Discussion on American Slavery Part 13

From the official account of the proceedings of the Synod of Virginia, I take the following

REPORT ON ABOLITION.

"The Committee to whom were referred the resolutions, &c., have, according to order, had the same under consideration: and respectfully report that in their judgment, the following resolutions are necessary and proper to be adopted by the Synod at the present time.

"_Whereas_, The publications and proceedings of certain organized a.s.sociations commonly called Anti-slavery, or Abolition Societies, which have arisen in some parts of our land, have greatly disturbed, and are still greatly disturbing the peace of the church, and of the country; and the Synod of Virginia deem it a solemn duty which they owe to themselves and to the community, to declare their sentiments upon the subject; therefore,

"_Resolved unanimously_, That we consider the dogma fiercely promulgated by said a.s.sociations; that slavery as it actually exists in our slaveholding States, is necessarily sinful, and ought to be immediately abolished, and the conclusions which naturally follow from that dogma, as directly and palpably contrary to the plainest principles of common sense and common humanity, and to the clearest authority of the word of G.o.d.

"2. _Resolved unanimously_, That in the deliberate judgment of the Synod, it is the duty of all ministers of the gospel to follow the example of our Lord and Saviour, and of his apostles in similar circ.u.mstances, in abstaining from all interference with the state of slavery, as established among us by the Commonwealth, and confining themselves strictly to their proper province of inculcating upon masters and slaves the duties enjoined upon them respectively in the sacred Scriptures, which must tend immediately to promote the welfare of both, and ultimately to restore the whole world to that state of holy happiness which is the earnest desire of every Christian heart.

"The above preamble and resolutions having been severally read, and adopted by paragraphs, the Moderator asked and obtained leave to vote with the Synod, on the adoption of the entire report. The question being put, it was unanimously adopted, every member it is believed, giving it a hearty response."

The last doc.u.ment I shall quote on this part of the subject, is one which will fill this meeting with horror; but it is right that it should be placed on record, to show the opinion entertained by a minister of the Presbyterian church of his brethren and fellow Christians, and to show also, what kind of communications pa.s.s current among the professed disciples of Christ in a slaveholding community.

"To the Sessions of the Presbyterian Congregations within the bounds of West Hanover Presbytery:

"At the approaching stated meeting of our Presbytery, I design to offer a preamble and string of resolutions on the subject of the use of wine in the Lord's Supper; and also a preamble and a string of resolutions on the subject of the treasonable and abominably wicked interference of the Northern and Eastern fanatics, with our political and civil rights, our property and our domestic concerns. You are aware that our clergy, whether with or without reason, are more suspected by the public than are the clergy of other denominations. Now, dear Christian brethren, I humbly express it as my earnest wish, that you quit yourselves like men. _If there be any stray goat of a minister among us, tainted with the blood-hound principles of abolitionism, let him be ferreted out, silenced, excommunicated, and left to the public to dispose of him in other respects._

"Your affectionate brother in the Lord,

"ROBERT N. ANDERSON."!!!

I trust I have adduced sufficient evidence upon this heart-rending topic, and abundantly proved the allegations I have deemed it my duty to bring against the American churches. No one can accuse me of wis.h.i.+ng that any thing should be believed upon my bare a.s.sertion. I have furnished doc.u.mentary proof of the truth of all my statements.

Presbyterians, and Conferences, and Ministers, and Elders, and Synods, and a.s.semblies have spoken for themselves through their solemn and accredited Speeches, and Letters, and Reports, and Resolutions. Judge, therefore, whether I have libelled America; whether I am the foul traducer that some would have you believe, but for believing which they supply you no ground, save their own ill-natured vituperations.

