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"77i IGNORANT IND DEGRADED OF EVERY NATION OR CLIME MUST BE ENLIGHTENED, BEFORE OUR EARTH CAN HAVE HONOR IN THE UNIt'EIiSE."
VOL'UMK I.
GREKNSBOIIOUGII, X. C. SVTUIMHY, OCTOBBU 17, 1829.;
MM 23.
It', ' '
Till: fiKKENSBOIlOUGH PATRIOT,
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COM MUX I CAT IOX
. "Jtuz wit rcjfcmter, if.. .? nte h l?fj
To tress your ft m' with modnt'i and fair.
P At Riot.
. ...... ... .f......
ing chains of bondage ; under the arbitrary sway of
insolent and capricious tyrants ; void of the most
distant prospect of relief; with few to pity their suft
ferings, and still fewer to plead their cause; tantalized
with the sight of sweetswhich sharpen . their desire
for enjoyment, but which they are made to despair
of ever tasting ; degraded by ignorance, and its con
comitant vice ; measurably devoid of the hopes and
consolations which religion imparts; always suffer
ing actual privation;, or dreading anticipated ones ;
the tender lies of nature being ever liable to be bro
ken. It is not the illusion of an over heated fancy,
but it is a mournful reality, that, whilst I am speaking
it, more than ten thousands of this unhappy race, are
lamenting, in the keenest anguish, the dissolution of
the tendered ties, all out of ordinary course of nature.
All, who are under the influence of this withering
system, are liable to be separated from every sacred
endearment, by the caprice, the necessity, or the cas
ualties of others. How important,'thcreforc,to than
that their case should be investigated.
If it be important that those, who have breathed
only in tainted air, should once inhale tlTe pure ether :
that those, who have seen themselves and all things
around them, only through si distorting medium,
should, once in their lives, have a true mirror held
up to tiieni, through whwdi they may see all things,
as TJiev re'afi v ar "in their true bnr3"1and's1iapes ;
ien it is ol consequence to slave-holders, tlwt the sub
ject hii;ild be djseus:ed for their- particular advaa-
Itagc. . In tins jiaiLatany. discourse J... wish, to .avoid
every appearance ol harshness; lor, vi,fi the excep
Fan "The Gmrsszohovgh
AN Al)l)RES.-
to the i.entrf braitvn J tne jwnwrtjiyjioti oo-nion ol some interested traders,, whose eralt is in dan-
cicty ofWurlii-Laroltiiu, hij Inr Chairman. j ger of being set at nought, and oir.e runbit.onK, intrigu
Ge.vfLKMFV : The nhj.-rt of the .Manumission So- "g demagog us, who would make the subject of
eitv is twofold. First, it is the cause of humanity ; slavery a hobby for carrying themselves into power,
i ii -x : .. ..." ......., .... ....l;...- I I lildl.'f1 (lie Koiip. h:it :i Tivif m ii'irilv of slMVp-hnl.
ll St C 01 HI I , II IS a III 1 1 1 -. I 'l "Hi' M H'luiuiii, - - " I - - -j- -
The former object has reference,
.-i . i.. - .i... ..(.... . i
llaVCs oin . iih- iri'iei i
ami to every one, either
tiected. To take, at one time, even a partial view
f the whole subject, in al! its bearings and depen
dencies, would be a task too arduous for my humble
capacity ; I shall, therefore, at the present, confine
tiTself to the consideration of two points only, viz :
