Letter From G. Beckley

For the Signal of Liberty:
Mr. Editor, - Dcar Sir- Permit me to aJdress, through the columns of tho Signal, n few thoughis to the friends of the slave in this Sta'e. For tho last few months I have been comparatively nnctive in the caue of Liborty. Nol howeyer, frm nny want of interest in tho rnterprisc, but trom the fact that other equally important dut:e clnimed my nitention. I have not howevcr, ben an inattontive observer of passing events. The present position, and future prospects of the cause of Liberty in thiSfUe, have been, nnd still are to me, subjects of erious meditaiion. Will tho Liberty party succeed ? - Will the slavo power of the nntion be overthrown ? and if s by what instrumentnlity, are questions of momentous interest. That the orgnnization of the Liberty party, was wiso and proper, I havo no doubt, and the confining of Is early Tforts mainly to the propngation of the " one idra, " hns had the desired efTect of woking the nationto the danger and sinfulness of sliivory, and to saturnte the public mind with antislavcry fceüng and sentiment. Having accomplished this, it wa thought bost by soms to heel the ahnost inecssant cali from honest and well disposed antislaverymen who had not identificd ihemselvcs with us to " define our position on all questions of national policy," and pledge ourselves to the righttouching the interests of all men. This, it was conceived, would be proper in itself, and make our party at once respected as the Great National AnliSlavery Reform Party, securing the approbation and support of the great mass of thfl antislavery men. In default of this, it was bel ie ved tho party would soon aFsume a sickly form and loose its power to nccomplished ih desired olject. Iinpressed with tliis view of tl e subjcci, Mr. Foster and myself issued a circular containing a synopsis of what we conceived to be the proper ground for the Liberty party to tako on all questions of National interest. A copy of this circular was sc;nt to each nntislavery papern the country, all of which with one or Uvo exception?, published ihe same in whole or in part, and in most cases accompsned its publication with sentimenfs of condemnniion, not so rauch on nccount of the views it ndvocaied, ns the project itself. Itwas argued thatthe "one idea," was amply sufïïeient ns the basis of a party, that every oiher subject was foreign to the objeets of our organizalion and should be discarded as dangerous to our enterprise. The suhstance of the circular was introduced iuto severnl conventions, bul as a general thing, met with a stern rebuff. Eience, the decisión seemsto be tbat Liberty men shall preserve their identity;keep up their organizaiion - nomínate and vote for their own candidates - eleave to the 11 one ide.i," and as politicinns, kno'v nothing but the abolition of slavery, and we " shall succeert." VVithin the last few weeks, I have reviewed this whole subject, & find no cause to alter my farmer riews. 1 most religiouly believe that had the party taken ihe advico of the circular nnd " defined its position," no power on eanh could have stayed its onward course to victory and to power.I f by my fricndshowever, I am dcnied ihe privilege, a3 it appears I nm, of having but one idea, I must be permitted to uso the " one idea power," where, in my opinión, it will teil for the interest of the sla ve. With due deference, therefore, to the wisdom and opinions of others, I must claim the privilege of Defixino my Position. I do not choose to amalgámate, but will neverthelesá co-opcratc with any mnn, or any party, which in good faith embraces the fivo positions here laid down, and are pledged to act upon, and carry out the saine when placed in a situation so todo, - prnvided the candidato to receive niy suíTrnge be a man of ability and of good moral cha rae ter. 1. Equa! Political Rights to 11 men. 2. The passage of a law similar to those of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, making it penal for nny officer or citizen of this State lo aid in mithe arrest of fugirive slaven. 3. The repeal of nll laws of the Federal Government that stistain, sanction or regulnte Slavery, including those that uphold t in the District of Columbia and ihe Territorio?, and tho law of 1793. 4. No more slnve!ulding states or territories to be received into the Union. 5. To support no man fur office, who is a alaveholder, or who would in nny manner, directly or indirectly, use his official power or influence for the elevation or appointment of slaveholders to office. The above it is believed, covers ihe enrirè g-round of nntilavèry action, and the sucoessful candidato hearing, the above principien, would, for all practical purpo:se.% bc n Liberty man. He could do nllthat ihe most devoied Liberty man could do. In him the cauae of Liberty would have nn advocate - a votcr - a friend, and the defeat of his rival would be a lo;-s to the Slave Power - to the slaveholding interest8 of the country. As a Liberty mnn, I now proclaim it to Whig8 - to Democrats - to all the world, that the man who is right according to the above standard, and has the best chance of success, by whomsoever he may have been nominalcd, or to whatever party ha mry belong, can have my sufimgp. As Liberty men we now hold the balance of power in this Statp, and can use it if we will, to great advantage for the cause of freedom. Let it bedistinctly undertood by Whigs and Democrats that the enndidate for office, whether itbe state or nationa', who is right nccording to the standard here lniddown, can receive our votes, and consequently his election and elevntion to office, and the question of slavery andantislavery at once becomes the ab.sorbing topic of discussion between them. But in casa neither of the parties nor their candidates come up to this standard of antislavery nction, ouj course is plain - put in nomination men who are worthy of our support, and givo them our suflfrnge. This is the only course, as I now view the subjoct, for Liberty men to pursue. - In this way we can use our balance of ower - olevMe the riglit man to office, and ihus do the cause ot down-trodden liumnnitv an important service.I spcak only for myself: this is the policy as an individual I shnll pursue until someihing more fensible ofTers iself. The "one idoa," in all its rigidity, by this aciion, is ndhered to, the overthrow of the Slave Power the grand point nt which it aims, and the accomplishment of the ohject is the evident tendency of this aciion. From this move, proslaveryism has nothing to hope, but every thing to fear. Refusing to vote for slaveholdera and thosc who nro in poütical fellowship wit!) them, sarrios upon the very face of it, evidcnce that we have too long done battle in the cause of frcedom, to come forn-drd and make overtures that will in any sense serve to keep in countenance or perpetúate the existence of that spirit of despotism and misrule so rife amongst us, and which is dependent on the institution of slavery for its existence.