Communications: For The Signal Of Liberty: To Wm. Goodell

Mij oíd and cstecmcd Fricnd : üear Sir: - Your coiiimunicniion iü the Siglal of Liberty ol the 20th inst. in rcply lo my revious one on the iinpoHcy af adding now 2s:s of niembeohip to the Uberly pariy creed as truly acceptablc to me. I have hcretolbre oad writh pleasu.eand edification nearly all you iive ever writtca bntli un tho Temperanceand :!avery questions. Fur the first time I om oomelied to dtffer with you upon what I conceivo bc a viially important maitor. Though I hink f have weighed carefully 11 that uu and irhcrs have said upon the poiut between us, yet i has tended onJy to confinn me that you must ie in error. Yon and I are nbout the snme og" md have been niores'od in the Temperance and niielnvery causes about the same length of iine and oughl to know somothing of the jrefs of those two enierpriscs, Wlien I ennsider sotne few hiijhly csteemed brethren who dilTer witli tlie niain body of the Liberty prirty rolntivo 10 iniroducing now ihings into our ranks, with a view to aboliïh elavery the sooner byit. 1 may pe:baps s;iy respect' t.o sotne ot ihcm at least, tliat "great men are not alwaya wiso." nor the "Lattle to the strong" - 'nor the race to the swift." Like erecting a superstniciure of irresistible 6'.rength and beauty upon a Btndy foundation, s'.rang men not unfrequiMitly rcason wiih great logical acumen upon merel y assumcd premisos, but which düiibtless sectn to them at tlie time lo be itnpregnablc. Wbero a supersiructurc is thus roared witli symmelry and skül. the passer by or mereil olserver is ol'rcn so intern on the splendid cdiiiceitseif, as scarcly to spend a thoughi tipon its foundation. Thoso wh'o assume that chntiel slavery ii ihis country can never be abolislied jxcepl !y the present Liberty party obtaining lie numérica! power of tlie naüon. and that the 3n!y way for it 10 obtain ihis numerical power ís :o inifurl its bnnnersto the breezo of popular favor on all questions af mere selíish ínterefts to hc people, I think ossume false premisos (howeyer good their motives may bc) and radical ly err in boih instances. I hui not aiiiuii;' the nunilier who believe that either the Churthcs or the political partics mus1 neee&iurdy remuin corrupt forever under their present nnmes. There is not niuch in a mere name for good or for I held it however to bc the indispensable duty of all members of degenerate political or tcclesiustical Jodies to come out from thc-m whenever an enlightcned conacience and a sound judgment sliall determine this' course to be duty. as the more speedy and elFectnal mode of reforming cuch bodies or ol duing the greatest go-.)d ta mankind. But vitrcly coming out or v.icrely 9taying in the old ecclesiasiical or political orgnnizations will not of ilself reform these bodn-s. abolish slarery, or accomplish any othcr good. "Come outera" from the ehurch or parties, i( they pursue ihe same course to catch popular ía vor that the old organization, di, wilt inovitahly ín 1 1 in the snme corruption. Let history be a warning o such. ShouM ihey do so, they will not reform the oíd orgnnizntion and their object in coming out from thein wül be lost. Nothing b.it a pufficiciciit antount of moral and Christtan principie disinterestctlly and consi&ieily carried out in all practicihle ways will evor abolish slnvery nndmorally nd politically renovate ard snve nur country. Let the abolition ol ' Slaery ia our country, na did the abolition of the alavc trade in Englnnd lend the wny for other greal rjfonna tp follow in their turn. Wc shall thui bcít know what hould bo done, nnd how bes to do it. The master reformera in Engínnd tnk u; one greal thïng at a iite, Isl the slavo trad - ihjn slavcry in hc Islands - then the Cor laws - then comes the Worid's A. S. Convenliu- and last thougli not lenst the worid s cnns:ian Couvention exclitJing staveholders