Press enter after choosing selection

Political Anti-slavery Union

Political Anti-slavery Union image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
August
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

According to our general prnctice ofi free discussion, we have given place to : the arlicie by n correspondent in favor of' forming n Northern Anti-Slavery party,' in oppósition to that organi.ing by Mr. Calhoun in support of the Slttve Power at the Soutii. opinions on this subject have been fubstanlially given by as in a series of articles publi.shed last win-l ter. T!iey wcre formad f rom the most! maiu re and profound reflection of whicli we vvere capable, and f rom a general survey o( the whole anti-slnvery fiold. But os the Macedón nomination may seem to have somewhat altered the aspect of al"-' fairs, we wiil ngain refcr to the conclu8ions to whieh we then arrived, and which we have tlius far seen no occasion to ! ter or chnnge. In those articles in the Signal to which we referred, we showed tha', beyond all doubt, emaricipation in our country will come : that, according to the example of every modern nation, it will coma in the way which George Washington recomme;Tided as "the onjy proper and effect ual remedy for Slavery - by Legislatief Authorily :'■' that efl'icient legislation i gainst slavery could not be attaii.ed by mere Moral Sunsion in itself; nor by ny amount of EcclesLastical actinn ; nor by attempting to dissolve the union of the States ; nor by the attainment of political snpremacy by a national party organized ■on the One Idea of Opposilion to Slavery: nor, lastly, would it probibly be eflecied tie ascendency of a new permanent national party organized on the basis of Equal Rights to All. In reply to the inquiry. liow can such legjslalion be ohtained as will abulisli slavery, we answered : By suciï a cnion' op tuk m.uoiuty OF THE PkoplK OF THE pRKE STATES, A8 SHALt. SECl'HE A RkPKAL OF ALL NTAtioxal laws scstaixixn slavery, and the exclusión of sla vkholders from all National Offices. It will be spen lint the Union proposcd by us had but tiro National measures - No Stare Jjrnrs, ,-ind Jo Slavehofd-rs Jor OJicc ; nnd it hm to be ofEseted by ;i mnjority of the ppople of the. F rea Statest We also showel, by llie documents we ■adduccd, ihnt a unión of nll ant'-shveiy mon, in some way, liad been formed in New Ilampshii-p, and had been npirovcd nnd sanciioiipd ly the Liberty rmrs nf New Enlanrl geiiPrally, and liad resulted ïn revolutiniii.insr ibjrt State : thnt tl. e present Ed tor of the Nntwwsl Er(wrbile jiuMher of tfip neraidj liad BVDived InnineC'-icHing. ftaif cnxioux, to mtle wiih other part es on all qtMïsMona ponnrcied with the anli-Blavery.ngitation :" lha tl e Iiberty partv of Mr. Giddings' district lad not ouly declari'd "ready and soficilous lor n poliiicil un n of nll the opponents of slaverv." l'it fnma'lv jiroposed the iorms on which "tliey would carncstly exert llicnvsclvcs In the nltcrmoni to nccomplish such a po!iiinl union of nll parties :" thot Mr. llarnlin's prupM.i at the Ch'iviCTo Cdiivenliiin, to cal! n National Ami-Slavery C-nveniion fir ihnt purpnsc bad hren ratifico by that body whicli was the farget Liberty Conven tion ever beid ; nnd that Mr. Giddings and S. P. Cha-e, tlie mt prniniuent men of tlie Liberty party :nl anli-slavery I Whiga of Ohio, hatl a responded tugeiher on the subject, nnd exncily agreed on the ieven arlk'.log of the basis of union proposed, Mr. ( ha-e declar'ng that llie propositions of Mr. G. met his "-ordial flpprojation." We then 4ated our loíuliness lo glve our vote and indupnee fur tlie right kind of a unión - for the election to odice of any manofany party of suHicient knowledge and abili'ies, and unohjeciionable on the s?ore of characler, who should, in n m.inly and open marnier, avi. v ond act upon thf! five following points of antislnvery faith and practice : 1. Equal Pulitical Rights to the Colored Man. 2. Laws to be enacted against Slave hunting by citizens of this State. 3. The Repeal of all National Laws, authorizing or sanctioning thn holding or transportaron of human beings ns 8laves. 4. No more Slaveholding Trrrilory or States to be received into the Union. 5. To support no man for office who is a slaveholder, or who would in any way give his official power or influence for the appointment or election of slaveholders lo office. On this eoatmon basis we thought tlien, nnd still think, that all reul anti-tlavory men may properly unite. It was with the hope that such a basis af general union might be established, that wechiefly desired the postponement of the National Liberty Convention till next Spring. Nor are ivc certain that it will not yet take pkce. The Liberty party of 1614 is now divided intothree classes : 1. Those who are. for a general union without respect to party. The National Press of Cin'jinnati, and the Signal, are the only presses that directly support it. The National Era has seemed to favor the nroposal, but is now undefinable on it. A large portion of the Western Liberty men, cspecially those of Ohio, belong to thiscla.f. 2. The Macedón, or Kqua! Rights party. VVhatever good may be accomplished by Iliis party, ('and we lnow it will do goodj wp Imve noi the most distant idea that t will evRrnttain pnlilical supremacy, nnd iliereby nbolish slavery, - As an Equnl Rights party, tlio embodiment, Msêftor, and vindicntor of popular rights, it will do much good : but we cannot regard it as an efficiënt and speedy remedy Por slavery ; nnd therefore, 0 sceking this last o!)ject, wo apply our" selves in another quarler. 