Antislavery: Address Of Horace Hallock, President Of The Sta...

FlUENDS and Fellow-Citi.knís: Assembled, as vvo aro, iliis day, to observe tho Elcventh Amuversary of the Michigan State Anlislavery Society, it well becomes us to acknovledge with gratitudc the guardián care of God, who, while Ho has sparcd us through óiiöther year, bas seen fit, within lluit pcriod, to close the carthly carcer of some of cur ssociates. It nioy also bc appropriate Tor a moment to revert tö tbc memory and Lright carecr of onc, who, without disparagemont to the zehl ór labors of bis associates, may wcll bc stylcd the pioneer nnd long tried friendofthis cause, wïthin our State. Ono, who, disregarding the sacrificeof pecuniary interest, the loss of personal esteem amon'g bis fcllows, and the envenomed longue of slander continually moved against him, had ihe moral heroism to stand forth as the uncompro. mising foe of oppression, and dauntless friendof theoppressed, when friends werc nöeded. One who, likè his Divine Masluf, was wiliing "to mnkc 'himself of 110 reputation" to serve the cause of the enslaved; and when cautioned by a friend toábate some of his zeal in this, then, odious cause, was heard, with a truc martyr spirit, to cxclaim, "If the sacrifice of mv Ufe would but basten tho emanciparon of the Slave for a single diuj, I would frcely makeit!" Such was the spirit whïèli nnimated the breast of our beloved and liimented friend and associate, lh-.Au'nnu L. Vortkr. whom the providence of Godliasseen fit to remove from us dunngthe past year. lt ís ríot my design upon the present occasion to pronounce hiseulogy, itisnot needful - his '-'record son high;" nnd while he has passeel to his reward, and Iris redecmed spirit, witli inany of his despised and ransomed brethren, is rejoicing in that blissful home, where the "sighing of the bondman is heard no more," the ivatm devotion of his soul to ths cause oi the oppressed, remains engraven upon many hearts. This passing tribute lo th memory of tlio Jiisl, is due from those who have for years boen nnimatcd by his zca in battling for this righteous cause. These seasons of annual convocalioi ar.é peculiarly appropriate and profitnble To those engaged in any moral enterprise, warring, ns thcy do; ngainst the ilerce passions and prejudices of men, i is at all times refreshing lo moot wilh kin dred spirits, and take counsel wilh those engaged in the same common strife. Oui meeting at this timo, is undér circumstan ces peculiarly favorable for drawing to gether a goodly nuniber of the friends o the oppressed, and wc rejoicethat the cal has met with such a hearty response. - The cause wliich cnlists our symptithics and demands our attention. has been so often and so eloquently portrayed, hascommanded the tongue and the pen ol so many of the wise aud good of our land. that it would sccm al.inost nresumptüous for me to attempt to cxpand or enlarge upon it. Most of yon have, dóubtloss; heard from the lipsofthose who have fölt ín their own persons, the wilhering curse of American Slavery, far more eloquent appeals, louching its guili and wocs, tluui we could possibly present. Who but the ])ooi' fugitivo, into whoso smitten soul its iron hasenlered; whose crushcd spirit has drank in all its bitterness; counted its sighs, measured its tcars, and tasted its xvormwood and gall- who but he is able to teil, in language that must reach th heart, all its damning guilt? And w regard it as an omen of good; a sur pledge of deliverance to the oppressed, that God hascommissioned and sent fort from the house of bondage so many vh can reveal its bidden woes, and scarif the seared conscience of our guilty natio by the recital of what their own oye lmv seen, and their poor laceratcd bodics fc)f its guilty curse! - Bul it ia not simply, or mainly in tho horrid suftering it occaions lo tlie bodies of its viclims, that the crime of American Slavery appears, bul ather in the bold assumption thnt jrm can huid pruperfy in man f By this Hearen daring act it lays its'irnpious hand upon tho fairest