froni ncniberahip. Let one grcat reform aíter tinoth er be grnppled1 with and cousuinmated at a time. I ttin faith nnd paiiencc have her perfect work, and we soon niay look for "a nntion to be bom naday." Tiiwe is 110 more ramd nccas'tij ihai the present corrupt proslavery organizntions in our country ehrmld forever rrmain corrupt. tlian thpie is that bh impnircd physical Constiiution should forevot rsnruun rnpaiied. nnd in no instance bo rostored to soundneswby the preserving nnd sküful ripplicaiion of fiitiug teatoratiyes and thai au on. re ncw Conslilution must in all cmscs be mncie. Every meliiwr of tl ere ergmizntions muM .iet as a moral phytician to ju'lgc wKen ht áhould desunir i-f ihe rec-ivery of the patiënt under hia care. No prudoni pliysician would ex,;end medicino upon a hopclcss pntient or a mere coróse. Wc ;i!l cbtsrisli the hope howè-er ihat the intiss of the Aikc cm pcoplc vti'j becie rc;.)rme(}by the perstivcring niu) faithful di3ifiisitio.'i oí irmh with ilie blcssing ot Heaven "pon it. Without ihis confidence, why act at all? Fur inatanco, ehould ihc prolesbxd Cliiuch oi God in our country bccowe what slic opghi to bn. whe;hcr iho reforriiation $hould be eflèotcd l ilio priiyer of faiih and a holy consistent liie widi in or withoiu her present pale. il would exen ihat purifytug influence upon all tho politirpl partjes in our co.UBtrv, th.it they would wjtli ach otherto aboüsli slavery i-i all Constifiuionnl ways, by íegloíafiVé action whetf it k!)ou1(1 net ircviously i'one, wfiicb; should the Gh'tirch do her who'edury, would in nut ca.-es doubt less be eOcctcJ by voluntary cmnncipniion. - Tuis I cinuot doubt miitl Invo been the view ot Brother Goodell when hc lolt th ditoislnp ol ilic 'I-'iur.Nn oy Man" and staited his "Cu.ubtis 1 wi:stigator' to reform tlio Church on Slavery. Hc doubiless thonght as nli the ïricl hgent Liberty men have long beheved that the nominal Church in this country is tbc Bulw.vkk of slavery, not the Tartff as Bro. Qoodoll now nseumeBond treata so largely upon in hie kind letter to me. And how it is that Bi o. GoodeJI should of a udden have loBt hia faith in deinoliBhing the "Chumh Bclwark" ftd l"fornóliahing whtit liesuumsiu rea ird nnw :b the 'T.viiiKi" Fui.wark," 1 nm indeed unabie to inderstnnd. Ilas ilie detnoliiion of tlie Tariff my special rctiovminc ivo-al pmcer in it by vir:ue of which ihc pcopla wtll chojsc men to rule ver ihciu who i'Jeiir God and hatc eovetOW? ncss." Slüill wc appeal to a Bfurit of covetousnes hy which to extermínate tho same spirit Which is 8 iniich necdeJ in tina mitón to preaarc the people '.n lieart to abolish slavery. - Shnll we by dkvils attempt to cast out devils !! And can such bc trusied? C:m not men -who :an be won to the Liberty party by sclfish mo,ives- bo won j-hom it by the sime motives. - Whatcver auy na'.iunal Liberty party Convenlion may have said towards conimittini.' the L,bsrty party lo other work, or creeds. than the abolition of chnUel slavery n the United States, two itnpartant facts in the matter stand out in bold relief. Tho Liberty party originated from; and wasintended to be baaod opon tho principies of the American Antidavery Society which was organiZed solely to aboüsh cbattel s!avery in our country in all constitulional ways. For th'u reason it win oppropriatcly called nn antislnvery, not an Anti-Turlff, nor nn Av i Bank Society. For the most obvious reason the Liberty party haa nlwavs been called and univcrsnlly ndmitied to bc a "one idea" party - a stigma ntend d ly proslavory men lo be eist upon it, bul which I had supposed every intelligent trueheartcd Liberty man gioried in, regardingii as I had sunposcd they dul, to be an idea líke i'haraoh'3 lean Xine which wouldswallow up all the "ol'ier grrat intereUi" of the country. Il;is niicommon famo justly ptamped the Liberty pnrtyasa "one idea" party? No consistent membcr