"l . The delicacy of the subject ; and
2. The importance of investigating it.
.Mv observations relative to the delicacy of the sub
je:twill be clnev limited to the inquiry, whether
tin- subject of slavery is really a delicate one, or only
atlec.tedly s. The subject cf slavery has been pro
nounced a delicate question. But by whom 1 Has
it been so called by those, who, filing elevated above
the cloud of interest afirt prejudiie,
"Above tbe fogs of sense and passion's storm,"
were qualified judges ? or has it not rather been by
the interested and the prejudiced ? by men, whose
indolence, voluptuousness, and pride of arbitrary
swav, hate grown into settled habits? by men, whose
estimated wealth consists largely in this nominal pro
port, to which no human regulations can give ajut
title? If the question is pronounced delicate only
bv men, for whom the loc of ease, of gain, and of
Viso'utc domination, is a sullieient motive for inllic
ti i.r the greatest wrongs ; in whose opinion, power is
a -..illirient right for usurping unlimited control over
their qecies ; with whom, religion and patriotism
an bnt nau.es, of an import inadequate to compete
'with the selfishness of personal ease and interest : by
rnen, in short, with whom there is a multiplicity of
eonc;Watioiis to bias the fairness of their amumersf,
and the justness of I heir conclusion. ; if thequestion
is pronounced delicate by such men only , does il i:r-c..-,rily
follow, that freemeh must cower at their
u. , itM-t tie down their thoughts, must repress their
1 estivation, must chain their pens ? mut the hu
m ine remain silent spectators of the most attrocious
cruelties ? must the patriotic see their country degra
de ;, and tottering on the verge of ruin, without being
?!. wed to enter their solemn protestation against the
nefarious cause ? must the watchmen, on the towers
fZ'on, be constrained to cry, peace! peace! whilst
thev behold destruction impending ? must wc, who
have formed ourselves into a Society for the express
purpose of ameliorating the condition of the African
face ; and of investigating their cause ; to whom, re
Jitiion, humanity, patriotism, and our social compact,
eo-ypire to render it an imperious duty ; must we
ibrhk from the investigation, at the cry of "too deli
cate ?" Is it not enough that these usurpers of power
wiM.out right, hold, in chains, the bodies of the
wretched negroes- ? or must they also throw their ra
pacious shackles over the minds of men acknowledg
ed to.be free ? No, Gentlemen, this must not be.
The question must, and will be agitated. On the
members of the Manumission Society the task dc
Tolves. Pv forming ourselves into a Society, we
liare given the world a pledge for the investigation of
the subject. Let us redeem it by the performance.
Let us enter at once on a fair and moderate discus
sion of the subject. I(thc advocates of slavery are
able, by aruuments, to establish the justice, the hu
manity, and the good policy, of slavery, let us cease
longer to chase a chimera ; but on the contrary, if
justice, humanity, and policy, declare for us, then
fhall we-see the whole system of-slavery dissolve be
fore the influence of ua bold and honest expression of
thought," as do the snows of winter before the influ
' encc of a vernal sun. Having said thus much rela-
iu uKinallv, to the devs ma v jet be induced, i, y some "f'Jie con-mleru-
ile a!-o to their masters, "'o-i en-iou, jumk miji..i.iii, ulihuihii, e.x u-
directly or indirectly con-. consistency, or personai safety, ' to undo tlu;
neavy ouruens, and let the oppressed go tree." At
least, whilst there is reason to h?pe that- this may be
the case, it would be an unpardonable dereliction of
duty in us,lo irritate them to obstinacy by our re
proachful and acrimonious language. Our duty, as
well as our best policy, is, to inform, not to anger
those we would convince. I wish it to be under
stood that I alludcjWuly to pcr.soual invective ; for i
am clear for urgmg the suhjetT'hotrie to the under
standing and feeling ofthis class of citizens. It is
highly important to (hm, that (his should be done,
as lam apprehensive that many of. them have never
heard the arguments on our side of the question.
Hut we should not forget, i.i the n,ei:;!i!V.e, that
strength of argument, and force of persuasion, may he
blended with temperance of diction ; and that suc
cess often depends as much on the manner of apply
ing our means, as on the means applied.
On account of the confederacy, by v.hich all the
States are bound together in one common govern
ment, the sulject Vefrme' "important also to the in
habitant. of those States where slavery does not ex
ist. Now slavery is a national evil and a national
crime, abolition is therefore a national concern.
Hence the propriety of.the Legislatures of the free
Suites interposing on the subjec t. Kor, notwithstan
ding, their amicable overtures have been repulsed
with scorn, by the (lov emoi s and Legislatures of the
Southern States, yet they are acting in the direct
sphere cf duty. They are not, as accused, officious
ly intermeddling in (he private concerns of others ;
b.jt they h,v as in duty hound, oilering to assist in
removing a common stipna, and in averting a com
mon calamity.
To the Patriot, in what section soever he may re
side, the discussion is important, and the Abolition of
slavery desirable. The patriot is one who is ardent
ly attached to his country and its institutions. He is
vigilant over the people's rights and liberties, and
jealous of his country's honor. He can surrender
muc,h private convenience to public good, and can
forego present advantages for tlje benefit of posterity.
