Selections: Letters: To The Anti-slavery Convention At Cinci...

New York, June 3, 1845. ' j Dear .SVv- I received, wcoka since, your letter invitinq me to be present nt n Gene.-al i Convention of opponents of Human Slavery, i irrespective of past ditterences and party i gonizations. I hnve delayed till the last i ment my answcr lioping I might this season i indulge n long cheirished desire and purpose by visiting yonr sectiou and city, in whicb i case I shouW certainly have oltended your , Convention. Ee'ng now reluctantly i ed lo forego or indefinitely postpone that visit, I have no recourse hut to acknowledge your courtesy in a letter. In snying that I shonld have attended your Convention hnd I been ablo lo visit Cincinnati ibis month, I would by no mcans be underslood ns implying that I would hive claimed to shnrc iti its deliberations; still less that I should have been likely to unite in the course ofaction to which these dchherations will probably tend. Whelher there "can true reconcilftncnt grow'' botwcen tliosc opponents of slavery whom the lnic Presidentifll Election arrnyed against each othcr in desperate conflict, I o nut venture lo predict. Most surcly that large portion óf them with whom I ucted ani! stiil net, have been confirined in our prrvious convinctions of dtv by the regule of ihnt election, and by the'momentous consrqnences which hnedrawn after it. Not mert-ly willi rrgviid to this questionof Slavery, bul to all queslions, I have by that result been warned against pledging mysclf to aiy secial and isolnled Reform in such martner as to interfere with and fetter my frecdom and ability, to act decisively and effect i vely upo" m'TC ffoneral and inuncdiatply .prnctical conuitleratioiiB of National interest and llamanwell being. You ind your?, 1 unrferainnd, hnve been confirmed in anopposite conviction. Time must decide on which side is the rij. ht. But whrfet car.not hopo (hut I snould hnve been oble to imite with yon upon n ikfinilive coQrse. of action to I e henceforth pursééd by all opponents of è'nvery, irre.pective nf' past or present differences, I shoulil Imve gladly mot you, conferred with you, comparcd opinion8 mul nareed to oct togetherso fnr a joint nction is not forbidden by conflict'iDg opinions. Animatod by this spint, I ahall venture to pet bofore you, and osk the Conventicn to consider somé views which I deern essential as bearing on the present condilion and ultímate euccefis of Lhe Anti Slavery movement.f y hal is Slcvery? Yon will probnlly nnswer {The Lepal subject ion of one human being to Ihc will and power of nnother." Bul thisdefinition apears to me inaccurnteon both sides - too broad, and at tbc 6onte time, too narrow. It is too broad, in that it includos the Bubjcction foundeo n the parental and similar relationp; too narrow, in that it exeludes the subjection founded in other necesi-sities not less stringent than tliose imponed by slatute. Wc must seek eoine truer definition.I understand by Slavery, thnl comlition in which one being exists mninly as a convenience I for othcr human beingp - in which tlic tim", the exertionp, the facultiea of a pnrt of the Humnn Family are made to subserve, not ' their own developement, physical, intellcclual and moral, but the comfort, advnntafje or cnpiices of others. In 6hort, wherever 6ervice is rendered from one human being to another,n a footing of one sided and not of mutual jbligat'ion - when the relation betveen thej servant and the scrved is ono not of aíTection i and reciprocal good odíeos, bilt of authority, ascendency end power over subsitenco on tlie one hand, and of necessity, servility and deg radation on the olher- Uiere, in my view, Sb Slaverv.You will rendily underbtnnd, tliereforo, that f I regard your enterprisc with less absorbing interest thon you do, it is not that I decm