis-
souri, and Illinois, OF the evils of sla-
very
On Lundv's return to Ohio, he found
that Charles Osborn had sold the phil
anthropist 10 Elisha Bates; aud as the
latter WAS rather conservative in reia-
ton to slavery, thst paper no longer sf-
iorded the medium which Luudy desir-
ed for the prosecution of the warfare III
which he had engaged. lie therefore
made up his mind TO establish psriodi
cal "of his own and on the Attn of July
1921, at Mount Pleasant, Jefferson coun-
| ty, he issued the first number of the
Genius of Universal Emancipation" -
1t was single sheet OF sixteen octave
pages, and Was 10 be issued monthiy.-
The writer OF this has in his possession
4 file, somewhat imperfect, of the first
three years. Thus originsted, in OHIO,
the first organized efforts by means OF
the press tor the extinction OF slavery
in the United States. The enterprise
was beYu', almost without subscribers,
aud nearly without means. Lundy dld
not own \ press. but got the hrst NUN
ber printed at the office OF the Phiian-
thropiSt. The next six nam bers ne
procured TO be printed at SteuoenYii:e,
by James Wilson, in the office OF the
| Western Herald. This WAS twenty
miles from Mount Pleasant, where he
lived, ani he generally made his trips
on loot, carrying with him 10 the prin-
te: his manuscripts and selections. and
returning with the edition of his paper
on his back. A; the end of four months
his subscription list, he says, "had be-
come quite large"
1t would be interesting, if space per-
mitted, to look into these smoked aud
tattered FLEA, and give some account oi
their varied contents. Much the larger
part of each issue WAS Origina al matter,
most of it written by the editor; aud
he had several regular correspondents
whose zeal was sufficient motive to
write without compensation. Some OF
their articles are able and scholarly
this being particularly true of several
ESSAYS signed "Humanitas," written by
William Schooley, OF Belmont, but then
recently from Virginia.
Much space in the "Genius" was occu-
pied in the various "pians" for the abo-
lition of slavery, some OF which are
from slave States; and it is plain from
the contents of this publication that the
abolition of slavery and the best means
of effecting it were subjects on which
the public thought of the day was much
occupied, and more so in the slave
States than elsewhere. The tone of the
discussions seems to have been free
from prejudice and passion, and men
seemed to be seeking earnestly to rid
Themselves of great and Increasing
evil.
The editor gives in these papers his
own plan fer the gradual abolition OF
slavery. and treats of its different points
in detail and at length; aud we here
| tind that thirty years before Wilmot
moved his famous anti-slavery proviso
in Congress, Lundy stood on ths same
platform and advocated the prohibition
of slavery in all the unsettled Terrific
ries of the United States which might
be created in those Territories; aud the
abolition of slavery in the District OF
Columbia, and in all forts, dock yards
and other places under the centrol OF
the General Government. He always
maintained that political action against
slavery was necessary, aud favored the
election of Adams to the Presidency in
1924, because, being from free State.
he might be presumed to be less favor
able 20 slavery than any OF the other
candidates.
find in the pages OF the Genius an
account of two other periodicals, both
established soon sfterwsrd, aud in slave
States, 10 advocate emancipation. The
Abolition Intelligerer was begun at
Shelbyville, Kentucky, under the pat
Lronagc of the Kentucky Abolition So
ciety; and the "EinancIparor, at Joacs-
boro. Tennessee. under the patronage
of the Manumission Society Of that State.
Neither OF these seems to have been
long continued. The lasi named was
discontinued on the death of its editor,
Elihu Embree, an event which led to
the removal of Benjamin Lundy and
the Genius OF Universal Emancipation
from Ohio to Tennessee. He was Of
fered on favorable terms, The use of a
printing Office, and would have the in
fueuce and cooperation OF an organi-
zed society,'if he would remove the pub
lication to that State. This proposal
seemed likely to supply facilities which
he greatly needed, and he determined
to accept it. He had now published
seven numbers, and had the matter for
the next prepared. Taking this with
him he set out on foot westward across
the State OF Ohio, on a journey OF eight
hupdred miles. Tarryiuy al Zancsviile
for needed rest, he was enabled to make
arrangements with printers there 10 get
out his eighth number. This was the
last published in Ohio, aud bea rs date
"Secoud Month, 1S22.' Thence he pro-
ceeded on his journey TO Tennessee,
half which he made on foot. He located
at Greenville, went to work with his
paper, and established soon afterward a
weekly newspaper and monthly agri-
cultural work. He rema ined in Tennes-
see less than three years, during which
time he went to Philadelphia to attend
the American Convention for the abo.
lition of fslavery, performing the journey
on horseback in the winter season
at his own expense, and being the first
delegate that ever attended the Con-
Vention from any portion of the coun-
try as far South as Tennessee. On that
OCCASION he first became personally ao-
quaintsd with some at the Abolitionists
east OF the Allegheny Mountains.
Gu his journey, travelling through N.
Carolina, he delivered at Duck Greek in
that Stale, his fire. public lecture on
slavery. He says:
81 afterward, during that visit to N.
Csrolins, held some fifteen or twenty
anti-slavery meetings al various pls-
ces. My discourses were similar TO all
have since delivered in other parts OF
the United States, and as ultra ortho-
dox in anti-slavery sentiment as any OF
more recent times"
IL. Hi al hia !, atR u al