Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-04-11

ne SCIdilKSE IOoo W us l6ct3 Dul tue
muZzie of dragOOn revolver in the
unsteady hands of Whisky Dick caused
him tosit down again. He ate the pie,
and lost his case likewise, before a
roug- -and-ready jury.
"Reminiscences of the Early Alb
OlitiOn AgitalOrs.
Mr.. E. D. Horne, who is publishing
in the Painesville Telegraph a series
of interesting autObiographical articles,
thus speaks Of the anti-slavery move
ment:
By the present generation it must be
looked upon with the most profound
wonder and establishment to realize
the pertinacity with which that "sum
of all villainies"-as John Wesley
termed twas sustained and upheld
by almost the entire pOpulstion of the
whole country North and South. The
hatred and rancor that was INDUCED
in by all classes of the community
against AbolitiOnism was phenome-
ma to the human mind which has few
parallels, and has never yet been ex-
planned, except by the burning of
witches at Salem by peculiarly pious
people. Why was it that nearly every
church organization of our widely ex-
tended country entered the arena to
put stop to the agitation of American
slavery? All the moral impulses of
the mind seemed for time to be ut
terly paralyzed.
In the beginning of the year 1885 the
anti-slavery societies had been so far
organized and increased in strength
and talents as to open up an offensive
and aggressive war upon the uphold
ers of the institution. This was met
mostly by mob violence. The watch
word seemed to have been passed
around that every peaceable assem-
blage of men or women must be sup
pressed or broken up at all hazards.
Under this arrangement the Pennsyl.
vanis Hall. one of the largest in Phil
adelphia, was burned to the ground,
while the authorities and firemen
looked on with composure. Some
hundreds of other cities and villages
soon after took their turns at mobs.
At Boston William Lloyd Garrison was
dragged through the streets with a
rope around his neck-While his life
was only saved by being locked up in
jail by Orier of the Mayor. His motto
at the head Of the Liberator, "My
country Is the world, and all mankind
my countrymen; on this subject 1 will
beheard, let what will come"
At the same time Mr.. Geo. Thomp-
son, the most eloquent English gentle
men that ever visited our shOres-sf-
terwards a member of Parliament
was hunted from house to house, and
was finally obliged to sail for England.
1t would take too much time and space
for me to enumerate half the over
fiowings of human depravity that
were exhibited throughout our coun-
try during that and two or three years
following-all for the purpose of crush
ing out the anti-slavery spirit. The
very name of AbOlionist was sought TO
be rendered so Odious that but few had
the courage to acknowledge it. A
State convention Of men and women
in Utica were driven from q church
and obliged to take refuge several
miles away at the residence of the late
Gerritt Smith. Let his name be hon.
ored for all time by every vell-wisher
of our race.
of humanity, after emsncipating his
oidNco III IiIt OOutIl, CdlD0 W OluCluud-
ii and started An anti slavery paper,
but in few weeks his press and type
were taken by mob and thrown into
the river. After renewing the attempt
his press was again destroyed and he
driven from the city. Rev. Elijah P.
aovejoy, at Alton, ILL.,, had his press
Ind type thrown into the Mississippi,
and after procuring another was shot
dead while defending his property
from the mob. AT later period Cas-
cius M. Clay had the press and type of
an anti-slavery paper burnt In the
streets of Lexington, Ky.
Brickbat5 and understandable eggs
were the most common weapons in
villages and country towns. A color
ed man once came into our place who
had been lecturing, with his coat COM
pletely covered over with those vile
missiles. This he wore as a badge of
honor for long time. In Charleston,
8. c., the United States mails were
seized and rifled of newspapers suppo-
sed to contain anything against slavery
and burned in the streets. This law
less act of violence was justified by the
Postmaster General (Amos KendalD,
and the President (Gen. Jackson); and
afterward authority was virtually CIV
en- to all the postmasters in the South
ern States to suppress the circulation of
everything bearing upon the subject
OF slavery.
The present generation may well
wonder if these things can be true, and
If there was no redress for such mon
strous outrages. M; slavery was the
rule and freedom the exception. Pre-
vious to the admission of Missouri as a
slave State, in 1920. the sinfulness of
the institution, without mOlestation,
had been thoroughly ventilated by
pulpit, press and rostum; but after that
mistake in our political economy, a
different state of things began gradual
ly to prevail. The production of slave
labor, especially that of cotton, soon
began to assume an all-eontrolling in
terest in the North as well as the South.
Cotton became King! The price of
negroes rose from $500 to 81, 500 or
more. The more Northern slave
States were mostly engaged in raising
stock (negroes) for the Southern plan
tations-driving them to market in
chain-gsngs, men. women and chill
dren, and selling them TO the highest
as they would horses and cattle.