Brother Douglass:— I s[aw] at the commencement of the trial of Lawyer Morris, in Boston, one of those implicated in the rescue of Shadrach last February. The United States Circuit Court suffered the prosecuting attorney to pack a jury who was willing to engage, (in substance, to regard the fugitive slave law binding on their consciences, unless directed by the Court to the contrary! Was there any transaction by the colonial tory tribunals, on the eve of the Revolution, to exceed this in tyranny? And will the descendants of those who indignantly resisted the Boston port bill, and even refused payment of an unrighteous revenue tax, now be the foremost to trample in the dust every sacred right on which a Warren, an Adams, and a Franklin, gloriously stood? Forbid it Heaven! I have not learned the result of the trial. But it appears to me morally impossible that the descendants of those sires, in sight of Bunker's hill monument, should so desecrate the constitution as to make it justify the distinction of rights for the protection of which their fathers framed it, and in the name of this sacred instrument, close the doors of mercy previously open through the common law, and the law of God. But where is this usurpation of our Federal Judges to end? Suppose the Christiana rescuers are tried by a jury, picked to carry out the decision of Judge Kane already expressed, and twelve men be found destitute of the fear of God before their eyes, or the love of God and man in their hearts; will Pennsylvania suffer seventy of her citizens to be strung up by the neck, for obeying the laws of God and humanity, and the Declaration of our Independence and Federal Constitution, as they understand them?—his honor, Kane, to the contrary not withstanding. If she should, then should she not desecrate the name of Penn, but be called Nero, and her Philadelphia be called Herod! But should she assert the inalienable rights of her citizens, and resist the encroachments of Federal usurpation, what may we expect next from the slave power?—Anything, however unconstitutional and despotic to crush the opposition to slavery.—Perhaps an enactment making it a capital offense for an individual to declare the fugitive slave law unconstitutional! And rebellion for a State to declare the same by her Legislature or Judiciary. But I must forbear! If "oppression maketh a wise man mad," the contemplation of American oppression, goaded on by the slave power, rum power, and office power, taking the name of "law and order," trampling down the constitution, common law, and God's law, may make a man of my feeble intellect forget to turn the other cheek. Wm. Shattuck. Randolph, Nov. 14th, 1851.

For Frederick Douglass' Paper.

LETTER FROM REV. A. G. BEMAN.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS: DEAR SIR:—Your paper, a few weeks since, contained an allusion to the course of a man, said to have been denied recognition as a citizen of these United States, by one of its functionaries, in consequence of his color. The particular facts were not stated: but in the hope of awakening investigation, I send you the following facts, which may be found in that most excellent work—"THE RIGHTS OF COLORED MEN," by Wm. Yates, Esq.—a book that should be in the hands of every colored man. These statements are found on the 61st page. The following circumstance is related in a letter from the Rev. A. A. Phelps, dated May 24th, 1834, to Wm. Goodell:— "On Tuesday evening I took tea at Mr. Forten's, a well known manufacturer and merchant of Philadelphia—a man of color—in company with brothers Leavitt, Pomeroy and Dr. Lansing. It was a very pleasant interview, and not the least pleasant thing about it, is the following: We were scarcely seated before in came Robert Vaux, Esq., with a passport for Robert Purvis and wife, under the seal of the Secretary of States, certifying that said Purvis and wife were citizens of the United States. Mr Purvis is son-in-law to Mr. Forten. He was about to visit Europe for his health, and in some of the countries on the continent, as in France a passport is necessary, certifying who the person is, where from, &c. The application was made through Robert Vaux, Esq., and on the representation of the case by him it was at once granted." (See the Emancipation, June 8th, 1834, Vol. 2d, No. 6)

REV. PETER WILLIAM'S PASSPORT. The following is a copy of the passport granted to the Rev. Peter Williams, the respected pastor of St. Phillip's Church, New York, and a man of color. He visited England and France in the years 1836-37. The passport is headed with a beautiful impression of the American Eagle, and the motto "nunc sidera ducit," in a scroll in his beak:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. To all to whom these present shall come, greeting:

No. 4189 DESCRIPTION.—Age, 50 years; statue, 5 feet 6 inches; forehead, high; eyes, hazel; nose, broad; mouth, ordinary; chin, pointed; hair, black; complexion, yellowish; face, round and full. Signature of the bearer, Peter Williams.* I, the undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States of America, hereby request all whom it may concern, to permit safely and freely to pass Rev. Peter Williams, a citizen of the United States, and in case of need to give him all lawful aid and protection. Secretary of L S State's office. Given under my hand, and the impression of the Seal of the Department of State, in the City of Washington, the 17th day of March, A.D. 1836, in the 60th year of the Independence of these United States. JOHN FORSYTH.

As a question, our citizenship in this country is one of deep and vital interest to us; and as such, everyone should be familiar with the facts and principle upon which it is to be dedicated. Yours, as ever, A.G.B. NEW HAVEN, Sept. 9, 1854. *In his own hand-writing.