In short, he desires that the people may be happy, and
that his country may endure forever. In the institu
tions of these United Slates, the patriot finds every
thing calculated to foster attachment, and excite
love, till he comes to contemplate the system of slave
ry ; but in that he finds every thing that is disgusting
and frightful: a blot, that tarnishes the beauty ; an
inconsistency, that gives the lie to every fair preten
sion ; tyranny unmasked, and justice outraged: in
terest and power arrayed against right ; the future
absorbed iti the present ; lav that sanctions crime,
and oppresses the weak and innocent ; till he sick
ens with disgust and boding horror at the contempla
tion, and is constrained to cry out with the sage of
Monticcllo : "I tremble for my country, when I
reflect that God is just, and that his justice cannot
sleep forever." ...
To conclude, the subject of slavery is one of high
concern to all who are either directly or indirectly
connected with it. To slave-holders, especially, it is
one of awful importance: They seem, however,
cither not generally aware of its importance, or they
arc determined to cling to destruction till they in
volve themselves and their country in one universal
devastation. Do we feel indignant at the conduct of
slave-holders? A few serious inquiries may convert
a portion of our indignation into sympathy for them,
tiye to the delicacy of the sutyjectL-wulI proceed tfrtd-humiliatio 4oj: ourselves. here- is no onc a-
eo?iner the importance of investigating it.
.x. . .With regard to the sa
fr thing in their condition that is calculated to excite
-assion and sympathy. Strangers in., a strange
taud; doomedi with their posterity, to wear the gall-
mongst us, who has the least knowledge of human na-
lurc, or of the causes winch influetic.u..tliCvitliaughtst
and consequently the actions of men, or who has ev
er considered how much more is the creature of
circumstances and localities, who will attempt to de
nythat the most zealous of us, in the cause of eman
cipation, had we been placed in the same situation
with many slave-holders, would not only have held
slaves, but would also have possessed the same senti
ments with regard to slavery ; and perhaps no few
of us might have been cruel tyrants, at this very mo
ment inflicting the wrongs and outrages we so bitter
ly deplore. Had we been born of slave-holding pa
rents, and brought up amongst slaves ; had we been
early inured to see the most brutal severity inflicted
(ipe n them: had the principle been fostered in our
voi.ng minds, that thev are an inferior race, destined
by the Creator to fill tlic sphere they now occupy ;
had we ever been accustomed to view manual-labor
with disgust, as fit only for Haves, and degrading to
freemen ; had we early acfjnirtd the belief, that hu
man beings are a rightful property, and tSiat much
honor is attached to the possession of this kind of
property ; had indolence and tne pride ei arourary
domination, become habitual ; and, in the interim,
had the means of better information been sedulously
kept beyond our reach ; might we not, this day, have
been flave-holders, both practical and sentimental ?
This reflection, though very humiliating, is neverlhe.
less demonstrably true : may it be instructive also
Let us ask ourselves, had this been our deplorable lot,
how we would vih to be dealt with, by those to
vhum Frv:,inieelad:vcwichsafetl better inMructimi.
Thwywe 4 to- tim 4fw4oii aayviubuctii&.. lw,w. VYt
should demean ousel v.ca .towards jdave-hcJuers, --It
wili teach us a lesson of charity and humility. JvtL
vvuuKf vvl-h not to be insulted and reproached to an
ger and obstinacy, then let us avoid this course to
wards them. If we would wish a current of con
vincing infor mation to be poured in upon us, cogent
arguments couched in gentle and persuasive terms,
then let us deal thus by our misled brethren. Duty
req iires us to do, in this vvav, all that lies in our pow
er : but I am persuaded that we have not veldone it.
This cause. is cue that defrauds our greatest zeal ami
devotedness, and the exercise of our best talents; for
wc shall never, (I hazard the expression,) be engaged
in any temporal concern, fraught with such conse
quences; glorious, if we succeed; terrible, if we fail.
SELECTED:
"And 'fit the sdd complaint, and dlmoxt trur,
llkate-'er rje write, tee bnnsrforih nothing new.
PLEASURES OF FAILING.
'Tarn, not: Vr, Tniiddy'd in fotruie'i mont, and xmrtl
somrivhat xtrong of her Htrong disiieasure." Shakspk.ark.