Slavery a less, but a greater evil. If l am less troubled concerning thR Slavery prevalent in C!iaile8ton or New Oilean?, It is bccanse 1 seeso much Slavery in New Vork, which npprnrs to claim my first efforts. I rejoice in believing thnt there is less of it in your severalcommunlies and neighborhoods; nut thnt il does exiat there I om compelled to believe. Tn cstcemYng t my duty to preach reform first to my own neighbors flnd kindred, I would by no mrnns nttempt to censure those whnse cnn sciences prescribe a different course. Still less would I undertake to say that the Slavery of the SoiUh is not more hideous io kind and degrre than that wh?i"h prevaüs at llie North. The fact thnt it is more flgront and palpable rendera opposition to it comparatively easy and its speedy downfall certain. Bulhow can I devote myself io a crusaüe ngainsl distnnt servitude, when I discern its essence peryading my immediate comiminity and ncigbborliooü? - soy, wlien I have not yet guccceded in banishing it even from my own humb'e household. Wherever may lie the sphere of duty of others, is not mine obviousy hcrc? Let me réstate whnt I conceivo to be es sential characteristics óf Human Slavery: 1. Wlierever certain liuman beings devote their time and thoughta m&inly to obeying r,nd 6erving other human beings, and this nol because they choose to do eo but because thev mitst, Ihere (I thiñk) is Slavery.2. Whorevèr human beings cxit-t in siicb rclation? that opTi, because of the posiiion ihey occupy and the funclions thoy perform, are generally considred an inferior class to tliose who perform olher fuoctiöïw, or none, there (I think) is slavery. 3. VVherever the ownership of the soil is er engrosfed by a Finnll part of the comtnunity, that the far larger number nre compelled to pny what ever the few may see fit to exact for thfi privilege öf occupying nhd cultivatinp tho earth, thcre is something very like Slavnry.-[I rejoice that this state of Uiinys does not, os yet, CMst in our country.) 4. Wherever opportunity to Labor is ob(aincd with difficulty, and is so deíficietlt íhat tbc employing cines may virtuoHy prescribe their own terms nnd pay thc Iiaboror only such share ns ihoy chooe ofllio product, tbere is a very strong tcndpncy to Slavery. 5. Wherever it s deemed more repntable to live witbout Lnbor iban by Labor, so tliat a p-entlenian wonld be rather nslinmcJ of his descent from a blackímith, tlian fröirt riidlor or mere pleosure tecker, there is a communiiy nnt very far froin Sfavèry. And6. Wherrver one human bcinjr deerns it hononible and riglit to hnve olher human heines tniinly devoted to his or her convenience or comfort, and tlms to live, directing tlio la bor of these persons frorn olí productivo or general uscfulness to his or her own epecinl nsee, while he or she is renderin? or has rni ilcred no correáponding: service to the cause o' human wcll-being, thcre exisis ;he spin which originated ond siill sustains []i.m;ui Slavery. 1 nnght nuilliply these illustrations indefinitcly, but I dare not so tresspresson your pntience. Rat her allow me to npply the principies herc evolvfd in ilh:straiion of wiint I derwi the dutics and policy of AbolitionisU in rcicrcncc lo their cause. And hert Í wouldvise : j 1. Opposc Slavcry ih kht , its'ormi. Be i at lentt as careful not to be a slavcholder hf not to vote for onc. Be as tcnéciotfs thai yoiir own wives, children, liircd men and women, lenants, kc, enjoy tlic lilrssing? oí raton-l Liberty, as the sin ves of Souih Carolma. . ' 2. Be at Icasl as ardenl ín niaras the rfST.T funns of ()rpressi(m. - It was by bèginning nt rinitis thnt chari'y was eru.Wed lo perform fúcli fonp'jÖÓffttyfféH be fore the construclion of ruilronds. Am] i does éenm cica1 to ruy mind tfint ifllic ndvocates of Emnriripntion U'ould unite n wc'.l tlirectctl, consistent