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For The Signal Of Liberty

For The Signal Of Liberty image
Parent Issue
Day
20
Month
October
Year
1841
Copyright
Public Domain
Letter to the Editor
OCR Text

Jackson, Oct. ï$ft, 1841. Fx. GomuT'VEV.,&L.c. Gentlemen: - Whcn wrole you last, 1 was apprehensive ihat ihe state of my heahh woulcl be sucb, that Jshould be unable to attend the State Senatorial and County Conventions then to be held at Adrián. I dief, however, fo tai recover my heahh as to altend them and (ogive au addtess to ihe peoj.le in Adrián pd Brooklyn) You have douht!e?s cre ihie, received theprocceilingsof those Cunvoniir.ns officmlly. Tiiere luis as vet been hnrdly a iprinkling of 'ixDiii'jünnKN'r libkhtv sbku1 t'own m thal tnpoctunt Couiity, by maans of lectures, papers, &.e. Tiiere wns once considerable ''moral éuasioifi abjlitio.x, coiiplod wivh "politkal suasion" "Tylör!().)" aboiii ion in Lenawee. Whether it ji-ill vet corno out likc j;ld seven times jvell rffined, ilir.itii;ii the jro?lavery "TvJerloo" crucible, re'tnains to be sren. Let u.-, bowever, cuvi; ihe );it and hope J'or ée be3t in future. 'V'wc liliurty friends in this couiiiy werc cunsit!eribly dÍ8appointcd in nol boing able to óUtain trom tiie iirst editiun prinied, their lot-off Natiónál Addrescd to scalicr over thcir ëoüniy. - Un-.Jer all ihesq tíisadyanVoges, the Conventions werc even hirer lh;in miglit well b.ive teon atiticipa'ed. livery day's obséfval'atj and experience decpens my toavictio:3 ol' ihe ini?pene able importance oí the lliofyijgh (;rg;uiizalion of the straight-oul inüepékdext fiLeodá of liberty, nnd uf increased and constant AG1TAT1ON atnon theuuiram ineiled ijofliot) pl' ihe people, of the wholu sulijectbf American Slavory in a!l its ttcrocnduuá and Qppressiy bearios uppn us ns a pcople. Ttic reilt mass of the peol!e are yct in ificir midnighl slumbera uon ihe subject, wilh the pco-flayery pnriy and iccclesiastical ourtnins of death drawn round them, being "ever and atfoh" !ilernlly dosed by a quackisb l:;ind, wiih thal mvaluable pro slavcry nostrüm, commonly calied projüdice against color,' but mire sirictly, huughüness and power over hclplessness, degradation and nüsery.The nunibcr of our libcrty fiicnds in iln's couniy who have yct cone oit straight , lo show the genuincncss nucl consistency of their .liuerty-faiih Ij y the jienuineness imd consistency ui' their LIBERTY vales, ihougii nut yei largo, are very firm and ( determined, and wiil be active and 8tt.cnficing, and ntccontiptisl) nuich lor the cause. Assuon as tiiey re.ceiyé tlioir National ' Addresses, a nutnier of active liberiy men in iliiá couniy, whüe dislribdüog ilicm, vi!l ho!d a series oí hert y meetings thro' llie Towns and School Dislricts. Ifthis couiíe shall le well persevered in, the nmc is nut distunt wheti the UMerèsting und jromising cuunty o' Lcnawee wül give a fjüocl account of hereelf foriNDBiLXDEM' j-imziiTY. 1 have very great confiileuce in canying our whole causé tlirectly to the people - the disintereie(i and independent fiirtninjj popujnlion'. The leading iniluences óf eur y LI la ges nnd towns(with ucca.siótially.'} nuble exce;tion) will not cotne iato tlii.-, or any óiber unpopular cause until the l;)dy oftlie people begins to move and it shall thua tiegín lo become popular. Let the eierges atul the eflbrts o! our fneru's he inèiily expended away froiti towriè ahd viltages. Effórls putforth the uprightand unsophis ncated ycomunry of oor country wiil at least be worlh 100 per cent. niora to advanco the cause ofhberty i han the same v.ould lie, at the ceutics ofptilitical infl.i ence wlicre no argument 5 often ncknowl cdgedas havin any force, bul the argument of numbers !I see thal eacli of iho oppo.=ini paities toliberty, (though "Tyler-too" bas wrestcd from il.em boih, evcry iliing under w.hich lo rally but iiieir old and ialmpsl obsotote ñames,) aro srill resorting to some ftheir usual subierfuos ï'or po'uücui capital. Their leaders, as ever, are mutiialiy andgravely dcclaring (h.it t-early or quiie all the liberty voies have been 'and trill be taken from their mvn luvorile pnrly. - jtinust ofcourse be self cvidonl ihat ono ol these solemn dcclurations mu?t be fulse; imd whether eilher o{' them bo inie a disceraiög public musí judro. Milit we mr. well uppose ihat iliuhonest port ion of the peoile ofuur country were sick cnough Iroin our late sigila! national rebuke, with the hollow and wickcd doctrine of'doing evil" under ihe pietence ihat some goöil would l'ollow. Tliis reinirka!:le na'ion bas been deeply schöt.Jüd tui the subject of Sluvery, lur the lasi huil" ( enury in tbe.u false eibics, "of tsvu moral evils chöosè tiie least," "do tvil ihat ;uod mtiy cume," "the end justifies the means,11 &-o. 