[Letter to] Dear Friend, M. W. Chapman
Contributors: Chapman, Maria Weston, 1806-1885, recipient
Series: Maria Weston Chapman Correspondence (1835-1885)
Published: 1847
Place of publication: Brooklawn
Language: eng
Format: [manuscript]
Subjects: Correspondence; Liberty bell (Boston, Mass.); Slavery; Women abolitionists; Antislavery movements; History
Notes: Holograph, signed.

On pages 1-3 of this manuscript, there is a letter by Richard Allen to Maria Weston Chapman, dated Nov. 16, 1847. Richard fears that the Irish contribution to the Boston bazaar is not equal to that of other years. He mentions the shipwreck of the Stephen Whitney, one of the fine New York liners. He discusses the the conditions in Ireland. Richard says: "The work of assassination goes on fearfully now." His blood is stirred when he thinks of "the wholesale wrong that is inflected on the country by wicked & oppressive laws." He describes the state of the impoverished landlords and the exploited tenants. He has some hope, however, of the new poor laws which are effecting an extensive confiscation of property. Richard comments: "America holds the lives of myriads as it were in her hands, i.e. your superabundant produce must feed thousands of their hungry or they die." America's provision for the starving has made Ireland grateful. He touches on the conditions in the West Indies and the revival of the slave trade.

On page 4 of this manuscript, there is a separate letter by Annie Allen to Maria Weston Chapman, dated November 17, 1847. Annie thanks Maria for a copy of the Liberty Bell. She could not think of writing a page for it --- her "poor little intellect coils itself up" as in a shell at the mere thought. She asks: "Is your president elected yet?" She supposes that he is among those who tolerate slavery, if not a slaveholder himself. Annie is anxious to hear about William Lloyd Garrison's convalescence