Year: 1859

trative of which is the lives of our self
made men. =" / was running around" says
Mr. H., veteran of Canada West, "in a
long slip, which composed my entire ward
robe, with only such thoughts as usually
engage the minds OF small boys on a
Southern plantation, when one day old
Aunt Phillis called me to her, and, placing
her hands upon my head, prophetically
exclaimed, Dis child no slave blood run
in his veins He will be free, sure as de
sun shines"


The idea of being free, he said, still
rung in his ears and could not be forgot
ten. So the old woman startles the boy,
and the boy shapes the destiny of a ma
ton.


By the sun of influence we have the
glorifed first of August. Seeing there is
no day of our own worth commemorating,
and approaching holidays, as such, some
times participate in the keeping of this
one: but not with that relish should feel
had the slaves liberated themselves The
tendency of these celebrations is to keep
before us that stand still and hope" dis
position by which so many are deluded,
whereas, what we need at this time is a
spirit of resistance. The student of polit-
ical philosophy may recognize these axi-
oms as immutable. No people will be-
come respected until they place themselves
in a position to command respect No peo-
pie can be truly Independent unless capa-
bic of maintaining their independence.
Independence and respectability go hand
in hand Liberty and independence Qike
Napoleon's ex-republic) care one and in
separable." Could the slaves of this
country be manumitted by an act of Con-
gress, it would be of very doubtful policy.
Expatriation, we assume, would be one of
the conditions, while if the slaves should
liberate themselves, they would become
the owners of the soil should prefer,
therefore, commemorating the downfall of
slavery in St. Domingo or the birthday of
Nat. Turner. Who says


Let no one suppose, from what has been
said, 1 have any prejudice against our vater
land. have not particle, but rather, as
man is free to visit the Plutonion shores
imaginatively, so, if he wants to, should
he traverse those of Africa in reality.
Only do not confne lis to the howery
fields of Vera Pae nor within the portals
of Paradise.


Something more Quixotic than Quix-
ote himself is the mania for colored conven-
tions. | would suggest to those of your
contributors who-knowing they will not
be read-delight in making classical quo
tations, to enlarge on the meaning of this
word convention" for it is about to lose
its significance.


The Buckeye State is not to be distanced
in this furore so we shall soon have {" an
other call' from that direction. But still ]
propose, by the publication of this para
graph, to have the funds that would other
wise be spent for said calls invested in
such works as My Bondage and My
Freedom" for although the would-be lead
ers Of that State are nearly all of the
Douglass school, very few, / assume, have
read his history, or more of them would
have been induced thereby to become ia.
miliar with their own signatures. That is
to say, land my name is with the edi-
tor of this Journal before giving bonds
for the fulfllment of honorary offices they
would have learned to sign their Owl
names.


Which last remark, | am aware, will
cause a STIR, but let no one presume there
is an intimation in this article. / am not
prepared to prove-prove what TC
prove, first, that there IS not man in said
State above mediocrity that desires Con
yention to be "called" at this time; and
second, that the remainder cannot tell fol
the life of them what is to be accomplished
thereby.


Now, in all seriousness, as a first of Au
gust speaker would say, thinking to dres.
an old idea in new form, in the light O.
past experience what may we reasonably
expect of these Conventions. Confessions
/ have said, are well enough in their way
but some things are pretty hard to confess
/ shall therefore content myself for the
present with very few statements: