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Gerrit Smith

Gerrit Smith image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
September
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Tliis genlloman intenck !o lie present at llie Söffalo Conriition, and hopes to convííri a maj'irily of ils members to th? policy of taking issue on ollier suUjecls than Auli-Slavery. In these anticipaons we tliink he wil! be greatly disapointcd. The following exlracl of alet?r a-Jdresscd by hiin to the Liberty Press, 'ivo boliovp,) expla'm l)is present vieu.s u:ii feelings with liis accustomed fraiikes nnd cuido r. "I am writing this lftter, not to prove, that I am a roi:sitent nnn. All, wlio vtioiv me, know, lliat I niake no protenivins to consistency. l rm a man of change. All, who live, not to stereotype, but to correct tlieir errors, tnust be men of chango. AH, who live to learn, must bn men of change. tfpon mans' thing? in my anli-slavery history, I look bnek wilh rogret : nnrl, I hope, by tbc Divine help, I shall, liereafter, go counier to tbem. For instance, I would never again take part in organizing a temporary politica] party or a party, which goes for the promotion of but a single specifiV reform. The only politie 1 party, which a man lias a right to belong to, is one, which is suiied. and etititled, to continue t the end at" limf, because it go?s for all pol il ical righteousness - for rigl tcousnss in every depai'lmenl, and on every subject, of politics - fur the welfare oí" every class nnd condition of men. Tlie only polilical party, in a word, whicli a man has a right to belong to, isone, which is a party boih of the whole, and for the tv hol e. "But I will stop writing. You and I will, chop---, bo permiited to resume our discussion, the 20th of October, in the National Convention, at Buffiilo. I hope lo be ihere ; - not for the purposp, os ihat "odd feüow" of the Bangor (lazette will have it. of courting a nomination at the hands of the Convention - foi", il will bc long, before I give consent to be, and vcry long, before I ask to b?, a con didate for civil office ; - nor for tho purpose of proposjng tesis of membership in the Liberty party - (a meaeure, which they, who are bent on mnking me as odious as possible, in the eyes of the Liberty parly, so freelv charge on me) - hut, I hope to be there to take part in the disrussion of tlo questions - lst. Whether tl e lime lias not come - had not, indeed, long ngo, come, fur the Liberty party to give up all hope of the other parlies, and to regard itselfas a permanent party - 2d. Whether if it ?o regard itself, it is not bound to inqui-e, with bonet purposp, into all ihe hearings of its great principie of act ion - the principie of the cqual ngbts of all men - of equal j;istice to all men. "Show me the man, who will answer these queslions in the affirmative ; and who has, also, iljustrgted bis sincere adopt on of th is gieat principie of action, by bis devotion to the cause of the slave ; and you show me tho man, whom I welcoine, as a good Liberty party man, and of whose future progress in the óiscernment and espousal of bis polilical duties, he has nlready given a most gratifying and sotisfactory ernet. Of cornee, genllemen, you do not believe, thnt the Na tional Convention will answer these questions in tho affirmative. Indeed, judging by vvbat I have seen in your columns, you do not believe, that even the Stale of New York will give one vote for them in the Convention. Such failh, however, have 1 in the power of truth - nnd fuch faitli, that the heads and hearts of men are susceptible of thnt power - as to hope, that, noUvithstanding prespnt appearances, n majority of the voies of the Convention will be'cast for lliem. Whai !- the Nnlional Convention of tho Liberty party, held in October 1847, refuse tolook upon ihe politicnl parties. which aro rivalling èaefi olher id the work of destroying a sister nntion to make more room for slnvery ?- what! that Conventior. refuse to look nn such parties as hopelessly incorrigible ; and the Liberty party as, bccause of ihat hopeless incorrigibility, a permanent party! What! thnt Convention so infatuated, ns to believe, thnt whilst all the world is waking up to the claims of such momentous que.stions, as freetiade, free soil, &c. &c, the Liborty party may remain nsleep over them ! - lmpo-sible ! Impossible!! S:irely, surely, th;:t Convention will not hold up the Liberty party to be jeerrd at by every passer-by, as a pnor. pitiful, cowardlv .nnd utterlv impotent thing ! Surely, surely. thnt Convention will not put forth it hnnd to strip the Liberty party of all the brigbt hopes, which cluster so thickly abont it, and to cover it with deep and enduring disgroce !" ff?=The Whigs of New England were greatly disappointed at the refusn] of Mr. Clay to visit that section of the country. He has returned home. Perhaps there are too mony aholitionisls in that qtiarter to suit !iim. Had he made the tour of New England, he might Iiave encountered more ihan one Mendenhall. (fê The Democratie Convenlion at Jackson nominated for Governor, Kpaphroditus Ransom : For Lieut. Gov., Win. M. Fenton, of Genesee Counly. 017a Joshua Leavitt is getting up a series of primary school books. 05a" The True Democrat, the Cleveland VVhig paper snys of Gen. Taylor : ' " It is enrnestly to be hoped, to relinve his friendsof the dilpnuna in which lio has [laced thern, he vvill take an earlyopporíunity to retire to the sliarle of some chsppfrrïal, nnd spei d half an hour in investigating the great questions of the Batik and the Tariff, thnt his friends ma}' not he obligod to say their candidate has furmed no opinión on those subjects 1"

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News