handy work if God and vrites"A thing - a chattf.i.." It takcs nan, inimorlal man, and degrades hún to lic levcl of the bcast ! It seeks to desroy the "divinity that stirs within him;" eal up the fountain of instruclion; blot ut tho moral sense; and, as far as law an do it, hrulify tho "human forin diine"! If wc pass from a consideration of the vrongs inflicled upon its victims, and mark its devastating influencea upon our ation, we scarco know wherc to bogin, r where to end, the enumoralion. The ark catalogue of wrongs are truly legión. n the eloquent languago of one who.se oul is fired with zeal upon this subject, e might say - "Kjustice, and virtue and itelUgencc, are the foundations of permaent Liberty - Slavery saps (hem If onsUlulional rujiullicanism bc the on1)uarantee of national f veedora - Slavery ïas utterly trampled it under fooi. Iiey are not jrcemen who tamely suumn o the loss of one ffgftt, then are the ican Peopïe Slaves " This is the st'rong ! nnguage of a noble spirit, who realizes 1 i sbmé dcgrec, the blighting curse of ihat ! bominable syslem which is spreading ( ke a canker, and enting tip the very vialsofour liberly. lts guilt will also apicar if we considcr for a momem how its janeful iniluencehns invaded the chui, ■'.: f God, and, alas! in loo tnany intances, böbhtsd to siloncc tho voico of roso whose especial commiosion ft is to preach dclivcrance to the cnptives," and onen their mouth for the dunib in the aiöse pf all süch as are appoint'ed to desrüption." How il ïi dry ing up the strearas f sympalhy and by its pestifurous inilunce petrilying, as it were, all the betier eelings of humnnity throughout our land! VVhere are the fountains of gushingsy mintliy which should have ilowed out from nilliotis of free Hëflrfe lowards ixTarrch,; a Walker and others, who have su fie redevery thing büt death lor the pe'rlbrmirice of deeds at which an rtügcl wquld reoicü? deeás, which the Leviiical law ucmanded touardslhe escapin.; captivo, rii:d vliich. (as has been trtily said) if perlbrned upon the, coast of Darbary, would mvc been commended by the A ise and Good as deeds of heroic viriue'? And talk vc of TarJTs, ov Frce Tradc, or L'tind Disirilulwi, or Suh-ircasuric-s; fis ihc great absorbing ítí'te'rests wc ha'vo at stake in this nation? Vvh'y, whnt are lliéy conipared to the liberly of speech? Wliat are ihey; as the sources of a nation's prospcrity, compared willi that priceless boon of lliinan JÁbcrly, tor whioli our iatliers shed their blood like rain! but which, alas! is fiüst stcaling, unobservcd, from iheirgenérate sons. And vet Úfese pecuniary interests, trival, as they cornparalivcly aro. aro all at the Ijock and bidding of the Slavc Power. It can and wil], créate or destroy as inay best subserve lis own selfish intorestá, and ns far as slabiUly in their arrnngcinoiit is concerned, (whiclij all admit is most important to bo secured,) it is idle to hope lor it wliilo thïs great dislurbing power, Sla ver v, still Uves! As wcll might you scek to found a Pyramid upon the storm rocked ocean, as to secure a pennanent basis upon which to settle these great pècuniary inlerests of the r.ation, while lUts huge Loviathen power - Slavkxiy - lives and cxerts ils controlling. influence throughoul the land. Unt enough' has boen said respecting the character of the foe with which we are called to contend, and wc turn to the more important ènquTry - what can be done? Ananswer to this mny bc fuuiid by a cursory glance at the pst, ;uid from what has already been accomplished, we inay gniher liope ibr the futuro. As Siavery is but tho creaturc" of law, and law i.s but the embodied sentimentor wii] of the people, it sobviousthat all thr;t is nocded to secure to oursclvcs, our potcrity, and the enslaved millionspfour land nrüvcrance from lilis curse, is tho fonnation of a correct public sentiment upon the subject. Tiiat somethiug hns alrcauy been done, and much more is now doing to secure this result, a niomcnt's reflection upon the past will fully convince us.