of the American Antislavcry Society has departed from that one principie on account of hi Inving become a member of ihe pieaent Libcriy party. By dning so he has nol ns eome ptv, changed from vinrui stiai-'-ori to politictil actiin. ngainst slavery and thus given licenca lo changc irrdèSnitely to ,4rti'-everything: else that may perchanec come into his hcad, rigiit or wrong, in or.ler to have what sonie cali a ";.ecL yntij " Endi and every meinber ot ihe Amcricnn Anuslavery Society wus solcntnly piedged from thevery commenccment o use all bis moral ns well n as his politica! power to abolish chnttel slavery. - p Tho p-irtioular mode of excriing this political í power wheihcr by scatrering it to promote true men only against ahvery in the respectiva parties as fortnerly, or of concentrating iias noio ur.dcr c the form of the Libcriy party, ia no chanpe of r principie whatöver, bui a mere cliange of form of carrying out the oae and the same principie tho "one idea." In point of fact, evcry man, the moment he became of the American Antislavery Sooioty w.is virtually n member of a (ione dea' ' Liberty party, bound to exert his politica ,a well as moral power to the extent of his Iawtul ability to abolish chattel elavery in tbia country - but not to abolish ihe tarifT- the army and niVy - Banks- Sub-Treasuries - Maaonry- OHd Fellowship - capital uunishmerrt - ilfemale slacery" - in short the whole gystcm of political or cccles'mstcal organiviatiohs i the land under the pretext that thcy bear the marks of "hvman im pcrfcciïjn," and sustain wronga to a greater ur less exient. Neither the niembersof the Amer I kan Antishivery tíocieiy. nor ihe members of I the Liberty pnrty were ever plcdged literally to i demoüsh all the dwellings in the land and turn the peoplO out into the pitiless storm becauso the aructure of the dwcllings might not be 'perfect. As weü migtu they have pledged iheniselves to abolish or exterminaie ihe whoíe medical fac ujiy - apothocary. Thompsnnian and al), because il is made up of "iiapï'fecl' and sometimes dangerous praciitioners in the medical science. - Tho tendency of the human miad is to extremes. It is prone to Invor despotism on the one hand or anarchy on the other. The first wuuld make a ent m'in power, the last a vo man power. Tl would seem thnt tiv'se who wjuld havo o hun-.an Government bnsec upor tho law of Go( which would result in ;he highest good to man. should stuaious'.y avoid these two dangcrous ex ? tremea - Scyllu on the one hand and Charybdi ' on the othcr. The nrdent lovors of the larges s liberty for man, in thetr anxiety to avoid sufler 1 ing the wrongá so often inflicted hy tho nnrigh e e mis adüiinsiration of human govornment wou! c foin abolisli even the lnst vestige of human gover " irent iue)f civil or tccleaiastieal.and stt ïlJ humaaflairsafioat in n state of wil d fc frantie confusión. Snch a state o things seenis to bc hailcd by somc nmong us 09 ilie 'verf sumïmi of "pcrfcctton" of luinian society. Uut is it not ' adrancing backicurds" into a stalo of original anarehy and baibarism. TI113 ndiscriminate warj farc upon all prganszation in society, Ims olwnys sceaied 10 me to proceed from a kind of rctnliatorv spirit tor evil whicli had grown out of orguii7.auons, liUe a man who ehuuld in a raye kill lus las' norse bis iast cow becnu?e thry were not ín a!l respecta ns he cöuld wish them í to bc ; or to fill up his weil and die with thirst because it rèquired consi'lürahle labor to clennse it nd lo keep tbe wator in a clear aud hcuttliful s'a:e. For tbc Liberty pnrty to stop in ks one preat work of convicting iho nation ofits decp guili in rela'.