Let the facts I have brought before you be deliberately considered, and let such a verdict be given as will approve itself to the world and to G.o.d. Before sitting down, however, I must observe, that it has always given me the sincerest pleasure to notice any Anti-slavery movements among the clergy of America. With delight I have stated the fact, that in the General a.s.sembly of 1835, there were FORTY EIGHT immediate Abolitionists. I refer again, on the present occasion, with unfeigned satisfaction, to the indications of a better state of things in many portions of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Breckinridge has quoted the a.s.sembly's views on the subject of Slavery; so have I. In the recent meeting of the United Secession Synod, held a short time since in Edinburgh, I stated fully the sentiments of the Presbyterian body in America. At the same time, I could not omit naming one striking fact, viz. that in 1816, the a.s.sembly struck out of the Confession of the Church, the following note, adopted in 1794, and which contained the doctrine of the church at that period on the subject of slaveholding. The note was appended to the one hundred and forty-second question of the larger catechism.

"1 Tim. 1:10. The law is made for MAN STEALERS. This crime among the Jews exposed the perpetrators of it to capital punishment; Exodus 21:16; and the apostle here cla.s.ses them with sinners of the first rank. The word he uses, in its original import, comprehends all who are concerned in bringing any of the human race into slavery, OR IN RETAINING THEM IN IT. Hominum fures, qui servos vel liberos abduc.u.n.t, retinent vendunt, vel emunt. Stealers of men are all those who bring off slaves or freemen AND KEEP, SELL, OR BUY THEM.

To steal a free man, says Grotius, is the highest kind of theft. In other instances, we only steal human property, but when we steal or retain men in slavery, we seize those who, in common with ourselves, are const.i.tuted by the original grant, lords of the earth. Genesis 1:28, Vide Poli synopsin in loc."

Why this note has been cancelled, I shall not attempt to say. Neither Mr. Breckinridge nor this a.s.sembly need be at any loss to imagine for what reasons so strong and unequivocal a pa.s.sage was omitted by a body in which so large a proportion were slaveholders. I have recently read, and publicly commended, an address put forth by the Synod of Kentucky, containing a very faithful, though appalling disclosure of the state of Slavery in Kentucky; and expressing an earnest hope that the members of the Presbyterian body will, without delay, take steps to promote the education and emanc.i.p.ation of the slaves. Let me also state, that the following ecclesiastical meetings have pa.s.sed resolutions, and many of them adopted rules of church members.h.i.+p, in accordance with the views of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Some of them have specially approved the principles and measures of that body. I beg, while I read this list, to remind Mr. Breckinridge that these form a part of that ragged regiment, respecting which he was so merry in one of his by-gone speeches,

SYNODS of Utica and Cincinnati.

Eastern Sub-Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

PRESBYTERIES of Delaware, Champlain, Erie, Chillicothe, Detroit, and Genesee.

General a.s.sociation of New York.

Central Evangelical a.s.sociation.

c.u.mberland Baptist a.s.sociation.--Equally divided.

One Hundred and Eighty-Five Baptist Clergymen.

The vast majority of the New England and New Hamps.h.i.+re Conferences of Episcopal Methodists, and a large number of individual Churches.

Thus is the cause advancing! The purifying leaven is extending through all the country. The elements which are ordained to redeem America from the pollution and infamy of slavery, are working mightily. When I went to the United Slates, I took the principles I found lying comparatively forgotten, and proclaimed them abroad. I planted myself upon the American Bible, and the American Declaration of Independence, and preached from these that the varied tribes of men are of _one blood_, and that all men should be "free and equal." I have not labored in vain. There is now a mighty and indomitable host of pure and ardent friends to the freedom and elevation of the long degraded colored man. Let us thank G.o.d and take courage, and expect with confidence the speedy arrival of the happy day, when the soil of America shall be untrodden by the foot of a slave.

MR. BRECKINRIDGE said he regretted to be obliged to say anything more on this subject, which he had wished to consider concluded, so far as he was concerned, at the close of his preceding speech. He felt obliged, however, by the importance of the whole case, to consume a portion of this, his last address--and which he had desired to occupy in a different way--in making a few explanations which seemed indispensable. It would be observed, first, that the great bulk of the testimonies produced throughout, and especially in his last speech, by Mr. Thompson, were individual opinions and a.s.sertions, often of obscure persons, and therefore, for ought the world could tell, fict.i.tious persons; or if known persons they were often men of the world, and avowedly acting on worldly principles, and therefore, no more affording a criterion of the state of the American churches, than the immoralities of any public functionary here, could be justly made a rule of judgment of the faith and morals of British Christians. A considerable portion also were taken from the transient and heated declamations of violent party newspapers, which wrested from their original purpose and connection, might mean what never was meant, or even, if fairly collated, expressed what their authors, perhaps, would now gladly recall. How far would it be proof of the a.s.sertions of Mr.