- Some present here this ■ day, can look bnek ten or twelve years to tbc perinu wlicn this Society was fir.st organized. 1 well rember some some of the facts connected witii its origin. A flw of the friends of the oppressetl from dfflrent paris of the Stato asscnibleci at the qüiet villnge óf Ann Arbor. Aftcr two meetings held during the day at onc of the churches, we wcre advised by tjipsa excrcising authorily over the house, that thoy öould nol consent to its being occupied fur sucha purposc during the etiebólglmsd úpón more particular emjuiry. $mmthought lo bc an act of tenierity tbr na lo alletnpt to holcj a public meeting any whcrc at tluU limo, lest wc sliould bc assailed and djspersed by the aclion of a mob ! The sentiment Uien prevailing upon lliis subject throngliout the Stnto would have rende red such an event equally probable in any of our largor villagcs or towns. Look now at the scènes yince witnessed in that beau ti ful village, where, upon the cali for an Antislavery Convention, the crowd oí friends asscmbling was so great that the largest hall thoro could not conlain thein, nnd the crowd, numbercd by Ihousands, occupied. for hours, the public square around theircourthouse, with none to molest or di&turb them. Look at oihcr facls abrond, touching t!ie progress which this cause is rnaking through the land. A few years since in ihc very hoart of Xi.w ICngland - upon llie spot hallowcd as the eradle of American liberty - one of the early pioneers of this cause wasarrcbled in bis pcaoo.ful labor of spreading light and truth; bis prftSs broken up, himself iguominiously lei1, through the streets of that city like a felón, with a huiler around bis nc-ck. Passing on a íew year., we witness similar scènes of yloleñce (as far as the pressjs concerncd) enactcd, but whcre is tlicir localily? Not in tliestant, liberty-loving streets of Boston, bw in the vcry tecth of the monster; yca, m Kcntueky - a Slave Stato; amidst thoso wbose bitter prcji)dices and selfish intcrests all coinbincd to 5tifle the voice of Liberty. In view of the contrast presented by the diiTerent locality of tliese scènes of violence, somo one has well venturcd the prediction. thrit anothcr decade will not have passed bcfore siiiiilar cÜbrlu will be witncásed to destruy the antiilavcry pras$; which, ere that, will have lau(cd itself at the cities of Chnrleston, Savannah, or New Orleans, thus bcarding the lion in his vcry den.Arnidthe numcrous evidences oí the rapi'd spread ofour principios, miglit bc noticéd the fact that where, a. few vcur.ssince hut onc solitary perioüical was pledged to tlivir support, even in the frce States - noVj '(i wcekly [and somc oí" ihem daily] papers, are regularly publishcd, and engaged ia a systematic of lort to spread the truth; scatlered through fiftcen Siatesand Territorics of the Union. Álso the ïtiimensc galhcring of the friends of frecdom at the great conventions, at Boston, Cinciunati, and othcr places, during the past year; to t!ie interest reuently awakencd in diiTorent places to secure the prc;scnco of that chainpion of frecdom, Casius M. Clay, and heai% fi-om Iiis lij)s the reasons which prompt him to seele the il -imetion of the Slave' Power. We might also furn to the Ballol Box, that sure index of the aniount of Interest fel! for the Slavc, and although hqre and there n slightly diminished vote might awaken feará atnong the friendo of the oppressed, yet a growing interest evidenced in Qther )laces would quict those faarsi Tliose of us who have stood by the mighty ocean, nnd watched its advancing tido, as wave after wave rollcd up and brokc upon the shore, thoagh occa! sionally one might come with less Ibrcc ' and break bclow its follows, have feit a perfect confidence that, truc to nature'a laws, the swelüng tide would continue to advance till it had reached its ineted bounds. So also with the untislavery spirit of this nation, although at times the forceof its advancing lidc may seem for a season to be spéritj yet we kñow that while Irulh possesses moral power it canfail to advance, till by its