Green-Mountain freeman. [volume], November 27, 1845, Image 1

About Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884

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Liberty and Equality, .?!' common birthright, GotlU richest gi ft-l eli gion and Law their defence.
. BY POLAND & BRIGGS.
MONTPELIEll, VT THURSDAY; NOVEMBER 27, 1845.
VOL II, NO. 48.
(jRE E N
IL1 JLU; JLJ JLJ 1VJL i AL
C o in m o n Schools.
For Ote Green Mountain Freeman. , .
: i . Common Schools. No. 2.
' : Messrs. Editors : Much has been said and pub
lished to show the necessity of new laws in relation to
our schools. I doubt not it will readily be seen, that
something more than ordinary legislation will bo need
.ed to correct or remove all the evils whicbcxist. Great
wisdom and caution should be exercised in forming
new laws, else they may appear to look one way, while
they rote another.
It will be remembered that some 12 or 15 years
since, a law was in operation in this State, requiring
eah..town to choose a superintending committee, jvho
Was to have the general charge and superintendence of
all the public schools in said town. It was the duty of
this committee to visit each of the schools some eight
or ten times in a year, to see if the scholars wore well
supplied with books to inquire" into the regulations
&nd discipline of the schools, and of the habits and pro
ficiency of the scholars to determine the class books
to be used in the respective classes in all the several
schools, &c. &c. To do thisywbuld require a vast a
rnount of labor; and tho law,"! suppose, contemplated
that towns would choose a. liberal sot of men, who
would be willing to give all their lubor, as the man
said, " free gratis for nothing."
We w ould like to see the committee who perform
ed all the duties pointed out as devolving upon them
by this statute. We would move tluit they have tho
general superintendence of all the schools in the State,
especially if they would work for the honor of it.
But the peculiar feature of this law, to which I wisli
more particularly to call attention, and which was, no
doubt designed as a "protection" to school districts, is
the following" And it shall be the duty of such com
mittee to require full and satisfactory evidence of tho
good moral character of all instructors who may be cm
ployed in said town, fjyand to satisfy themselves by
personal examination, of their literary qualifications for
teaching, and capacity for tho government of schools ;''
and then followed this "protective" feature : "And no
instructor shall be entitled to any compensation for his
or her services in the instruction of any of the schools,
without obtaining from said committee, or a majority
of them, a certificate of his or her qualifications, as
aforesaid."
It will be seen, by reference to the act in question,
that towns were liable to a fine of from one to two
hundred dollars if they neglected or refused to choose
this committee. But although the duties of the com
mittee were so specifically defined, no penalty or fine
was imposed upon them, if they neglected any part or
the whole. Consequently, a teacher might repeatedly
make application to,, be examined, and might he as of-
ten put on by any ana every Inn i ot plot; ami :dt,iorfgh
his ability might be unquestionable, and he might have j
in his pocket any number of l:cort,!icxtcs," procured in
previous years, and in ot!i3r towns; yet all this would
be of no avail. lie might rely upon his well-earned
reputation, commence and continuo his school, and gic
abundant satisfaction; but, s!io:ild some accident turn
the tide of popularity against him, (as popular favor is
ever fickle as the wind,) and the district refuse to pay
him ; for the want of a certificate of that year's date,
and from the superintending committee of that particu
lar town, he would bo barred in tho recovery of
his claim ; or in other words, he would be punish
ed by tho forfeiture of just wages, faithfully earned,
for a fault not his own, and for the neglect of another!
And all this, that school districts may be "protect
ed" from the imposition of poor teachers!
But every one would say, The statute meant no such
thing! The legislature did not mean to deprive capa
ble and meritorious teachers of a full compensation for
their services! True enough. But many an honest
litigant has found that tho spirit of the law was of no
avail, when his knavish opponent has discovered that
the letter and spirit did not agree. Our courts, in de
ciding questions under this law, followed a principle
long since established. They did not stop to inquire
what the legislature meant to do. They took the law
as it stood, letter for letter, and decided according
to tho strict import of the words. It was of no use to
plead in court that such was not the intention of the
legislature. The question was not, What have they
intended to pass, but, What they did pass. The com t
decides that it has no authority to suppose the intention
of tho legislature, but to take tlic words in their ordi
nary import, even though the consequence should be
to defeat tlie object of the law.
These principles are, without doubt, correct, for it
would not do to put a construction upon an act not
warranted by its phraseology, in order to give effect to
the supposed intentions of its framers. " Law is law,"
and judicial decisions must go to sustain law, even
though justice should hang its head and blush for tho
deeds done under its high sanction. This principle
carried out, has often operated against the honest
rights of litigants, and will continue to do so until leg
islatures have wisdom enough to say what they mean.
I hope, if our legislature enact any laws for the pro
tection of school districts, they will work with their
eyes open, and that they will put up all such bars. We
want a law which shall recognize a teacher's rights, and
afford them ample protection, a law which shall put
him on an equality with the district, and then, in case
of litigation, it will be hard enough for one man, and
especially a young man, without experience in the
crooks and quirks of lawyers, and the uncertainties of
law, to maintain his suit successfully against a whole
district
If a district employs an instructor, they should be
compelled to pay him for all the time he is in their em
ploy. If they allow themselves to be imposed upon, it
is the fault of their own neglect, and it is right that
they should suffer the consequences. If they got
cheated, for once, so much the bettor, it will perhaps
learn them to select their teachers with more discrim
ination and caution. The tiling which above all others
they most need to know, and which they have an un
questionable right to know, before employing a teach
er, is, his qualifications. It sounds of indolence, if not
of foolishness, to complain of the successful imposition
of an unqualified teacher. No district need be imposed
tapon in that way. If we wish to give a suitable en
couragement to good teachers, we must protect their
rights, pay them well and use them well.
