In conclusion,—should these pages come under the notice of any, who, though well wishers to their species, are not yet identified with anti-slavery effort, I would entreat such to "come over and help us." If they are ambitious of a large and quick return for their outlay of money, of time, of labor,—for their painful sympathies and self-denying prayers,—where will they find a cause where help is more needed, or where it would be rewarded more surely and abundantly? Let them reflect on what has been effected, within a few short years, in the British West Indies, so recently numbered among "the dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty,"—but now scenes of light, gladness, and prosperity, temporal and spiritual. To show what remains to be accomplished for the universal abolition of slavery—a field in which the laborers are few indeed, in proportion to its extent—I may be allowed to quote the following comprehensive statement, from the preface to one of the most important volumes that ever issued from the press on the subject of slavery:[A]
[A]: "Proceedings of the London Anti-Slavery Convention."
"The extent of these giant evils may be gathered from a brief statement of facts. In the United States of America, the slave population is estimated to be 2,750,000; in Brazil, 2,500,000; in the Spanish Colonies, 600,000; in the French Colonies, 265,000; in the Dutch Colonies, 70,000; in the Danish and Swedish Colonies, 30,000; and in Texas, 25,000; besides those held in bondage by Great Britain, in the East Indies, and the British Settlements of Ceylon, Malacca, and Penang; and by France, Holland, and Portugal, in various parts of Asia and Africa; amounting in all to several millions more; and exclusive also of those held in bondage by the native powers of the East, and other parts of the world, of whose number it is impossible to form a correct estimate.
"To supply the slave-markets of the Western world, 120,000 native Africans are, on the most moderate calculation, annually required; whilst the slave-markets of the East require 50,000 more. In procuring these victims of a guilty traffic, to be devoted to the rigors of perpetual slavery, it is computed that 280,000 perish in addition, and under circumstances the most revolting and afflicting.
"But this is not all. In the Southern section of the United States, and in British India, a vast internal slave-trade is carried on, second only in horror and extent to that which has so long desolated and degraded Africa.
"These facts exhibit, also, the magnitude of the responsibility which devolves upon abolitionists; in view of it they may well be allowed to disclaim, as they do, all sectarian motive, all party feeling: 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to man,' is their aim: consistently with the blessed character of this gospel anthem, they recognize no means as allowable for them, in the prosecution of their holy enterprise, than those which are of a moral, religious, and pacific nature; in the diligent use of these means, and trusting in God, they cherish the hope that, under His blessing, they may be permitted to accomplish the great work to which they are devoted; and thus be made instrumental in advancing the sacred cause of freedom, and its attendant blessings, civilization and religion, throughout the earth."
J.S.
Edgbaston, near Birmingham, Second Month, 1st, 1842.
A VISIT, &c.
I embarked at Portsmouth, on board the British Queen steam packet, commanded by Captain Franklin, on the 10th of the 3d Month, (March,) 1841. During the first two or three days, the weather was unusually fine for the season of the year, and gave us the prospect of a quick and prosperous voyage. The passengers, about seventy in number, were of various nations, including English, French, German and American.
The very objectionable custom of supplying the passengers with intoxicating liquors without limit and without any additional charge, thus compelling the temperate or abstinent passenger to contribute to the expenses of the intemperate, was done away. Each individual paid for the wine and spirits he called for, a circumstance which greatly promoted sobriety in the ship; but I am sorry to say three or four, and these my own countrymen, were not unfrequently in a state of intoxication. On one occasion, after dinner, one of these addressed an intelligent black steward, who was waiting, by the contemptuous designation of "blackey;" the man replied to him in this manner:—"My name is Robert; when you want any thing from me please to address me by my name; there is no gentleman on board who would have addressed me as you have done; we are all the same flesh and blood; I did not make myself; God made me." This severe and public rebuke commended itself to every man's conscience, and my countryman obtained no sympathy even from the most prejudiced slaveholder on board. Several of my fellow passengers stood in this relation; and I found I could freely converse with a native American slaveholder not only with less risk of giving offence, but that he was more ready to admit the inherent evils of slavery than the Europeans who had become inured to the system by residence in the Southern States of America, or than the American merchants residing in the Northern cities, whose participation in the commerce of the Slave States had imbued them with pro-slavery views and feelings. One of them, a French merchant of New Orleans, went so far as to assure me, that in his opinion it would be as reasonable to class the negroes with monkeys, as to place them on an equality with the whites.
On the nights of the 14th and 15th the Aurora Borealis was very beautiful and vivid, which is said to be, in these latitudes, an indication of stormy weather. Accordingly on the 16th the weather became less favorable, with an increased swell in the sea, wind more ahead, and occasional squalls. On the night of the 18th we encountered one of the most awful hurricanes ever witnessed by the oldest sailor on board; and from this date to the 24th inst. we experienced a succession of storms of indescribable violence and severity, which at some intervals caused great and I believe very just alarm for the safety of the ship. The President steamer, coming in the opposite direction, is known to have encountered the same weather, and was doubtless lost, not having since been heard of. Our escape, under Divine Providence, must be attributed to the great strength of the vessel, which had been thoroughly repaired since her last voyage, and to the skill and indefatigable attention of the Captain. On the 25th the wind abated, and the greater number of the floats or propelling boards of the paddle wheels having been carried away, and our stock of coals very much reduced, the Captain decided to make for Halifax, Nova Scotia, where we arrived on the evening of the 30th. After a stay of twenty-four hours, for repairs and supplies, we again left for New York, where we arrived safely on the night of 4th Month, (April,) 3d.
The following day, being the first of the week, I landed about the time of the gathering of the different congregations, and inquired my way to the meeting of the orthodox section of the Society of Friends, and afterwards took up my abode at the Carlton Hotel. Here I met, for the first time, my friend J.G. Whittier, whom I had been anxious to associate with myself in my future movements, and who kindly consented to be my companion as far as his health would permit. The next morning, on returning to the vessel to get my luggage passed, a custom-house officer manifested his disapproval of my character and objects as an abolitionist, by giving me much unnecessary trouble, and by being the means of my paying duty on a small machine for copying letters for my own private use, and other articles which I believe are usually passed free. Ordinarily at this port, the luggage of respectable passengers is passed with little examination, on an assurance that it comprises no merchandise. This was almost the only instance of discourteous treatment I met with in the United States. We remained in New York from the 4th to the 10th of this month, which time was occupied in visiting different friends of the anti-slavery cause, and in receiving calls at our hotel.
I had much pleasure and satisfaction in my intercourse here with several individuals distinguished in the anti-slavery cause, some of whom I had met in 1837, during a short visit to New York on my way from the West Indies. Among these, ought particularly to be mentioned the brothers Arthur and Lewis Tappan. The former was elected president of the American Anti-Slavery Society on its formation, and remained at its head until the division which took place last year, when he became president of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. His name is not more a byeword of reproach, than a watchword of alarm throughout the slave states; and the slave holders have repeatedly set a high price upon his head by advertisement in the public papers. In the just estimation of the pro-slavery party, Arthur Tappan is abolition personified; and truly the cause needs not to be ashamed of its representative, for a more deservedly honored and estimable character it would be difficult to find. In personal deportment he is unobtrusive and silent; his sterling qualities are veiled by reserve, and are in themselves such as make the least show—clearness and judgment, prudence and great decision. He is the head of an extensive mercantile establishment, and the high estimation in which he is held by his fellow citizens, notwithstanding the unpopularity of his views on slavery, is the result of a long and undeviating career of public spirit and private integrity, and of an uninterrupted succession of acts of benevolence. During a series of years of commercial prosperity, his revenues were distributed with an unsparing hand through the various channels which promised benefit to his fellow creatures; and in this respect, his gifts, large and frequent though they were, were probably exceeded in usefulness by the influence of his example as a man and a Christian.
His brother Lewis, with the same noble and disinterested spirit in the application of his pecuniary resources, possesses the rare faculty of incessant labor; which, when combined, as in his case, with great intellectual and physical capacity, eminently qualifies for a leading position in society. He unites in a remarkable degree, the apparently incompatible qualities of versatility and concentration; and his admirable endowments have been applied in the service of the helpless and the oppressed with corresponding success. He has been from the beginning one of the most active members of the central Anti-Slavery Committee in New York, a body that has directed the aggressive operations against slavery, on a national scale, with a display of resources, and an untiring and resolute vigor, that have attracted the admiration of all, who, sympathizing in their object, have had the privilege of watching their proceedings. Of those who have impressed the likeness of their own character on these proceedings, Lewis Tappan is one of the chief; and he has shared with his brother the most virulent attacks from the pro-slavery party. Some years ago he had the ear of a negro sent to him by post, in an insulting anonymous letter. During the past year, though marked by a severe domestic affliction, in addition to his engagements as a merchant, in partnership with his brother Arthur, and his various public and private duties as a man and as a citizen, in the performance of which I believe he is punctual and exemplary, he has edited, almost without assistance, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, and has also been one of the most active members of a committee of benevolent individuals formed to watch over the interest of the Amistad captives. Besides superintending the maintenance, education, and other interests of these Africans, it was necessary to defend their cause against the whole power of the United States' Government, to raise funds for these objects, to interest foreign Governments in their welfare, and more than all, to keep them constantly before the public, not only for their own sakes, but that a portion of the sympathy and right feeling which was elicited in their favor might be reflected towards the native slave population of the country, whose claim to freedom rests upon the same ground of natural and indefeasible right. With what success this interesting cause has been prosecuted is well expressed in a single sentence by a valued transatlantic correspondent of mine, who, writing at the most critical period of the controversy, says:—"We, or rather Lewis Tappan, has made the whole nation look the captives in the face."