3. The third cIrss is composeJ of the Liberty party proper, wlio seem to ho!d tho party (.rganizotion ns á "machino," by regularly plyhig nnd worknig which - by merely coniinucd norninations and discussions, and votingthe ticket - so many persons will tinite with the Liberty party, that through their politica! infiuence slavery will he abohshed. ' Perhaps it will : hut we Mieve the way we have suggestPd above, will be, in the end, the practical wsiy. In rpply, tlien, to tiie inqniry whic.h llie renJer mny propuse, " VV'here do you stand?" we frankly say. that we are in favor of an ndjournment of the nominal on by the ButTalo Convention till next May: that provisión be made for a general 1 respondencp in the moan time wiih antislnvery men of all pnrties : that we would be in favor of holding a convention to nominale national candidalc, at that timo, ! f then deemed advisable ; and would invite to that Convention nll men of all parties who were in favor of the MAIN pofNTS we seck for - the Repcal of the Slave-Laws, and the exclusión of Slaveholders from Office; and would makel nominations of men holding these views rresppctive of party; or would support a candidato nominated in any oihcr quarter, if sound on thpm. To such a nominntion, marie under propiiious circumstances,we should prefer to give our support. In dofiult of thM, we shnll probably give our vote and inilienco, fither for Gerrit Smilh, or for the candidalp selected by the BuflaloConvpntion : but in no case could we support a candidato who did not avow on principies. In the midiL of llie divisions nf op'nion and artion among anti-slnvrry men, we mean that our shnll be a stra:g'it and consistent ono. We have given our influence for many vears, by our voice, our pon, our vote, and our example, for t!:p Aboliu'on of Slavcrv ; and we expect to givethem in future for the same object, and itï tliose ways by which we beüeve i will be most sppedily and bost accomlilished. We consider our?clf an independent man, freo from the government or inrluence of all eliques or faction, and si. nll beslow our mite of inducncp in llial ilirrciion where we think it will teil mot efFiciently for that whereunto we give it. In ihe menn time we concede to all o!hers ihat liberty which we claim for ourl'l C-=. Td rr-turn to ih communicalion of our corresponden f. W'e nre in favnr of lbo forronlion of a Northern Anti-SIavery partv of lbo rictit kino : btit we cannot "go it b'ind" ns the Whig seem d tcrmined ;o -in for Gen. Taylor. Tho-e who voie sbou'd Beek for (.'andidates, as near'y ng may be, of ihe samo opinions with thcmsflvos on important qupst'ons. We fcïnr 1 h is rule wouMexclude fromour support a lnrge share of the gentlemen whose nnmcs our correspondent bas so liherallv inserted in bis "catalogue" of I cnndidataï fur a Norihern Party. What evidrnce have we that Thomas Corwin or John McLfnn are for the Abolition of Slavery ? Neitber they nor their frietuia ever pretended any such thing. The writer is by muoh too liberal for ur. Our candidatos must be like us in feeling and aotiot), so fnr as to be in favor of the same cornmon object. We are well aware that the preceding exposition of our views will bring us in collision with those of many of our friends. But we are not in a stato of "beticeenity," ns our brother of the Liberty Pres- supposes. Our opinions are formed from )he best dnta we have, nre not hastily adopted, nor chnnged from mere caprice or policy. And holding thpse opinions, we could do no less than express them, espccially when thry related to fundamental points of doctrine and action. - Those who disagree with us, we think. will willingly allow to us this frank exposilior. of our sentiments, as it seemed to be called for bv thesigns of the times, and by the near approach of the ButTalo Convention. (ET" f he Brazilian Slave Case in New York was terminated by a most siimmary nrocess - the escape of the slaves fi'om the jail whe.re they were confined. They were safe in their cells when the keeper retired lo rest, and in the morning they were not to be found, although the keys of the kepper remained where he had put them the night before. Their disappearanee isa mystery, but their friends are not at all conceriied for their fafety. Judge Jay was their counsel. fly Our correspondent in Sturges, who wrote for n copy of the Liberty Minstrel, ia informed tha-t our Post rnaster refuses to tend bound books in the ma:l. '

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News