mighty swèllings, it upheave and bear away the foundations of Slavcry f rom our land. Air.ong the checring indications cf the future rapid advance of those principies in our own State, we hail the organizalion within the past year of the "Young Mcn's State Antislavcry Society," and wclcomc it as ah cflicient auxüliary in our noble work.But whilo the liistory of our cause the pnst yc:ir is Craught with cncouragement lor t!:o cncrgctic prosecution of our labor, it lias rceorded alarming facts which sliould startle ilie friends of Liberty, and prompt to redoubled diligence in ilieir ef(brts. Among thoso, lor guilt and infarhy distinguished, stands tlic accomplishmcnt of that schemc of villuiiiy and f rand - the annexalion of Texas. Brnvingthe rc;)catcd judgments of Heaven unon somc of the early abeltori of that act, and régardlcss aliko of the rigbt of the free ;i ii !' iho r.orth, and the siuTering bondmen aj the soulli, thu ihuil cunsuinuiatori. of that sclieme rushcd forward to do 0 deed, wliich, for low servility to the Sldtic Poiccr. and Irailorous gnilt lowards ihe iVecmr'n of the north - stands without a parallel ! ! Knowing that the prolonged lijfe of their peculiar and dar]n?r íaslitution depended upon it, wocannot.so mucli wonder at the nipacious .yai of the .shivcholding south for such u consummatiun, bui that the Representativos oí thc frecïorih - the "Ieriy loving" JJcmocraaj should sell thcin.sulvcs ío dp a doei! po iaa# is nuutcrofabtonishmeni and grief ! Should v.e adopt the heathen maxim, that i 'whom the gods destroy they firSt mnke I nad," wc miglit surely rcLard the i :ald?slruciiün of tho northern abcitcrs of Iris fraudas certain - for. without I orsv, it is an act of iraitorous madness to I hc interest of thcir free constituents, ' '.minent in gnilt ! Ncod wn sto[) to prove hese Luid assertions ? Aro thcy not I li-ntihro' il] the Iris history of ihis d? And althocigh its guilty nctors l vill doubtless add insult to injurv. by ctiipting to justify their course, and ully talkof extending the "area of lom" - becomipg a gr'eát people. - and preading the broad .Tvis from ocean to cean, yet what are the shamoful ycs iial.nvjst stare them in tho face?. Was ïot the conception, prosecution, and conumination of tho scliemc niarkcd wiili intire d yotion lo the strength and perpeuity of the Slave Power of the nation ? f these unwurihy servanfá are not held o a slrict account by their constituents, ind made to iocl the uiiihering sconi of )Utragcd frceinen. then let it never more jo aske'dJ ''what have we of the nonh to :lo with s!avery?" Do with it ! Why Bvcry ballot cast for tho men who now ropresent our State in the councils of the nation, and sanctioned that abominable deed, wcre marked with tho blood of Slaves! the truo endorsement upon thern in letters of blood, would have been - ';Si..vr:nv Extkxded! - Slaveuy Peuri-.Tr.vrrD"!! Thoso who commissioned them to cast thcir votes for the consummation of that scheme are (Urccüy and unauoiduMy responsible for the act of spreading this system broad-cr.st over a wido extent of country t!;at mustIcss otherwisc soon have been freed IVom its bligliting curse ! FÖr the net of ■ ing onc citizen of Hlavoholding Texas with as :nucl) politicnl power as is wieldcd by cight free citi.ens ofour own State - for the opening of a new Slavc market lor the old Slave States of this Union - already trembling under the accumulalion of a surplus stock that. must soon have caused the system to totier to its ruin ! - for these, and other unnumbered i acts of guilt atfendant upon this extensión of the Slave Power, is ecery man responsible who casts his vote for those who disgraced our noble State by mnking her a narly to so vile a deed ! Oh, how the heart sickens at the thought, that a free people should be made to lend themselves to acts so base. Nor can we believc that with thcir eyes openeu to the facts, thoy can long sustain their sorvants in such acts of guilt, hut discovering that under tho potent name of JJcmocracy, tbcir leaders have -.stolen the