eñbrts lo itnprovo thc condition of the blncks i thcir cnvn Stotrs aml neighborhooda respective!)', they conld hnnllv fail to a (1 vanee thcir canee more rnpklly nnd íiirely iTion by nny other course. Snppose, for cxnmplo, they tvrre to rcsolve in each State to devote iheir politicnl energies in !he first place to a removnl of the eharneful, alrocious civil dieabiiíties and drgradnUons iindor which the African race now pncrnlly labor, and to this end wcre to vote syetemnticaüy for snch enndidmos, whom thoir vdtcs oou).l probnbly etect, (if snch thorc were) ns were known lo fov.-r tl.e reinovnl tí? tlu)?e dipnbilities, would not their success be èure and speedy9But S. Look welt lo the moral and Social coti diiion of the Bhuks in the Fret States - Here is the refute of the conscientious slaveholder. He declines emancipatiñgr; becaupe he car.not perceive that emancipation has thus for condüced to the benefit of the liberated. - If the inass of the blncks nre to rrmnin inornnt, destitute, unptincipled, degraded, (as hc 9 told the Freo Blacks aro) he thinks it better that his should remnin S'aves.I know that the degrnrtation of tbc Blacks is exagserated. I know Uint so mnch of it ns j exist8 is mainly bwing to their past and present wrong1?. Bot 1 feel alo that ihe proces? of overcoming this debasement mnst be 6low ond dtibious, while its causes continue to exist. I entreaf, therefore, thal thosewhohavelie car of these childrcn of África and of their i ihiknthropic friends, shall consider the 1 pricty of providing for them cittes of refoge, l townships - comnninitiep,! woold say - wfopre in tliey may dweil apart frorn the ins?i of lr peoplp, in a soc'ml otmoi=phere of iheir own not poisoned hy the universol conviclion of their inferiorïtv, at lenst until thev ïhall hnvetiad n chonce to show whether thp.y nre or nre not nece?sarily rtl, thriftless, vícioiis, an1 1 tent with degration. T most entnestiy believe the popular assumptions on these points erroneons: I aek ihat the Blacks havo a fair chance 1o prove them so. A single township in each free State main'y peopled by thm with churchea, Fchoots, seminaries for ncientific and c'npsicul eduentmn, and nll pocinl mfluences nntainted by thesenfe of African lm miliat'mn. would do more (if Kiicccssfnl, as I doubt notj to pave ihe wny for Universal Free df m, than reams of argry vitviperntion agninst .-'laveholderF. These are in jrood pnrt men of integrity and consric:;cs; tfiey eee the wrong almoft ns clearly ns you do; it is the righl which they should see and cannot: vill you enablc them to eee it? Yours, rsppctfuPy, IIORACE GREELY. IEfTKR FKOM KLnUJ BURHTTT.Worcestrr, May 23, 1845. Samckl Lewis, Esq: My Deur Sir: - I ani almo?t nt a loss f r langiiae to expres my sense of obügation to you, and ihe Committeein vvliose behalf yon spenk, for tliose torms of' kindnesö and confirlence with w hich yon invite me tobe present nt your grpat Convention in Cincinnati, on the Ilth of June. And it is wiíh a nrofound ee.itiment of regret tliat Í am cmpel?eiJ, by circumstancea wliich I cannot bend to my wish, to forego npleasure which I should haveclierifhed during the remainder of my Ufe. ns one of the choicest souvenirs in ihe jewelry of myremnmbrancc! Il is with great difficuity that I can so arrnnge my labora as to permit me to be absent from Worccst'er a fortnight at o lime. Still T have longed ton poe yonr great and prcsperous State; and when, a few weeks before I received vonr communication, a letter en me from cerloin lirerary sociVtics connected wilh the Oberlin Instituto, inviling m? to deliver tlieir noxt annunl adilresp, in Aug„ I accept cd the uvitatiori, tliat I might nssociafo wilh' my visit some other onject than that of mere ciriosity. To fulfil this engage,ment will exhaust nll the time tliat í can forcé out of the discharge