T. of America--if in some other land, some bigot should quote as indisputable, Mr. Thompson's story of the colored man in Was.h.i.+ngton City, whose a.s.sertion, at third hand, that he was free, authorised the declaration that "_he had demonstrated his freedom_," and yet after all had been sold into everlasting slavery without a trial! And yet many of his proofs are of no more value to him, than his a.s.sertions ought to be to any who come after him. It is next most worthy of note, that so far as all his proofs establish any thing against either any portion of the American nation or the American church, they all run upon the a.s.sumed truth of all my explanations of their real state and operations. It is the slaveholding portion, it is the comparatively small body of slaveholding professors of religion, it is the minority of the nation, the very small minority of the Christians of it, implicated continually; and therefore, if every word produced were true, the sweeping conclusions from them would be gross fraud on the prevailing ignorance of all American affairs. But what is most important to observe, and what must be palpable to the capacity of every child who has attended to this discussion, the weightiest of Mr.

Thompson's proofs ceased to be proofs at all, the moment the facts, cant words and circ.u.mstances connected are explained. He used words in one sense which he knows you will understand in another--sporting at once with your good feelings and your want of minute information while all the result is false as to us, and unhappy as to every thing concerned, except "Oth.e.l.lo's occupation" which meanwhile is _not_ gone. When decided and perhaps violent terms are used against "abolition" or "abolitionists" or "anti-slavery" or "the anti-slavery society," they are adduced to convince you that those who use them are pro-slavery men: that they understand the terms as you do; and that it is an expression of rank hostility to all emanc.i.p.ation on the part of the American tyrants, in whose nostrils according to this gentleman the slave and freedom equally stink! A metaphor nearly as full of truth as decency. The fact however is, that although many would decline the use of the harsh and vindictive language which, caught from abolitionists, has been turned against them; yet the bulk of the real sentiments, as brought forward by Mr. Thompson as proofs of American slavery, on account of American hatred to his peculiar plans, principles and spirit in attempting its removal, are true, just and defensible.--And I am ready to advocate and to defend much that he by a disingenuous citation has made at first odious, and then characteristic of America. They prove only that he and his coadjutors are most odious to the country, which is a fact never denied except by himself or them. And to what has the whole current of his testimony tended if not to show that they might reasonably have expected and did a great deal to deserve such a conclusion.--But it is now impossible to enter again upon these matters and upon the case as presented, he was willing for the world to pa.s.s its verdict. While he would therefore take no farther notice of any new matter contained in the last speech, there were several remarks necessary to be made, to elucidate subjects that had already been several times before them.

The first case was that of Amos Dresser the abolitionist whipped at Nashville. He would pa.s.s over what Mr. T. had said relating to his (Mr. B.'s) notice of the discrepancy in the number of Elders in the Nashville Church. He had treated that gentleman with great candor in the matter, which he had returned with incivility and injustice, and there he was content to let it rest. But how stood the facts of the case itself? Amos Dresser is reported to have said that there were seven elders of the church; that all of them were on the committee of vigilance of Nashville; that _most_ of them were among his triers, and that _some_ of them had administered the communion to him the preceding sabbath. Now let us admit that this is literally true--(which I believe however is not the case, in at least three particulars)--how does it justify Mr. Thompson in a.s.serting as he did at London and elsewhere "that on that Lynch Committee _there sat seven Elders and one Minister, some of whom_ had sat with the young man at the table of the Lord on the preceding Sunday"? Mr. Thompson positively contradicts his own and only witness when he says that all the seven elders sat as triers;--he enlarges his testimony when he insinuates that they not only concurred in his punishment, but were present and active in its infliction; and he infers without the least authority, and adds it to the words of the witness, that those very elders who administered the Lord's Supper to Dresser, on Sunday "ploughed up his back"--as Lynch Committee men on a subsequent day of the same week. How in the name of common honesty is such deceitful handling of the truth to be tolerated in a Christian community? Oh!