-on to the e.xistenco of alttvery in our innd an;l set about the extormniutioti of every ihing else wlncii .iny of i!s nwinbcri tnijilit cb&ticé to think politicil evila, w.mld seem to rne Iike a. cqmpauy of men disputins bout vb;it pirticuiw bram-h of a corrijpi iroo hy shuild cutoiTtu ■kill thenr.vKr r in: iRU.VK iiself, or whn'. p:irticu!.ir eorrnpt strcain they Sftèuld purify to (Ic.msc tbc rnrrupi founiin. The truih is, the nortbern pople having always luM s iliey havo tlie mojonty ; t'ie piiliiioul power of the i;utt'n m dii'ii ■ Dwii !i mi U U pieveiH or to cre;üo nnd ex mil slnc.y iulolriiif!)', re rípdsiWo nil(' ■ ii p)ly ;U:lty for us lirat iiitro-lnciion In'to our "ovei-.imTit, mut lor iis subs'fj'iflnt fdë n si .n. mul cuDí;ítúenily ir lts presew e.istence us. Tho si .voioMinif stn! in fhfljt gobet mom. nis have ever admitted tbc tmth thnt thry MjM itot hoW thoir slaVCfl n. hour without the grêil mnjority of the nailon ia stand by them, ihat is wnh lbo army nnd navy abottl seven eihU8 "'f whidi power 111 rnoney and trtpn is nl■Vi dniwn from the norih. WhIioui this ' nugbiy ro-eponocrating oortheru power si.ni'iirp: ' on the neck of the slave.Bf welt might one hold an ■ Elephant by n single hair as for S.OOOguilty, erTeminate, sluveholdera 10 hold 3.000,.000of hardy athretic people in slavety. In point of fact. the great norib stand guard over the êlave with hor thousands of irwskoiN and cannon poiated at hid heart, virtually Baying to him, the moment you dare atteuipt tobroak your chains, instantcath ia your doom. This ia the trueand guik osition of tho nortb in relation to alavés. Th iorihorn pcoplc htye in faet been ihe elavennker8, and are n trutli the slavtlioMers m ihia miion at this moment. Tho Northe-n peoplo lüld and watrh the alavés for their "dear Suuthrn bretliren" and sbvc pnrmers to whip. to vork, tn rob, and to sunder forever among them ho dearest ties of humnnity. How infinitcly tcl6sh, mean and wickod it is ihen, on the part jf any portion of the northern peopfe to take the losilion that becouse they are beginning to be ipprtssed thomselvcs with the comparativo tveight of n fenther growing ou' of tho mountain ind crushing weight of 6lavery whiuh tliesc san' :omp!aining northern people hav so wickei' cast upon 3,000,000 of their brethren ín rui thnt thcy will not pul their fingcr to the griet burden which they have cast upon their enslr brethren, unles9 they can at the same time liver themseltts from what Bro. Goodcll e cd to cnll the ''ickite slatrry" of a " Tu Does this look. Bro. Goodeü like that k sjonuine disintereeted repentance "itot to i ptn'ed of." in the northern people for ih-ir nud awful guilt concerning thcir brother. sla their owa hand, and left half dcad. a:; tliievca ! ! Does il look liko the spirit of him who e. i4If meat mnkc my brother to oflbnd, I will eat no more while the world stand?." Dücs itn' rnther looi; like the ppirit of Iñii who said I kr.iv not where my brother is, ;I am uothis keeper." The introductior of all or any of these selfish considiTiUionsfilluo'ed to into thO ranks of the Liberty friends does rff:nd many. It ofiendi 3,000,000 of our brelhren whoni we the peoplthave cast into slavcry by our superior poluical power when thoy see us parleying whether wo witl ever deliver them ur.less ve can at the same time accoinphsh some slfish mercen&ry objects hy it. Would not the dumb ogony of the slnve, cry, Lord deliver me from such Iriends But nbovooll il appears tome it mast affend the God ot theoppresied, whose solemn and uncondilionlal injunciion upon n, is "deliver ihc oppressed tiróm their oppressions." "let ihe oppressed go: ! free.' break every yokc." It should be kopt inñrid timt we the Nor'hern peop!e are the guilty nny and haye no right (o stop a moment to pre.:rbc ihe lernis to God or to thc slave upon -liich nlono we will "let the oppressed go iree." Ve are tho wrong doere, nnd not at liberiy t onsuli oar own eelfish interest, before wo will rpcni, doriglit, ond let th oppressed go free ! '. he progresa of tho Temperance reform grcatly rerc;r ?uns me in my viowa ralaltve to he on rinciple oi