Philadelphia, Oct. 19, 1848.
Messrs Editors:ー
The Great leading doctrines of Anti-Slavery, "That man cannot hold property in man;" that slaveholding is a sin against God, and a gross outrage upon the sacred rights of humanity, and like all other sins should be immediately repented of, the writer of this has long since hertily subscribed to. He embraced these truths, not because he found himself identified with the oppressed, but because they are so clear in themselves, like all other obvious truths, that they commended themselves at once to his most hearty concurrence, when first announced in his ears by the noble pioneers in this good cause. As it regards those tried friends of humanity who feel specially moved to urge our guilty nation to a speedy removal of the crying sin of slavery, we demur not against their denouncing it in terms of the most pungent severity. Aside from those who have derived from nature warm and ardent temperaments, we cannot conceive how any man with a well-balanced mind, unbiased by cruel prejudice and heartles selfishness, can look long enough at its odious features to delineate only the outlines of the hideous monster, without having the indignant feelings of his soul roused to the highest pitch of intensity; and being thus aroused, if the language of rebuke used under such circumstances should not be of the most pointed, keen, and withering character, it would be universally regarded as a strange anomaly in the philosophy of the mind. This is a sin which richly deserves to be sharply rebuked, as well as all its apologists and abettors. But notwithstanding these concessions are made, we must confess that we are not a little puzzled to see how such denunciations can justly apply even to a considerable number of our people here, much less the mass, sustaining, as they do, the mortified relations of the oppressed, persecuted and downtrodden. To charge them with being "hostile to the Anti-Slavery movement," in their feelings, sentiments or actions, to my mind, is both cruel and absurd in the extreme. Here we are, forced to brunt prejudice, derision and contempt, as best we may, in every part of this land of professedly liberty-loving people. Whether in following our daily avocations, or in our leisure walks through the towns and cities in which we may dwellーwhether we travel in steamboats, packets, or railroad carsーin all our relations with the whites as men, citizens, and Christians, we are made to feel, though in the land that gave us birth, like aliens and strangers, having no common interest in the countryーexcrescences, useless appendages to the body politic. Now, if this sketch of our condition be true, imperfect as it is, it shows that it is bad enough in all conscience. It is a condition, very far from affording a subject calculated to excite pleasing reflections in the bosom; for it is not in man to be pleased with the contumely and scorn of his fellow-men.ーHe is rather ambitious to be highly esteemed. But the fact is undeniable, that we have to encounter the prejudices to which we have referred daily; and we too well know and too sensibly feel, the bitterness of it. Our cup of misery is now well nigh full. But has the time arrived when another gall-like ingredient is to be added? Have we henceforth not only to bear the scorn of the oppressor, but are we to be odious and revolting to ourselvesーto be hated and forever hating one another?ーAre we to have enacted over again the same heart-burnings, the same angry contentions that have so long marked the history of bleeding Africa, and which resulted in all the untold miseries that have for centuries been endured by her unhappy descendants? Have we lost all powers of observation? Have we closed our eyes to the thrilling events that are transpiring around us? Are we deaf to the warning voice, still echoing from the hills and rolling along the blood-stained valleys of ill-fated Mexico? Mexico, who saw a strong, powerful, and formidable enemy making inroads upon her borders, instead of rallying all, and each, and every heart and hand around the standard of their country, and with one united, determined and persevering effort, drive back the proud aggressorーinstead of this, she paralyzed her own arm, by suffering herself to be torn asunder by inward factions and a party spirit. Thus she fell (I like to have said as she deserved) an easy prey to the common enemy. It is an old maxim, but it is nevertheless true in its application to all classes and communities of men: "United we stand, divided we fall." But if it be our unfortunate lot to fall still lower, let us, for the sake of humanity, fall by the hand of the oppressor ー not by our own suicidal hands.ーLet us look for a moment at the absurdity of the charge. "Hostility to the Anti-Slavery movement," is to be in favor of the slavery movementー"pro-slavery" is the familiar phrase. This is affirmed of several thousand nominally free, church-going colored persons in the city of Philadelphia. Let the philanthropists of the North hereafter close their lips in silence, sit down, wrapt in the mantle of dark despair; for their cause is hopeless here. Shout! ye lordly inhabitants of the sunny Southーyour hitherto gloomy apprehensions may now give place to the bright and glorious star of hope. We proclaim, by the authority of the editorial seal, that henceforth you may bring our brothers and sisters, whom you have managed by a strange perversion of ideas to transform into a species of property ー henceforth you may bring them by scores and by hundreds into the City of Brotherly Love, with perfect safety. You need not fear any loss, only be careful to introduce them to a certain "trio" of churches, and all will be well. Should any of them hereafter have the impudent daring to make the attempt to take themselves to themselves, and should succeedーbe it know unto you, and all whom it may or doth concern, that if they should happen to come within the circle of this triune band of pro-slavery brothers, no uneasiness about their return back to service need to be indulged in for a single moment.ーNow, suppose this announcement was posted to-morrow, in large capital letters, on the door of every slaveholder throughout the Southern regions, can it be thought that any one among them would believe it? They might stare at it; but believe itーnever.ーNow, if that class, who are the only persons on earth to whom this would be cheering newsーif that class could not believe it, who could? A proposition that nobody can believe