Halifax, Dec. 5^th, 1862

My dear M^r. Douglass

It is very long since we have heard anything direct
from you, but of course we see the Monthly w^ch keeps us to some extent informed of your proceedings, & now & then we hear of you through M^rs Crofts, w^ch we are always glad to do. Mrs. C came over to a recent meeting of the Ladies' Soc^y in H:x. & read us one or two extracts from letters she had lately recd. from you. I am very glad that you look hopefully forward to the future of America—certainly things seem tending in a more Anti-Slavery direction now than they have yet done—one step after another has been taken—slowly & unwillingly but still taken—I wonder whether the President's Proclamation will produce any decided effect when it comes into

force. I don't see that it can do very much, as the slaves in the South will not be free because M^r Lincoln or all the people of the North declare them to be so. I suppose however that it will stimulate many to escape who might not have attempted to. You have received I hope two or three copies of the Inquirer newspaper in w^ch were articles by M^r Carpenter one on the Proclamation, another on Intervention—from w^ch you will see that he is not so well satisfied with that Proclamation as some of our A. S. friends are. I hope that M^r C. will be able to add a few lines to you, but he is very busy—he has been engaged this week in writing to several of our Papers on the system pursued with convicts in England, w^ch had not proved at all successful, and now Friday he has to write a sermon on the Lancashire Distress for w^ch we are to have collections at our chapel next Sunday. You will easily understand that the sad state of the poor in Lancashire, & parts of Yorkshire & Cheshire makes it very difficult just now to raise money for any more distant objects. I am very sorry not to have a larger sum to send to yr Paper this year—but so many who have usually contributed, and others to whom I have applied for the first time, have declined on the ground that they were doing all they could afford to do in aid of the destitution in Lancashire. I do hope that England will be supplied with cotton from Africa or India before she makes

friends with the Southern States, even tho the Lancashire distress & the miseries of war should be prolonged. I would rather even this than that a peace should be patched up leaving slavery as it is—or that our manufacturers should again be dependent on the slave grown cotton of the South.

I have not written to you since our summer holyday I think. We divided it between London, Paris, & Somersetshire, & spent it very delightfully. My elder niece Edith Blake went with us to Paris, & greatly enjoyed her first visit to a foreign country. In London we followed the fashion, & had our "Carte de visites" taken, I enclose two of these somewhat stern & melancholy representations—myself & partner—some of our friends tell us they are very good—We prefer to flatter ourselves that we are not flattered but rather the reverse by these likenesses!

With every good wish for your happiness, & success in your world, and with cordial greetings for Xmas & the New Year in w^ch M^r Carpenter unites, I remain dear M^r Douglass very sincerely your friend

Mary CarpenterCarpenter, Mary Browne

Mary Browne Carpenter (c. 1824–98) was the wife of the prominent Unitarian minister Russell Lant Carpenter (1819–92). They were married in Bridgwater, Somersetshire, in 1853. She was one of four daughters born to William Browne, a wealthy Unitarian merchant, and his wife, Mary. William Browne served as mayor of Bridgwater in 1854. In addition to her support of the antislavery effort, Mary Browne Carpenter was also deeply involved in the woman suffrage movement, belonging to one of the more radical suffrage societies in Bridport. She also supported the animal rights and temperance movements. 1841 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, 22; “England and Wales, Christening Records, 1530–1906,” FamilySearch.org; “England and Wales, Death Index, 1837–1915,” FamilySearch.org; “England and Wales, Marriage Index, 1837–1915,” FamilySearch. org; “England and Wales, Non-Conformist Records Indexes, 1588–1977,” FamilySearch.org; Elizabeth Crawford, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland: A Regional Survey (New York, 2006), 161, 169.She has not been identified by name.