of my labors at hometrhich would preclude the posíilú'ity of mo king liio journies to Oliio in one seasctn'. Althoiigh I cannot be wi'Ji you n person - or ratlier n boJy- I shall bepreent witli evcry cnmest aympalhy of my sol, with every attribute of my humnnity that can pray and iiope fur mnn, and labor lo lift up my downtroddnn brother the Slavb- Gods child, to a new life and the light of a new heavcn for Wá dowpcist alienated heart, o lien ven ppanned vvitli God sown hanil vriting in the fixed 3! ars and every rainbow of hope, that his Etliiopinn hue elial! no longor imp-iir tiie dignity of hif= ülle or access to all tlie orivilegos, progiepsand prosprcts of thé chiMren of a cpmmon Fnther, of either on earth or in lieavon. - Tho place, lúe motives and llic mombe-s of you Convciition, will nll conspire to Lrve it a mor:;! nnrht md inlost y, whicn will bc feit ovrrtht; Union, and carry n premoüinnn of (p.uü to nu instimtii n whicli like a hugp doep rooted iipns. lins dillued its.-iibtle pnison owr ihe once gteclíít ponioii of ibis continent, unii! cve. v Ung i.hoi lives or lies beneatli lts .linde bears llie hectic of ihe searing curse. No places i the Union coi!d have been more appropriateiy selectcd tlmn Ch.cmnali.- Sitnatedon the henven waoöf fr.'cdom, a magnifican illustrotíon of rhat it can do tbr human nature and human fóccly, woll hligjit it fay to thosö who live in ihe pale and sickly wilderness of elavery, "Come, and lt hs réa soa togelhcr." And il shotild quicken the puL-tí oí great hoarted patrtotism, thnt ihis kas brrs. grëctéd by a cc.' the first lurne of the Angli on mee cnvM;a oontment-frem irafotVirginia, Ihe primeval Rden of Nalure in Anericr, now piuing br-ñéath tfio brca'th of an nstituüon which has blasted the foliage and he fruit of her tree of knoivleoge, and her rrc oflife; nnd which, f it has not banísheá hor iulo the wilderness without, has bro'ight the wilderness into her pnrndisc. Virginia! oldest patriarch in the nrk óf t'rteom whicn ' utric'cs the universal deluge of despotism nmong the first altar? it erected in its heritag'è ans one for the sncnficR of humanily nnd thé immolatinn pf fiuman liborty . First to declnre the inalienable rLhtsof mnn, n lika the nntedeluvian pntrmrch, to prench the riphU eonsness of freedom to the world, it was the first tobecomeintoxlcnted with the epirit ofitá domestic slaverj', and under its influencei tg cnrsu its tosterify wvth an ovil which hsa r,p- erated -!vith' nri?penrt ond unspa 'ing malignity iipon young nnd old, rich and poor, bond and free, thronjrh their snecegeive jjenerations.- VÍrgíníai still venerable in her misfortunes and grand in her deendence, the devout and filml memoiies which cluster about hèr ancient vttMes, likc the pions eons of Noah, wonli appronch her behind a mantie of charity which shovild hide from tbc piibjt and objret cf tho sótrowfui visión, thesight of her unconsciouá l r.eakness ond insenFible prostration.And oíd Virginia, the Virginia of the beat days of our history, will be wrth you, reprcRented by a fbw ehoice spirits, who, with the sublime chivalry of moral heroipm, the ÓÏFfTns ond oriin of bet ter thinps in her condi'ion, will {ro up to yonr cotnmunion, as th ostranged and senttered children of Isme! went [tip from their consts to worhip witb their .Tewish bretberenin the temple at Jeróalefrf inthenyflof Hezekhh. And betwt-en thatinciont jubilee ond your Uonvention, i pray Ihnt tliere may bc feoturfia of r'èsemblanEé to which future generations ehall revert in ?ráó"i ful tnpmoTy . lf ibere is on thing morethoa onollier, wbich would cr.chnnce my plensure in bcinp pre=p;' on the eccasion, it would be the pnvlnrre of meeting th(fre those heroic spirits from Virpinin. Above nll the placea on eürth,ï should prefer to give tlinn the warm hnnd of fraternal ft-Ilowsliip on