'ïhh subile proslavery tihooiing of thU nation ha& oinazingly bedimmed the moral visión and Wunted the moral sense of the peoplc, and wonderlully coirujited both lie chúrch and he state. "Whc'.her vitaliiy una strenth enough remuin to prove a preservativo, is yuttobe known. Now the truth is, that the enlightened, consistent and independent friends cf libcrty are neiiher Whigs norDemocrats in the modern acceptation 'tlie terms. For the vcry moment a man öecomes iruly enlightcne iiión the slave power of this naiion he at nce clenrly sees that il arbitrarily controla the Naiiona' offices, the National Finance?, and ihe nortliern ends of both the old National parties and thus completely prostrates u!ery "ree 'aor'nS nortbern interest. - I . l'le man wno Wíis once a modern Whigora modern Dcmocratsees this, his Philanthropy, and his own love of hberty JlP'te to prompt him at once tothrow aside is old party os he would n old garment, wru out and worae than ueetess; or as bewouIJ píucka servant fjo.n bis bosomtbat' Was stinging him tothe "heart. IIo theu cleariy sccfj, thn Ú, talk about a báiik ur a bu j-treus-jry, wliich ihc siave power is ceriain to mould and fashion. fur is own interest, nsclay i8 moulded and lashioned in the hands of ihc Potior, w'ould be as die as to attempt to cleanse a filthy strcam whose fountain is incessantiy pourmg furlh fiüliy and purturbeil waters; or' like putting 'the cart before the horse" or the íoler of a. steain engine far n advance ut the machinery. He thr-n .eos cteurly that ihü twdve hundred milüon siave poteer of the Soinh has ever contrulled norlhern uiteresis by opn'rylliog the norlhern ends ol'both the oíd National parties, as ceriain ly and s exclusively as it his made the Presidem's ol" this "Repuhlic" out of sla vehjlders40outof52 years- the Speaker in Congress, 30 out oí '32 years- G out of 7 f dit i;,'.) Ministers- Secrelaries of State J7 'j.u o. 52 )ears- Attorney General, 3S ou; yf.52 years, and other national ofii:ers in the same ratio, white the Norsh hav$. 'VWO nominal freemen to the Suutl-i O.E, and pay nine-tenlhs of the Nailonii revenue. Surel'y is not the Nonh a 'cunquered provine?" by the sLAvt powER. Until u man shall plant hímásMlupon thjs high and broad fuundatiou of triah, ui wlncii posüiou he can just begin togucvey the length and breadth of tlie almosl oiunipotent power o!'S:avery over tlii.-i tiauon, hé eau nut I tbitik le considere au enüyiilcned abolirioniat or an able stalesma),oiie who is competent to act föf the cuíistimtional cmancipation of ihe sluye and for the higest uliimate gQod of our wljulecounirv, tnurally,puhticallv and financialiy. 1 havu iiiceived Communications f rom our ÍViciids Alvun Siewari, Thomas Morris, Gerrit Sml'.h, VVilUam Goodell and Joshua -L'.-avitt, iviiijr us their reasons why they could not bo present at our Convetvions, and expressing much solicitude and high hopes relative to ihe cause ol liberly in our Slate. Mr. Morris liad lor soine wecka been uponasick bed but was at ihe time of li is writing, cofivalescent; - Our JN'cw York friunds had all previousl been exlensiveiy mortgaged to the cause of liberiy in tiieir own oíate lo altend a series of Liberty (Jonventions.-'l'hey dectn ihe eniire redemption of the umpire State iiorn the le;isi and iast remains of Slavery o1 immense jrnportance to the siave and to the welfare of our common country. May greul and speedy euccess crown their noble efJUrts. They say, and perhaps truly that the iriendd of liberiy, cvery where, must generally adopt the tactics óf iehcmiah lor "every man lo buüd the wall over against liis own house." It would indeed have been pleasant (oenjoy a visit trom muny of our devoted iViends from abroud, as I had fondly anticipated we siiouldj bui if we can not, let us all lay lo and work the harder ourselves that our own State hall not fuil behind in this glorious enterprizt;. Fraternal.lv vours,Tlic proceccings the Lenawee Counïy DonvcnliuDS have oo! vet reached us. Wil] Ihe Sccrctaries forward them williout delay? Editor.