benevolence, upon which alone lbo ntislavery cause con ever beconsurnmalcd. Tlie more tho Temperance canse has been resé nt cd. and enforcod upon tho peoplo upon 'ho one idea" of benevolence alone, the more it as progresscd. This "one idea" of benevolence r ''good tcill" to the aufierer, was the great seret of Father Mnthew's ostonishing succesa in he Temperance cause in Iroland. Thia "ono dea" too, was the secret of iheunparnlloledaucess fora time of -.heWashingtoniansin o-ar own our.uy. Had tile eloquent Gough while he waa nrrying all before him upon the "one principie" f dühvcring the slave of Temperance from hia hainastopcd to speevïvtz how a man could make more money by becoming a TemperancO man, it would. have chilled the high state oi eathusiasm ot bis audiences into the bleak atmoaphere of "Greenland's icy mouniains" 1 1 I niesn mt of course that it ia not our duty lo voto to abolish slatery es wellas intemperance-. W!m i is now propored by ome to adi a variety f gheerselfishconsidcraúonsto tho Liberty party creed chnngea cntirely tho whole character ö( our enierprise from tl:U pure disinieicaird ono upon which it commenced for the abolition of chnttel slavery and líattiog elso, to a more selíish one to n.ake ïnomiy, by way of abolishing tliq tarifT. the army and navy, and curtailiug the expenses of government, &c. v-'CN However inueh iet mny suffer growing out of tho immense aufferinjjs of our breihren in slavery which we have so wickcdly beaped upon them; still, these ncw tliings are antagonisiic principies to ihe one upon which our enterpusa commenced- the tïrat bemg bnevolent. and the insiselfish. While mnpeople wc rcniiin tbua hard heaned and selfish in our blood and guilt, the grent wonder is, inslcad of suffering as Httlo as we do. and beingponnittcd 10 mnrinnr at thif, tliBt our name aa a people, has not ere tbis, been blotied out of exisicnce. i i is in vain to say iha motive of all Ibese stlliöh things, is 10 abuIiU slnvnry.T h ) end does not sanctify the tncans. It bo, to vote for Henry Clayor any other alavehoile-,or lor Faton himseU; under the pretext of aceoin pliahing some ulterior good by it would bc ju-. Fiable. 1( so: it is right for C M. Cluy to G for slavery. to induce siavchoUer 10 aboi tel ! Broiher Goode proposes O annex what I convidéis will bccoiae populor tnoasures amor he peoplc, to prevent sarue ather party "absorl ing the L'berty jiart.'" Did the Tempe party ever propose to hitcli on to iis MJ idsa" of Tcniperance, tarff. or -frceirndc" for fear tho ir.tiiinpcrance paiy would "obsovb it." Yo SQÏ the reaion why tbenniimasonsdiJ not succeed in Locoming a don.in.int pnny. wnsr that -ihcy only opposed mosonry and Iet, &■&? ubne." fiow, I il.ink. Km. GoodolKin iliis as m eotne oí li assumöd premisos, is in error. Tho irtnh if. ilio nniimasotiic party did iiccoinplish ilie idi-nticul object for which dnc il organiztd, Hat si) far and no fanlier. Miau il ndhered to thnt ■'.me idea' niid ihni tüonc, huviug noihing whatovèr to do wii li tarlff, ilavt-cy or any othor dis- thacti.no queations. But ulia ion e giia leaders b oame impationf or ambiiiiuis, 10 raisc up a i-omisant NT'Nr. partv for the sake oía pnny. hiul maJe the el-. fort to niurilijanmte '.he .inti-masonic pnny wiiU ihe nHtional republic.m. fiction, nmong wboni w ra ilistinuuishfd innsons. tlio body of the antlniaaims pluinly saw that the altenmiveleft ihem, wat to be Uariertd away Uy trwevr leaders to support principies wijten tlicy did not approve, or to, diQ,) back nito ih,ur oM pnrtiesThey prefeued th Initcr. Thu their teadvTs carne off yith neithrr honor nor profit. S-i mucb for leaders aciing in bsd faith, to ti honest. conrïding bsdy of n?n, who Mi all other poli,ucnl consideratioiiB and organized tbemsolvcs together to accimiplish a common objec ab first agreed on as the aotisUvery men hav done. The np ment tbc on coainipn gbj'ect i%