the green táka oF Oliio. There. in view of the luxnriant fielda nnd all the verdant life of Jour illimited Eden l would hold with them a brotherly ' ion on the gospel of nnture and the greatprin- ciplesof humanity. While a heautiful world of oxnrberant fertility Pxpnnded to théir vievr henea th tlic heaven blesspd labor of free hands, and citirs nfid vülages, buoyant with the vigor of youthful nctiviiy, vied with végetatiori n rnpidity of growth - t would reinind thera with parnest tenderness, tliat the rain, the dew nnd ihèsnnüght feil o pon the fieíds of Vireinia with the same richHess ofbeneficence 8 upon tho9e ofOhio: that nature hnd In visbed npon the ''Öld Dominion" all that she could do for her choicest vineyard, and nêvir withheld a grift thot could make it the gcTden and(Jiory 1)1 imcriuiu l wuuiu aay ivj uimij tlmt if the recent wilderness of yoir sfate' has heen mid? to blossom as the rose, it 3 évidence, leanng the signature of the Almighty, that no slave breaths its pure nir or treada ila froe erd; that in it nnd on it all men are boni frke anb EquAi,, inhcriMn? nd enrichinjf ll tho?3 "inalienable rights'1 laié down in thát Mnpna Charta of democmcy which bfiara ih4 brnad enl of Virginia in the blood of her potriot8. I would say to tliem, ihat all the differcnce, in condii.ion nnd prospecta, between Ohio nnd Virginia exifts in the diffsrcnce of their devotion to tliat sublime dorrma of démocrary which stands at the head of the DecInration of oiir Indppondence; and that if the mothcr of the Union, among all the children she hos brouht up, has none left to guide her; if her walls nre broken down hér fielde laid waFte; if the music of machinery never breaks the silonce of her stroams, andled labor hns no fiofifr in the niht or the doy; if lier childron fly frern her bosom td regions wherp honcst toil is not the conditioh of the slave, it is because slic has not been true to that grrnt doctrine of human rights which 6he was thefirst to proclaira to mankind. I would give the.ii the brolherly hand r)f every Jibcrly -loving son of loil in New Èiigland in pledge, that thcir fiatred of slavery is the strongest expressiori of their Iove for Virginin: that no malevolence Inrks at thö bottom of this greot enterprise of freertom, in which the moral sentiment of the world is fast eoncfiiitralinjf wirh. on erergy wlilcli must soon carrv t lo the issue whieh ehall be gteetrd wiih areümations of grare! grnce unto i(! from 070ry cerner of the world. Brcthren, I would say, not an efibrt in this causé s ins-pircd by ought else than the very soul of iove to yon ond your children. The malevoence of which we hnve' been suspected, hrtö this rxtent, no more: thai Émancipation shall be PfltadiwB Regained to Virginia, in all the compasa of tint condition. It is ono of the chiefest aims of our nspiratiors ond pffrrts, not only to promote tia omnncipation ui the sirve, but lo emancípate tho -OU1 Dominion" from the old dominion of elavery; to crn'ncipate her nstitutions of lnnrnintr ond religión from nn influence that has poisoted their vitality; to emoncipate tha onorsirs of her people from that cripplingf Cv.mprcf6ion which iias bent them to the ground; to emancípale her rivers and streatn? whose curren? have been bound intime of Eimimer, becnuse the mark of theboast waa bunit nnd burninp ;n the brnw of labor pining on their liante: to emancípate her soil frora ihat siaJlow disease with which the sweat of ÜiCölnve - falling on its fucc like aqua fortit- hns dcvotired lts onpncity of product ion; to cmancipsto the treastiros l'iut lie locked and guarded by a huge Oéibohre, in her tnaimtamF vnlleve, anñ hill fidas; to emancipate nutrir ifeelf from thnt iron prevpiition which hn i úum i]:r.ppr f-iriiífi'' up'" cvery wpmro acronf hor ttr' ! ■""". If ÜJj !' tntile . lbo bcaö, wt front, doi