what a spectacle would we behold--if I had but the privilege before some competent tribunal--to take the published accusations of this man in my hands and force him to reveal on oath the whole grounds on which he makes them!--Mr. B. then stated that after he entered the house to-night two packages had been put into his hands, which he could not examine then, as he was just about to open the discussion. He had s.n.a.t.c.hed a moment during the interval to glance his eyes over their contents, and considered it his duty to say a few words in reference to each. One of them was a little volume from the pen of Dr. Channing, of Boston, on the subject of slavery, just pa.s.sing through the press of an enterprising bookseller of Glasgow, who had done him the favor of presenting to him, in very kind terms, the first copy of the edition. They who would take the trouble of looking over the printed report of Mr. Thompson's second address to the Glasgow Emanc.i.p.ation Society, would find that in speaking of the Unitarians of America, he had used the following language:--"One of their greatest men, a giant in intellect, had already taken the right view of the subject, and there could not exist a doubt that ere long, he would bring over the body to the good cause." In this sentence, as it stands in the speech, at the end of the words "giant in intellect,"--stands a star,--at the bottom of the page another, before the words "Dr. Channing." Now it so happens that in this little book, there is a chapter headed "Abolitionism." I have looked through it casually, within the last hour; and I beseech you all to read it carefully, and judge for yourselves, of the utter recklessness with which Mr. Thompson makes a.s.sertions. The other parcel, contained a letter from an American gentleman residing in Britain, and one half of the New York Spectator, of October 1, 1835. Under the head of editorial correspondence, is an article above a column and a half in length devoted in great part to Mr. Thompson. Amongst other pa.s.sages, it adverts to his doings at Andover, and the charges made against him there, on such weighty authority; and in that connexion has the following explicit paragraph:

Mr. Thompson in conversation with some of the students repeatedly averred that every slaveholder in the United States OUGHT TO HAVE HIS THROAT CUT; or DESERVED TO HAVE HIS THROAT CUT; although he afterwards publicly denied that he had said so. But the proof is direct and positive. In conversation with one of the theological students in regard to the moral instruction which ought to be enjoyed by the slaves, he distinctly declared THAT EVERY SLAVE SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO CUT HIS MASTER'S THROAT! I state the fact--knowing the responsibility I am a.s.suming, and challenge a legal investigation.

On this tremendous doc.u.ment, I make but two remarks--The first is that Francis Hall & Co. the publishers of the Spectator, were in character and fortune, perfectly responsible to Mr. Thompson. The second is, that if Mr. Thompson's rule of judgment was just, in that branch of this same case--in the exercise of which he declared that another paper in New York could never be got to publish his exculpatory certificates in regard to this very transaction, _because_ the publisher knew them to be true; then we are irresistibly bound on his own showing to conjecture, that for the same reason he declined taking up the challenge of the Spectator. There was only one more topic on which he seemed called on to remark; and that he had several times pa.s.sed over, out of consideration of delicacy. It had all along been his aim to use as little freedom as possible with the names of individuals--and he could declare, that he had implicated by name, no one except out of absolute necessity--that he had forborne to say true but severe things of several who had been most unjustly commended during this discussion--and had omitted of the very few he had censured by name, decidedly worse things, than those he had uttered of them--and which he might have uttered both truly and pertinently.