Modern poets have sung the "Pleasures of hnagi
nation,"" the " Pleasure of Hope," the " Pleasures of
Memory," and Dr. Blarklcv, or Hlacklog, or Black,
stone, or Blucstone, or some black or blue name, ha?
inihctcd upon the literary world a "pretty considera
ble" large v olume, entitled the "Pleasures of Death"
(pleasures of death? qtiere.) If I was poetically
given, I would sing the ,l Pleasures of failing, In
good blank verse; but never having drank of the
Pierian spring, I must be content to " tolhitate on
the turnpike road" of prose. I certainly should
and ought to have mounted Pegasus on this moment
ous and interesting subject, but I have an unconquer
able antipathy to riding on horseback ever since 1
was "tossed into thinner air" by an ui.rul) and mor
tal horse, which the "enemy tempted me to be
stride." Our batks, as numerous and as ueles as Pharoh's
frogs, hytlieir illiberal s) stent, have destroyed even
thing like credit and confidence; and now, like a
child that has broken his rattle, thev are whimper
ing and mourning over the ruin that themselves have
occasioned. Put "Oallio cares for none of these
things" now. "Abi, excessi, evai, ertipti' 1 have
dime I have cleared out I have made my escape
! have broken adrift from the turmoil of oppressed
and ruined trade, from the wreck of factories and the
crush of spind'es. The banks hav determined to
follow the maxims laid down in the beginning of the
catechism, the first question of which is " Vhat is
(he chicfend ot man ?" Answer "To keep what
he has got, and get what he can." In consequence
of which I have been hurled from my tripod at the
counting room desk, and compelled to "take my bill
and sit down quickly and write fifty" cents on a dol
lar, and have "signed over" all my property (a pur
ser's stocking would hold the whole) for the benefit
of (host; Vhom it may hereafter concern, from which
indigent, bothered, and perplexed association I am
exempted by a deed of assignment. This same
blessed deed of assignment has invested me with a
sort of nol lime lander character. It has1 drawn a
charmed circle around me, within the hallowed cir
( umferance of which no crcditona! nose dare show
itself. The "shoulder tapping bumbail)" views me
much as the dragon viewed the Hesperian fruit,
which he had the duty of watching without the priv
ilege of tasting. I go whistling pa"t my creditors
"with an air of indifference," and duns of all sorts,
colours, and sizes, are handed over to the fostering
care of my assignees.
Formerly .all my time was taken up in attending to
business, trying to get discounts (compared to which,
washing a negro white is a hopeful and profitable
piece of business,) paying bills, (latterly a raro occur
r?,) trying to 'aise money, (resuscitating another
EzekiePs valley of dry bones is an easy task in com
parison and finally, examining my bill book when
ever I -heard offatri'Fre, to asc"ertaTir"liov mucir.T
had lost by it Puit now, quantum mutatus ab ille,
huv e hngel-4WtH"4 kjt p-.--4V-rsl d Avlwv-m iglt
occasionally be seen 'at the .door of his counting room
"his brow wjth anxious thought impressed." and a
kind of six per cent, axpression of countenance, fir
phiz a good deal like the sun in long division won
dering how much longer, by dint of discount g
drawing upon agents, borrowing, eve. he mi lit be
able to keep alive the "vital spark of comen ial
flame," in his pocket. Now, all in) troubles and
property have gone together U the assigns, "mv fan
cy spreads her boldest wing, and ranges uiiconfu ed."
1 lounge about the Arcade, kill tune in the rea:;ng
room; or take my stand with other , on the
nridge to criticise dandies and admire the ladies, wil
ness the passage of a canal boat through the brii'ge,
or the catching of an eel fron underneath it, inqnirr
what steam boat goes at twelve o'clock, and wha is
the best of all, listen with the utmost tranquility to
the catalogue of the lailures of the day. I li: e
plenty of time to take plenty of exercise, which has
improved my appetite and spirits, and the entire va
Cffioii from all duties in the temple of Mammon, has
given to me leisure and opportunity to make oh-er-vationson
matters and things in general, and whether
" Musing in tne silent grave
Or the busy haunts of men,"
I am sure to find something to amuse me, which in
my busy day was over looked. People, w ho a few
days ago, when 1 had money to lend, were profu-e in
their "salutations in (he market plate," now, like
the priest and Levite, pass by me -with iiphficd no-e,
internally thavikhig t lod" they "ate hot firs piibri
.cauVl.uL Lonly wjy tiwyelf,' wbrtv "YmrtMtvrTn; -"lake
physic, Pompe.' I recollect ait Hibernian
ac,quaiuhmiie,.af i,uiiwir whom I .ued to rtdirttle- for
his bulls and Incisms, would often reply with "don't
make fun of the Irish, you don't know how soon vo.u
ma) be an Irishman yourself ;" in like manner, I can
say, "don't turn up your nose quite so high when vou
meet one who lias been unfortunate in business, (vul
io, a baukruptipiioiiot k'liow how soon von tiiay
he one yourself Vpreeut state of things lasts
much longer, wK .mic a formidable majontv in
tins town, and vicum; for it is a maxim that I be
lieVe is, by this time, pretty well established, that if a
man cannot get luoiiev, he cannot pay his debts, and
he must assign in self-defence, in order that his cred
itors may get some part of their just dues, w ithout
being choused out of them by a bank process, the
most oppressive, absurd and unjust act ever sanction
ed by any legislative body. Why a free, ei IiJiU --ed
people should bear it so long and so tamely is myste
rious to me. . ,. .
