Middletown transcript., 1897-06-26

great weight for this meeting to deter
mine. .',i i's}'t .7..s.''
aias5s aa Signed by order of ye Meeting,
:.s- asl 5aHs Anthony Norris -
At the yearly meeting held at Burling-
ton the day Of mo. 1858. "a paper be-
ing here presented by someGermm Friends
Concerning the Lawfulness AMI Unlawful
ness of buying and keeping of Negroes. It
was adjudged not to be so proper for this
meeting to give a Positive Judgment in
the case. 1t having so general relation to
many other parts, and. therefore, at pres
ent they forbear it," s-a
Doubtless the actions of the different
meetings did not seem very promising of
good results to the authors and promulga-
tors Of the protest; but they nnknowingly
had gained great victory. This was first
shown in meeting in 1893, when George
Keith, the sckismatic Quaker, declared to
his eoadjutors 'that they should set their
negroes at liberty after some reasonable
time of service" The very same year, ac-
cording to Watson, an "exhortation and
caution to friends concerning buying and
keeping negroes" appeared in one of the
earliest pamphlet of the Philadelphia meet
ing. "The sum of the counsel was" he
says, "that none should attempt to buy ex-
cept to set Free" Further proof of this vic
tory was also shown by the Yearly Meet
ing, when in 1896 it made a minute to the
effect, that Friends are advised not 10 en-
courage the bringing in any more negroes;
and that such as have negroes be careful of
them, bring them to meeting, have meet
ings with them in their families, and re-
strain them from loose and leWd living, as
mnch as in them lies, and from rambling
about on first days and other days" To
this is added the fact that there were in
stances, in 1893, where friends had admit
ted their slaves "into their meetings TO
worship in common with themselves"
likewise in what Penn said in a monthly
meeting in 100, OF the concern that had
been upon his mind for sometime with re-
spect to the negroes; and also his efforts to
have the Assembly pass bill for regula-
ting negroes in their morals and mar
riages.
Other Friends were now convinced that
their German brethren were ''near the
TRUTH" and, in I'LL, the Yearly Meeting
declared that members from Chester we're
dissatisfied with Friends who bought and
encouraged the bringing in of negroes. The
meeting advised that the minutes of 1896
be kept in mind conserving the care and
treatment of slaves; "and that all mer-
chants and factors write to their cores
pondents to discourage them from sending
any more.n This same meeting in their
epistle of the following year to the Yearly
Meeting of London, asked the advice of
their brethren across the water with re-
spect to importing and OBTAINING negroes
and their posterity as slaves. This NATTER
so reads the letter. was laid before this
meeting many years ago. and the thing in
some degrees discouraged" And while this
subject is looked upon more favorably now
than formerly, (this is the substance of the
epistle) no conclusion can be reached con-
corning the matter on account of Friends
being more concerned with negroes in di-
vers other provinces and places than these.
But the subject proved likewise rather
too weighty" for their transatlantic breth-
rem. 4
Many have attached more Importance to
the year 1712 than the facts warrant The
Assembly upon receiving petition "signed
by many hands, ''passed an act assessing the
enormous sum of f20 per head upon every
slave that might be imported into the Prov
ince. This has been taken as evincing suf-
ficientproof that the people were anxious to
abolish slavery, and would have very likely
succee ded had not the Queen annulled the
law. However, it can be easily shown that
the "many hands signed the petition
through fear caused by recent NEGRO
plot in New York, and not with a desire
to rid the colony Of slaves. The preamble
to the above mentioned act states the rea-
son explicitly. The matter of slavery was
warmly discussed in the yearly meeting,
and stenuous efforts were made to induce
that body to take firm stand against the
importing and holding them for life, but
as no agreement could be reached, not even
minute of the matter was made. Will.
lam Soutbeby believing the meeting had
failed to do its duty, took it upon himself
to peti tion the Assembly "for the total
abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania; but
the Legislature promptly resolved, 1T is
| neither just nor convenient to set them at
liberty"
That the law of 1712 was nothing more
than police act may be seen from an epis-
tie to the London Yearly Meeting, in 1714
which occurs this statement: I'VE kindly
received your advice about negro slaves,
and we are one with you. that the mu1ti.
plying Of. them may be of dangerous con
sequences; and therefore law was made
in Pennsylvania, laying duty oftwenty
pounds on every one imported there, which
the Queen was pleased to disannufn
The fear Of the uprising of the slaves
somewhat retarded the slave trade for the,
time being Jonathan Dickinson, Phil.
adelphia merchant wrote in Ills to his cor
respondent in jamaica" I must entreat
you to send me no more negroes for sale,
for our people d ONT care to buy. They are
generally against any coming into the
country. Few people care TO buy them, ex-i
cept for those who live in other provinces, p
Meanwhile. the list of those who be-
lieyed that slavery was morally wrong was
, gradually increasing; and. in l7l5, The
Yearly Meeting declared If any Friends
are concerned in the importation OfNe-
| groes, lot them be dealt with and advised
70 avoid that practice Some bad spoken