Amongst the cases of rather peculiar forebearance, was the oft cited one, of a misguided young man, by the name of Thome, who went from Kentucky to New York to repeat a most audacious speech which was no doubt prepared for him, before an a.s.sembly literally the most _mixed_ that was ever convened in that city: having delivered which, he departed with the pity or contempt of 9 10ths of all the decent people in it, and went I know not whither, and dwells I know not where. The victory as there trumpeted, and now celebrated, of which he was part gainer, consisted of two portions--the destruction of the colonization cause--and the degradation of Kentucky, his native state. The death of the Society was signalised by a subscription of six thousand dollars on the part of its friends; and the infamy of Kentucky was ill.u.s.trated by the ready stepping forward of four of her sons to confront and confound the ingrate who commenced his career of manhood by smiting his parent in the face. Who made the defence, may be surmised from Mr. Thompson's bitterness--I will not trust myself to repeat his name. But this thousands can testify--that never was a great cause more signally successful--never were folly and wickedness more thoroughly beaten into the dust--never did any community heap more cordial and unanimous applause upon an effort of great and successful eloquence.

And now, Sir, (said Mr. B., addressing Dr. Wardlaw, the Chairman of the meeting)--I repeat the expressions of my regret, that these last moments allowed to me should have been required for any other purpose than that which so sacredly belonged to them. Exhausted by a series of most exciting, and to me perfectly new contentions, I am altogether unequal to the task, which I should yet esteem myself degraded if I did not attempt in some way to perform.

To this large committee which has so kindly taken up this subject--so considerately provided for every contingency--so delicately considered all my wishes, and even all my weaknesses--to these respected gentlemen surrounding us upon this platform, whose conduct amid very peculiar circ.u.mstances has been towards me, full of candor, honor, courtesy and Christian kindness, it would have been most gross ingrat.i.tude, to have forborne this public expression of my regard and cordial thanks.

For yourself, Sir, what can I say more, or how could I say less, than that in that distant country, which I love but too fondly, there are scores, there are hundreds, who would esteem all the trials through which this strife has led me, and all the weight of responsibility which my posture has forced me to a.s.sume, more than counter-balanced by the privilege of looking upon your venerated face. It is good to live for the whole world; and it is but just to receive in recompense the world's thanks.

And you, my respected auditors, whose patience I must needs have so severely taxed, and who have borne with much that possibly has tried you deeply, you who have given me so many reasons to thank you, and not one to regret the errand that brought me here; if in the course of providence, you or yours, should be thrown on whatever spot my resting place may be, you need but say, "I come from Glasgow, and I need a friend," and it shall go hard with me, but I will find a way to prove, that kindness is never thrown away.

But even as we part, let us not forget that cause which has chained us here so long. We are free. Alas! how few can utter these words with truth! We are Christian men. Alas! what mult.i.tudes have never heard our Master's name. Oh! how horrible must slavery be, when G.o.d himself ill.u.s.trates the power of sin by calling it bondage! Oh! how sweet should union with Christ be thought, when he proclaims it glorious liberty! Freedom and redemption are in our hands; the heritage in trust for a lost world. It is not then our own souls only, but our divine Lord, and our dying brethren, that we sin against and rob, when we mismanage or pervert this great inheritance. We needs must labor; but let us do it wisely. And though we may differ in many things, in this at least we can agree, to importune our heavenly Father to prosper by his constant blessing what we do aright, and overrule by his continued care all that we do amiss. (Cheers.)