If there are "joys in madness that none but mad
men know," there are pleasures in fading that r.une
but bankrupts know ; besides, we have scripture to
comfort us "Fret not thyself bewuise of tlu- ungoUl) ;
that is, those who have nionev. and 'will not Icnsl it
except on such security a nnhndv can get. I uld
quote Soloino i. about lending money in o-u,-. ,Ahu
ving notes,) but it would be casting pearls efore
svvme.
Having thus endeavored, though hastily, ftsketch
ome oi the pleasures ol' lailin, to .oui.ray7 :.. . e-
liet of mind and body that one feel-, when he has
thrown the plague, and botheration of his all ir u( on
a brace of assignees, without knowing lr c ui.ig
whether the "yoke is easy or the burden .flight" to
them, I conclude by recommending lo al who h ive
ventured in the Maelstrom of manufacrrie or the
horse latitudes of tiade, who, to use a favourite nau
tical simile, are "like a cat in h" Vilhoiil clav .
holding on and burning," lo fail ami 'lit, leave (he
monopolizers of the circulating medijm "aloe.e with
l he glory," and engage in some btisitss xv.Vrc bank
notices "cease from troubling," and A bei e bill books
"are at rest.
PttESENT STATE OF JEjl'SALFM.
Put I leave the subject of the Mdilcnai :i , mut
solicit your attention to the vvoiis ih .t are going on
at Jerusalem ; and I regret to sy tlcl .una- oi i,.o
'lays of my labor passed with sottle comfort, as those
I spent in that city, which, lyvwever fallen, is Mill
wortny of our Ingest consuieitioii, ai d still to be re
vered for... the prospects that lay In fore her. 1 ut
what is doingtheref Thicit i wlt.dy bowul 'o v i
by an oppression and a tyranny such as cannot io
described. "This is indei d a city to be visiti d, d ei e
is wholy oppression iiitho uidst of her." ' The miv.uy
ttli;k is in possession of I, and cold and ui let Neg
while he draws from it tye mean of pampering his
own luxuries, he sits uuioved, w hile the suf'er.i.
city goes to ruin. Againj there is the pining dew, in a
different state iiwleed fm the .lews of other coun
tries, and, as may be supposed, looking upon his own
-round peculiarly fortru, and exliibiting in hin -elf
the most vivid coinino ( on the curses at t;e close of
the book of Deuteiofcoti'V . There is a rlizv I" inu
lousness in his look,, he seem- aliraid of himself, and
afraid of every thiiy, and if he is s, okento, he '
crs and shrinks, as rf he were convinced thai he was
still to Ikj the victim of increased oppression. Tluui
there are Christan s there, having a name 'o'i-e, hut
they are dead. What are I hey doing? Not, er
tninly, the errant of their Master.'. They p: ide them
selves on the possession of what thev call the holy
places, and (he holv sepulchre. 1 recollect, when
asked by a friend, after having been some days ihere,
why I had no desire to v isil the holy sepulchre'" I
confessed (o Mm the reasons of my reluctance lo lo
so ; and if I had not recollected that it nuht he my
duty lo" repeat here what had seen there, 1 uoo d
iiot have appeared in a place of such tn ioi; .'d -u-persfttion.
, T ne'"'(m"i"nf'fl""of (he ftolyTe'p,-liii.' is
open to all n certain festivals ; jiporjotlu r .'e:ii. .ns
ki' to-be- mH-(W -ft wh4I- ?Hr-fit df -f-.
Ve paid this sum, and expected to mak our slt
in silenci.'.' Put it vva imon l;'( 'v k own in .Kru
salein , where people seem to have no empjloy nient ti
'.. 'if' -'