Anti-slavery Discussion

One or tvo Imndred weslern delegato from llie Buffalo Convention returned on lioard the "Grent Wesiern," and landed chiefly at Ene and Cleveland. Allhougb we were so thick that there was scarcely room in the cabin to He on the floor, yot we had a good lime togetlier. Many acquaintances were fortned belween old fellow laborers in a common en use who had never seen eacl) oiher, and [rivale and public discussions -ere the order of iho day, and of the night loo. President Mahan, of Oberlin College, who sympalhises with the views of Gerri' Smiih, introduced a resoluiion into a commitiee of the whole, that the Liberty party ought to be a universal reform party. He argued this, fir.st, from the attitude t nssunies. It asks for the reins ofgovernment to be put into iU hands. Il can only cliiim this, on conlition of properly exercising all the functions of governtnent. We ask every body to leave all other partió--, and vote for us. If wo comply with your request, what will you do ? ask they. Abolish slaverv. What else will you do 1 We don't know, and we nre not willing even to di-cu-s nmong ourselves the proper duties of government, with a view to their fulure exercise. - Such a course in a parly claiming to be a permnrent one, and nsking for all tha executive and legi-l.itive power of iho country, Mr. M. thought was higb'y inconsistent. Did wc only ncknowledge ourselves ïo be a tpmporary orgnnizatian, like the Corn Law League of England, seeking power for n single object, and standing rendy 10 dissolve and surrender up all power whenever l lint object was atInined, the charge of inconsixtency would not lie ngainst u. Seconrlly, we ought to be a universal reform parly beoause we have plantod niir;elves on the bisis ftf human rights. - We, ihcrefore, sliould act for the interesas, not only of a cla-s of eoile, but of humanily. We pretend to be the vindieators of the, rights of man, and y et we act only f,)r a small portion of men, and for :i few of their rights. fin was sorrv to see such narrowness of ai-tion springing f rom such broad and comprehensive premis es. Thirdly, we onghl to be a universa! reform party, becatisn, uniess we become uch, we can never si ir up the mum and enlist them in otir en use. In attempting this tlius far, we had entirely failed. Atd why ? One grent reasor wa?, thnt we would not do any thing for the wants of the masses. W'lipnthe poor foreigner comes among us, why does he not join the Liberty party ? Ilissvmp.ithies are generally with the slave : but he wül not unile himsell with the partv of the sl:ive, because :hat party will not attrnd to his wants Ile is a stranger,and poor. Ile wants kinrily regar.'s for liimself and liis destiiute family. Ile want liberal advnntngps for their educaiion, jiist comir.n-ntion for lnbor, equal liiws, light taxps, land to ork upon, nnd a permanr-nt home. Does the Liberty party offer liim these ? No : it will not even dicuss them in its meetings. Is it any wonder, thon, that Ie gors to parties who do care for thoe Ihings in which he is so deeply inlerested ? Thesnme reason appltes, %vith much force, to our nativeborn citizens. For them and for their peculinr interests, we, as a party, propose to do nothing ; and thererore they go to other parties where their interests will ba considered. President Mnhan is rather an interesting speaker, although he makes no efforts at a display of oratory, b'Jt unite the simplicity of a child with the vigorous thoughts and well cultivated intellect of a man. Dr. Lemovxe, of Pennsylvania.a large, porti}', gnod looking, dark complexioned man, was called for by the audience to meet these views of President Mahan ; and ho met them with a clearness, precisión and force whicn we had never heard surpassed in their discussion. He contended that the principies of the Liberly party were founded on the comtnon brotherhood of man - on the righ's of humanity ns such. We asserted our belief in all the rights of every human being. - We had ahvays done so, and done well. But the violationsof these righ;s were numerous and compücated. Evils grea), oppressive, nnd of Jong standing, met us on every side. Our business as patriots and philanlhropists, was to do what we could for their amelioration or enlire removal. And here th'i question met us, how shall we proceed ? Shall we concéntrate energies on some one of these great evils, until it be overeóme and exierminaled, or shall we organizo nnd aim our efforts at the overthrow of all at once ? The former is the course that experience and reason indícate to be the most effectual, speedy and judicious. The working man takes up one job at a lime - the most important first - finishes that, and then proceeds in like manner to nnother, and in this wny with the samo labor he nccomplishes much more, wilb greater case, than he could do by having a dozen jobs, of different kinds, in ro.
gresa at once. This had been the policy oftheLiberly party thus far, and he npproved t. But he denied that here was ia this respect the least inconsistency in the conduct and principies of llie Liberty party. 1( asserts tlie rights- aZ the rights - of every human being, and it f'epudiates no valuable reform. But il has onTv one great Mensure - the Abofiticm of Slavery : nnd while asserting in ils creed nll the rights of man, lo b'e attended to in due seison, it concéntrales its imfnediate aclion for the vindicntion of man's right to personal 'iberiy. ít secures the lion firsi, and tlien destrona the ctibs as it bas opportunity . A división of labor, mental, moral and physical, fiad ever boen found propitiou for the advancement of every good cause. George Bradburn; of Cleveland, after listening to the discussion, was not süre xvhelhef emancipatioh could best ba attained by connecting t withothér reformsi or by pursuing it separa'.ely from all other objects. In England, the nar upon Slaver}' was made a öne idea matter ; nnd experience seemed to show that it wns the most rapid method of cárrying a single political point. But there were disndyantages attendir.g this tíourse. Oríe of these was the toleration ofa host of fhiflor evils, while we are toiling away at thé removal of the greater one. Suppose we spend thirty years in abolishing Slavery, and doing notlung else, it is plain that during íhose thirty years we sulT-r all other erils to prey bpnn the whole community. Have we v. right, for the sake of a great good, thus to irnpose upon olhers lesser ■cvils which we might ollierwise remove ? He was not sure that this course was either right or expedient. Our opinión of the qnestion involved in this discussion, our readers olready know. The Liberty party, as n nv organizcd, will never become n univeisal reform party. Those wlio are earnest for such an one will be obliged to juin the League, or organize anevv. The remainder of the discussion bjthose gentlemen and other speakers, wae ■tihiefly upon the TarifTnnd F ree Trade - su' jects which -evry boiJy ouglit to understand, which every body talks abnut, which admit of anendless amount o!" argumentaiioTi a both sides, and which not one person in ten thousand can do justice ïo.