Extract: From William Goodell's Letter To Gerrit Smith, Apri...
Mr Dk.afi Sik- The Liberty Pre?s of lie 2G?h ihst. bringsme your letier of i lie 15th Ãn replr to mine. I sf e you stül iusist tliai'thc Liberty party "was orjjanized to promole the abpJition of elavery. and for nnlhins; else" - nm] that lit. was to ljve no longer than American slavrry üved." E.it à do not eec that you present any.evietfncffot t!:e corree: ne.-s of â .lh.it statement, ot iriÃicfa T wonder, and stil] morà rrÃnt yon take no notice of ihe evÃJeñce's to I lie contrery, e.vhibiied in tlie Albany Putriot. To lijóse evidences I migfrrt ndd oilier extreets frem tlie dncuments of the Liberty Parij', too prolix for present convenience. - Tliose extraéis I wos oceupied in preparing tor the public usp, in nnolher f'orm, before your letter arrived. It will be sten by thein, I tbink, when t!:ey appear, tliat if Myron Hol ley ynd tlie firsi, second, and third ISTritionnl Liberty Convención- if the nominniorá of James G. Birney and if Mr. Birney hihiáélf, in necepting the nomination, underslood ilie tinture an.l ojectsofthe LibÃrty pnrty, ihen yon are wliolly incorrect in llic positions yon have asE-nmed. I perfectly agree with yon when yo 6ay "a partà l!m.v iiniiÃed to nne pbjepL must almost necasarily be short Iwed." The Liberty Parà v, I trust, can be mide lo sce the cor reetness of this view of yours, and therfore your definilion of tiie objeets of thc Liberty party will not be adopted by it, until it concludes to "make its Wül' and reliro frem ttie fie!d. I give yon crcfii:, in tliis matter, for more political sagacity th&u is manitested iy Alvan Stcwart, wljo thinks tho dayn of tlie Liberty pnrty will be nombered whenever tis tinderstood to embrace more than onc object. And your strongriesire tbat the Liberty parly iri3y ppeediÃy di.bant1, is consistently couple;!, I ihin!?, with tho most eSbctiye èxpédrént th.it couid be devised, to brinj,' abo.t th:it resiilt. - That same desire mny iikew isc help t o account Cor yonr otherwise unacrountnble bclief tliat t!ie oÃd pnr'irs "nrressun'ly proslavey" as yon still hold ih.m ;o be. mny be in(iiced !o do ip onr anüslavenj icnrl:! Oii wiiat prouiuls can stich an expeclatio'n be baseci? Whilc co codinjr, a? yon sÃrauge !y do, that 'thc other poüiicnl pñ riles are 'iookmg after he vanons interesla of the natioii' antà tfvórefore 'l:nve a more pcrfñanén! charncter,' how shonld tlie lÃtele Libéfly , artj t ! j r t - (fHshinned nfter your model) - vvould ivo nolice lo n!l thp wo'rld thnt t did not 'look aft'T the various inÃorests of the ni tion' nnd was abont to expiro, liave anv sucli mcgicul infl'.icnce npon lts opponenls, fecure in tiie pubhc confidence as tho guardians oà lis "curiovà int'rrttsT A Liberly } arty arMiicing its own gravo clothes with one hand and exeniting vvilh the otiier hand its'l'.'Stiimr-nlary beqnests of its eficCts to one of ihr oÃd partjes that seek her'life pin d, wou!d makebut a sorry figure, 1 :!nnk, in attcinp'ir1.'; to brinL thoEe proud partit-3 to her ter-.ns! - 'Americ.m slavery, I fear, uould Uve much lorcr than thc Liberty Party, shouJd ittake snch a ci'nree. Your recipo for the prevention of' r-jrnipiion in a pclithal patti. I rnu5t confesa, b ividclydifferent from mine. You have nutliinrr to prescribe btit a halter nnd a suicide's earjy gravpl Ir.steofl ofthi?, I shm;!d reerrmnen'cf more nor !e;s :han a puliticnl creed componed of the o.'ementary principes of nuliennble Inrmnn ngJis, and a cotirse of poücy nnd activity in which tlio?e self-evirlent trulbs l-.ould be apfilied, nol to onn object merdyt but to all the objeefs uni mcastifes that presented themselves fór doliberatinnand decision, takin care to carry ovt the "one dea" invoived in thsR principies inln al! thcir le?i:imatenpplications nnd bearings. A party that shaü follow this prescfiptioriinny at'nin io ilio ge of Metbusalel), t-ice to!d, without becoming corrupt. Btit nrglrding this rulo nnd becom;r;g ittlcelse tbnn a mere expedÃent,' oiiy party woold bccomc corrupt in the verysc .f cöm-uir info exislénce, oud eo;i!d do ta purify ony othcr pnrty. ;Ji
Article
Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News