MR. THOMPSON then rose amidst much cheering, and said, Sir, after the valedictory address to which we have just listened, it would ill become me to touch upon any topic calculated to disturb feelings which I trust and believe that address has awakened in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of this a.s.sembly. Sir, it is my conviction, that I and those with whom it is my joy and honor to act, in the advancement of the cause of Universal Emanc.i.p.ation, are much misunderstood. We are represented as the violent, acrimonious, ferocious and sanguinary foes of the slaveholder; when, if he could look into our inmost hearts, he would discover no enmity to him abiding there, but on the contrary, an earnest desire to promote his safety, his honor, and his happiness. If we act as we do, it is not that we love him less, but that we love truth and freedom more. It is not with us a matter of choice that we pursue our present course, but one of stern imperative duty; because we believe that G.o.d will vouchsafe his blessing only to those who preach the doctrine of an immediate, entire, and uncompromising discharge of duty, leaving to Him the consequences flowing from obedience to His law. To discover truth wherever it is hidden, should be the aim and effort of every rational mind. It has been my desire to arrive at truth upon the great question of Slavery; and after much investigation, and many conflicts, I have reached the conclusion, that slaveholding is sinful; that man cannot hold property in man; that to do right, and to do it _now_, fearless of results, is the doctrine of the Bible; and that a simple and strict compliance with the Divine Law, is man's n.o.blest and safest course. These being my settled views, I say to the slaveholder, give immediate freedom to your slaves. To the non-slaveholder, I say, preach a pure doctrine; grapple with the prejudices and fears of the community around you; strive to raise the tone of public morals, and create a public sentiment unfavorable to the continuance of slavery. To the private Christian, I say, betake yourself to prayer, and the study of the Scriptures; and invoke a blessing upon every righteous instrumentality for the overthrow of the abomination. To the minister of the gospel, I say, be bold for G.o.d; cry aloud, and spare not, till the merchants of the earth cease to make merchandise of slaves, and the souls of men.

Much fault is found with our measures. What, Sir, are our measures, but the simplest means of making known our principles? Having deliberately and prayerfully adopted certain views, we take the ordinary, common sense, every day methods of making those views known, and of recommending them to the adoption of others. Believing slavery to be sin, is it strange that we hate it, and speak strongly respecting it? Believing immediate emanc.i.p.ation _a duty_, is it strange that we pray, and preach, and print about it? That we take all peaceful means of making known the great truth; of warning men against the danger of delay; and exhorting them to repentance? The abolitionists have done no more. To have done less, would have been to prove themselves unfaithful to the high and heaven-born principles they profess. They court investigation. They scatter their publications on the winds to be read by all. They have not an office nor a book that is not open to the inspection of all. Their language to all who suspect their motives or their designs is, "search us, and know our hearts; try us, and know our thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in us." If in the ardor of their zeal, and inherited infirmities, and surrounded by influences, from which none of us are exempt; they sometimes apply epithets and bring charges with too little discrimination, "something should be pardoned to the spirit of liberty;" something granted to the advocates of outraged humanity; to those, who, remembering them that are in bonds as bound with them, plead as for mothers, children, sisters, and brothers; at present lost to all the joys and purposes of life. Sir, I think it hard that on all occasions like these, the heaviest artillery should be levelled against the abolitionists, and the small arms only directed against the slaveholder. I call upon those who act with such gentleness towards the latter individual; who are so fearful of doing him injustice and so readily to discover in him any thing that is amiable in character, or extenuating in conduct, to exercise some small portion of the same candor and kindness, and consideration towards the former. Let not _that_ man be most hateful in their eyes, who of all others is most earnestly engaged for the deliverance of the slave.

A word before we part, for my honored co-adjutors on the other side of the Atlantic. Should this be the last address of mine ever delivered and recorded for perusal when I am gone to give account of my sayings upon earth, I can with every feeling of sincerity aver, that to the best of my knowledge and belief, there is not to be found on the face of the earth at the present time, engaged in any religious or benevolent enterprise, a body of men more pure in their motives, more simple and elevated in their aim, more dependent upon divine aid in their efforts, or, generally speaking, more unexceptionable in their measures, than the _immediate_ abolitionists of the United States of America. It has been my high privilege to mingle much with devoted Christians of all denominations in my native land, and to enjoy the friends.h.i.+p of some of the n.o.blest and most laborious of living philanthropists; but I have not yet seen the wisdom, the ardor, the humanity or the faith of the abolitionists of America exceeded.

