Year: 1867

Last evening, the series of meetings under the
auspices of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery
Society were brought to a close by the annual
festival, at Horticultural Hall. There was
large attendance, the attraction of the evening
being a promised oiation by Wendell Phillips
on "The Perls of the Hour" Mr.. Phillips
spoke as follows;-


Ladies and gentlemen, the hour Is one OF
moment; not only OF apparent great material
danger to the public, but it Is one of which
mems opinions are continually divided as to
the character of the danger, and the method by
which 1t is to be aVerted. OF course, In speak
ing of it shall have occasion to refer to, and,
perhaps to criticize parties and men. Please
understand me, that in all the process Of criti"
cism, have no motive distinct from that OF any
one of you, and that it Is to benefit the republic;
to endeavor in the speediest and easiest manner
to secure the end which every good citizen has
in view. have no desire to refer to the past,
except so far as it will throw light hereafter
distinctly In the future. I am sure have no
desire either to wound the feelings or TO mar
the reputation of any American. The crew on
quarrel. There is no time for quarreling; there
is no time for angry disputings Every man fit
to address his fellow-citizens Is not only bound
to take it for granted, but his labor is vain un-
less he can rightly take 1t for granted, that the
great mass of his iellow-citizens have but one
sincere, single-eyed and honest desire, and that
is to serve the republic.


THE DANGER OF THE HOUR.





OF 1861, after the proclamation of Abraham Lin
coin, there should be neither Republican nor
a Democrat. We are all citizens. We have one
longing desire, and that is TO have an united
country, prosperous and permanently happy. l
take it for granted that every man before me,
no matter what his idea may be as to the me-
thod; no matter what his preference as to men;
no matter what his line of party, has but one
central purpose and point, and that is in the
shortest time, at the cheapest rate in the most
| efectual manner to cure the great disease of
the republic, and to make us one again forever.
| So, whatever l have to say, if in the fervor of
the moment should trespass upon your sympa.
| thing but to throw light on the path think the
! republic ought to tread. 1 consider we are
to-day in as great danger as in 1861. In the
| great statesmanlike contest. or civil battle
| we stand just where we did then. We have to
| call on the same loyalty for inspiration and
strength; We % are to Dig down to the same
on this question is bound to base it on the purest
principles.


THE MISSION OF OUR FoREFATHERs


believe that the idea of American civilization
is a single one, the one idea of faith based on
humanity, and totally unconscious OF parties, of
colors and of races, and all other distinctions
that are accidental. l believe that the one
essential idea, the underlying tendency the
point to which we gravitatel humanity simply
divested OF its accidents. 1t is the cornerstone
OF the republic. 1t was TO rise to a noble level,
1t was TO throw off the garnshing of wealth and
moral education, not knowing exactly what they
came for, that the Puritan and Cavalier, the
New Epglander and Virginian, came to this
coast. They obeyed great impulse which
very lew OF them comprehended. They built
much better than they knew. 1t was an appa-
rent eXlgencY of Fortunes, that they went
iorth, out they We're charged by God with
mission which they feeby and imperlectly com.
pretended: to found State where every germ
OF the soil and thought that God trusted to
the world should bave free and undisturbed
space 10 grow. Feeble were the faltering steps
in the dark of that twilight; but few of our
fathers stumbled onward in the foundation of
such State until at last at the dawnlng, the
whOle-souled Jefferson found the sagacity and
the courage to enunciate the great principle
in words for the first time in the history of the
race. He discerned the great law which gov
erned and enwrapped the mind of continent
and immortalized it in that most glorious law
which is the first In the Declaration OF Inde-
pendence. All men are free and equall But
the men who enunciated 1t did not comprehend
the principle, could not see its application,
would have been unable to reduce il to practice.
Like thousand other instances in history, they
stated truth which they were not broad and
powerful enough to practise. So, the old Colo.
MES, formed into States, retain still the rags
and the sores, the hamperlngs and the letters
from which they sought to be free. They
thought to abolish slavery partially; bat all the
institutions of New England were crippled by
its rule, by the limitations of its wealth: As
well might one attemnt 70 breast the nlghY
tutions endeavOr to dam up the progress OF the
great idea God launched upon this race to free
this continent and secure His blessings to this
lhuus NNhSOAos|


THEIR PERILoUs EXPERIMENT.


So then, in spite Of ourselves, unconscious, if
not reluctant, the race made its way forward.
All the time very few men were conscious of
the antagonistic elements wrapt up in the civil
life of America. No doubt few tar-sghted
men standing on the highlands of thought, saw,
a conflict like the chaos of Milton that surged
and boiled around them; but the mnltitude
comprehendedit 1t not. Mr.. Seward touched this
point In 1858, at Rochester, before he lost his
brains Caughter), when he analysed the his
tory of the Independepcy of the American,
thought and said our fathers knew well enough;
they understood perfectly well that when they
acknowledged, not guaranteed, slavery sld9 oy
side with the great principle Of freedom, Lnat
they were putting into the Constitution an sDIo-
lutte certainty of conflict. They only bpouo5
they did not care TO expectancy olly noPSu pS
that the great development OF IIeeSOn, S ',Ia sno
normal unfolding of the forces Oh suon suntioni
would SO temper and blot out the Sl e5cepslonadi d
element of slavery that perhaps i,nt AHsCa c,n.
Survive and become an unit Wilhous aI'uAi
SIond.6,ed. that party conflict intellectual ds,
Sotnns moral duarrels not physical, would
,h S1SoIst evil that they would have 70 en-
9e .no Tbat was the ultimate goal, as much as
% 20 tbers dared to hope. In other words as
tue nee before illustrated It, our Fathers built
cannon. allied its bore half full OF anthracite