livery of Ileaven to serve the devil in,;' they will indignantly haul them from thcir seats of power, and elévate to thea' places thosconly who bclicve in, and sock to practico the Democracy of that glorïous instrument which declares that ':all men are created cqua?, and endowed with certain Inalienable rights, among which are life, Lirërtv, and the ]ursuit of happiness."Dut while wc speak thuis uarmly of tlie action of lhc dominant party of the nation, wecnn by no means whollv acquit their opponcntsof guilt in this matter : without stopping to recount the many acts of prominent individuáis in that party, which go to substantiaie the f act, we have had abundnnt evidence airead}' to prove that when their inlerests as Whigs and Slaveholders are antagonistic, they hcsitate not to sacrifice the former lo tho latter. - While tlieroforc we frecly adir.it that in the northerw wingof tbat party, there are many individuáis of noble sou!. vJio sympathisn wilh the oppressed, nnd would shun so base n öecd as that referred to, yot when, as a party, fhey claim to bethe safe guards of freetfbm in the land, and ihac Slaveholding Tcxas would have found no favor with thoni, ye -must dissent, and demand cndc.ncc rather ihnn mere asscriion that defection in their ranks wculd not eventunlly have secured the samo result, had they secured the e.ecutive control of the nation. ]3ut aliho' tho dark dood is done - and Texas wilh all her Slavery, added to our guilty nation,- we havo no cause lor despair. Nay, this vcry deed, so full of treachery to llio canse of lïeedom, has alreudy awoke a spirit of enquiry, and a purpose of rcshlence to the' Slavo Power which might olherwiso lor yoars have'slumhcrcd ; and uiilcss the abetlors of lhis schorne, vV ttieir islavcholding allies, can devise a .vstem of bars and bohs wliich wil! prevent the ingress of moral Jight npon tlie eonth, its rayswill strennr in upon their dark noss with tcnfold brightness. Alrcndy lias thisact provoked to ;he formatiun of a leagtio of lreomen, sworn to óp[ïö$é tlie nggressions of this tnonsler power, drawn iVom men, inany of whom have ncver beforc been oA to act disiinclively with the lricnds of the oppressed. From thenite hills of Now Engiand to the sunny J plains of the south, tho spirit of Libei-tv ' j is marshalling iis host of noblo spifltë for i a still more vigorous onset upon t hi.s foc to God and man. VVho can doubt tlio .1 sul-? Tiïis great paradox of uur age, the L oxistence of tlio wor.st (bnn of opprossiou i the world ever saw, in tho hcart of tho i freest Uepublio on eartli - must spoedily E ome to an end. The day of the Sltltota i dcliverance is at hand. Thoy will cither i be led forth, like God's anciont people, 1 rimid dire ovonvhelming judgrnents upon t tlicir opprósáo'rs, or umier the mild i anees of truth and mercy, be permilted to go freo. It is for thls latter (orm of ( :uicipalion we labor; for this we toil, and j ïheórfuilv ondure the sco:n and oblo.juy jf those wlio lake part vvith the oppressor, ( vgardless of the wronga üf the t d. OuTvS is an object worthy an angel'a t ympalhies, and well mighttax an angel's t ïowers ! May our delibcrations and c ion on this occasion bo such asshall e art ncw zeal and interest to this cause c hroughout our State, artd tent! to diffuse resh courage and energy among the f Viends of the oppressed. Oh, what an arpasipg rcsponsibiliy I rests upon us to secure tlie rapid extensión of our principies, lest 'tho forbenrance of God, long provoked, s!:ould wax hot, and while he says to tho suilering bondman, go free, should roll a tide of deserved, dcsolating judgments over our guilly land, and bury the oppressor, as of oíd, amid a soa of wraih ! Thai a consummation so feáiTül niay be prevented, and the speedy, pcaccful dt:l i veraneo of cnslaved millions secured, let us r.ct w ui: a zcal and wisdom commensuratc with the magnitiuie of the objset at which ne aim - and wilh that firm, undaunted, yet meük and forbearing spirit, wliich cannol fail to secure the blessing of the God ok the Orrni m.ii.