Another word and I have done. It is for one whom I love as a brother, and to whom my soul is united by a bond which death cannot dissolve; of one, who, though still young, has for ten years toiled with unremitting ardor, and unimpeached disinterestedness in the cause of the bleeding slave; of one, who, though accused of scattering around him fire-brands, arrows and death; though branded as a madman, an incendiary, and a fanatic; though denounced by the State, and reviled by a portion of the church, possesses a soul as peaceful and as pure as ever tenanted our fallen nature. I speak not to exalt him or gratify his love of praise. I know he seeks not the honor that cometh from man, nor the riches that perish in the using. He looks not for his reward on earth. With the approbation of his conscience, he is content; with the blessing of the peris.h.i.+ng, he is rich; with the favor of G.o.d, he is blessed forever. He seeks no monumental marble, no funeral oration, no proud escutcheon, no partial page of history to perpetuate his name. He knows that when resting from his labors, the tears of an enfranchised race

Shall sprinkle the cold dust in which he sleeps, Pompless, and from a scornful world withdrawn: The laurel, which its malice rent, shall shoot, So watered, into life, and mantling throw Its verdant honors o'er his gra.s.sy tomb.

That man is WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. Sir, I thank G.o.d for having given him to the age and country in which he lives. He is a man pre-eminently qualified for the mighty work in which he has engaged.

May the G.o.d of the oppressed bless him, and keep him humble, and cheer him onwards in his rugged path! May his lion heart never be subdued!

May his eloquent pen never cease to move while a slave breathes to require its advocacy! Heaven grant, and I can ask no more, that the wish of his heart may be fulfilled; and that the time may soon come, when, looking abroad over his beloved country with the soul of a Patriot, and the eye of a Philanthropist and a Christian, he shall not be able to discover in State, or city, or town, or hamlet, a lingering trace of a tyrant or a Slave!

I shall not, Sir, attempt (turning to the Chairman,) to express the feelings of my heart towards _you_, or my opinion of the manner in which you have discharged the duties of the Chair, through four of the evenings of this discussion. I cordially unite with the gentleman opposite, in thanking you for the dignity and strict impartiality with which you have borne yourself. I know you look for the reward of your labors of love in another and a better world. In that world may we all meet! There our jars and discords will be at an end. There we shall see, eye to eye; and know, even as we are known. There, in the presence of one Saviour, our joys, our voices, our occupations will be _one_; and there I trust that we, who have been antagonists on earth, will together meet and celebrate the glories of a common redemption from the sorrows and the sins of earth. (Mr. Thompson resumed his seat amidst loud and long continued cheers.)

MR. THOMPSON moved that the cordial thanks of the meeting be given to the Rev. Dr. WARDLAW, for his able, dignified, and impartial conduct in the chair, and also to Dr. KIDSTON, who presided on Thursday evening, which was carried with acclamation.

APPENDIX.

In reading the foregoing discussion, we have been utterly astonished at the grossness and magnitude of the falsehoods--not to mention the numerous miscolorings and misrepresentations--which the reverend apologist for slavery has, with brazen effrontery, unblus.h.i.+ngly uttered even though aware of the fact that they were to be published to the world. It would seem as if feeling the necessity of defending a desperate cause by desperate means, he had resolved to pour out his misstatements and inaccuracies with such lavish liberality, that his opponent would be absolutely unable, in the time allotted to him, to correct them all, and thus contrive to make some of his falsehoods, because uncontradicted, pa.s.s for truth, and some of his distortions and perversions for fair representations. The event, we cannot help thinking, will show that he has presumed with far too much rashness on the supposed ignorance of the British people. Some of his falsehoods, mistakes, and misrepresentations, which were either wholly unnoticed, or not fully answered by Mr. Thompson, for want, as he has informed us, of time to do it, we shall briefly notice here,

First, however, we would call attention to the remark, that 'he is not a slaveholder,' with which Dr. Wardlaw introduced Mr. Breckinridge to the audience, and in reference to it quote part of a letter from Dr.

A. L. c.o.x of New York, to the editor of the emanc.i.p.ator. 'The only knowledge I have on this subject,' says Dr. C., 'is what I derived from the confession of R. J. Breckinridge, extorted at an anniversary meeting of the Colonization Society in this city, in the spring of 1834.' After mentioning some of the circ.u.mstances which led him to speak, the letter goes on to say, 'Just as Robert J. Breckinridge was on the point of speaking, one of the a.s.sembly inquired, 'Is he a slaveholder?' The orator seemed somewhat disconcerted, but answered '_I have_ that honor.'