We want a law so framed that districts cannot take
advantage of their own wrong, or of their own neglect,
and come into court and plead the same so as effectu
ally to bar the teacher from collecting pay for his ser
vices. , .
But it may be said that no teacher need commence
bis school before obtaining his certificate. But sup
posing, as is often the case, he is sent for from a dis
tance, and arrives only the day before bis school is to
commence. He is told by the committee that they
have no doubt of his qualifications that to examine J
him would be a mere ceremony, and tint it is not con
venient, or tliey had not time to do it just then, that
the certificates he already has are perfectly satisfacto
ry, that after he commences his school, if he wishes,
they will give him a certificate; and thus, by a multi
tude of fair promises and flattering compliments, ho is
induced to rely Upon the hope that it will make no dif
ference; and this hope may be strengthened by the fact
that one or more of the superintending committee may
be on the prudential committee, and may be the very
individuals who employ him. He commences his
school is highly applauded and universally approved
as a capable and judicious teacher. His praises are
sounded on every hand. By and by the current turns,
for there inay ho n rra hole in tho distrif t, arn3ort for
numbers, both young and old. The teacher is pres
ently called upon to advocate publicly the cause of
temperance. Ho complies, and the votaries of alcohol
receive from his mouth a most scathing rebuke. Their
wrath is roused and revenge is tic word. The com
mittee therraclves may be among the regular custom
ers of the nimsellcr. They know the fact that the
teacher has no certificate. With the money in their
hands, they refuse to pay. Tho teacher sues, and tho
district, controlcd by the rum influence, goes to court
and takes advantage of his want of a certificata, and
without ablush of shame, plead it successfully as a bar
against his claim. But some honest mind would say,
This is a very small hole for an upright man, who walks
erect, to creep through! But small fts it is, a whole
district does not hesitate to rush through, in defiance
of the scorn and contempt of all honest men! lie who
supposes to tho contrary, knows but little of the work
ings of human depravity. He knows not how supreme
ly base men can be, when actuated by self-interest,
malice, and revenge combined.
All laws should guard as much as possible against
probable contingencies where justice may bo wrested
from its legitimate course, and iniquity and fraud and
injustice be established in its place on a basis immov
able.
With the best interests of our schools at heart,
cannot but hope that any and all legislation in relation
1 1 them, will be wise and judicious; and that such laws
will receive the universal sanction of the pculpc of this
State.
Respectfully, &c. A. II. B.
Enosburgh, Oct. 15th, 1845. .
Parents) Iteparlmvnt,
Passion and Pi aver,
OR THE REASON WHY PARENTS LOSE
THEIR INFLUENCE.
One defect spoils tho beauty of a piece cf
mechanism, and one f uilt
ur ., ir(.t. The most
rijijici
the iiillii(Mf!e
primimi'iit reason vve
know of, why religious parents ;ne cl'teu with
out successful mnr al inllueuee i.vcr their chil
dren is,, because they don't take cato of their
temper. They teach well, pray well, advise
well, hut a nad temper neutralizes all.
"Father's cross!" said a little girl to her
oldest sister one day, after being corrected.
That impression outweighed nil consideration of
her own fault in that child's mind. If she had
committed one wrong, her father h id done an
other, and why should she he punished ? Take
another fact: A m in of very sensitive feelings
prayed one morning with deep emolit n in his
family emotion amounting to tears; for lie was
a very feeling man. Rising from his knees lie
went nut at the back door, mid lo! a sight which
transformed his very pious feelings into passim.
His hoy J cr had left ihe swill pail ut the doer,
and during breakfast the cow hail kicked it over
and broken it. Flying into n whirlwind of pas
sion, he kicked poor brindle, cuffed his forgetful
boy Joe, tin rl fell into a most graceless frame of
mind. Alas, for such a patent? Even poor
brindle herself would almost pronounce his re
ligion a form, and as for the boy Joe, he could
but fancy his father a hypocrite, while smarting
under the strokes of his angry cuffs, with the
echo of the morning prayer still lingering in his
ears. What wonder it that hoy should reject
the gospel, despise his parents, and become a
bad man! Better lor the hither net to pray
than to follow his petitions with such passionate
outbreaks, het parents, we say again, espe
cially religious parents, look well to their
tempers.
Work for Children.
There is no greater defect in educating chil
dren than neglecting to accustom them to work.
It is mi evil that attaches mostly to large towns
and cities. Children suffer nnicli from it. The
parent never considers whether the child's work
is necessary or not to the child. Nothing is
more uncertain than their future independence
and comfort much depends upon (heir being
accustomed to woik accustomed to provide for
the thousand constantly recuiring wants that
nature entails on us.
If this were not so, still it preserves them
from bad habits; it secures their health; it
strengthens both the mind and body; it enables
them better to bear the confinement of the pent
up school room; and it tends more than any
thing else to give them just and proper views of
life.
It is too often the case that children, provided
they spend half a dozen hours of the day at
school, are permitted to fpend the rest as they
please. Thus they grow up in the world, with
out any knowledge of its toils and cures; they
view it through a false medium; they cannot
appreciate the favors you bestow, as they do not
know the toils they cost; their bodies and minds
are enervated, and they are exposed to what
ever vicious associations are within their
reach.
The daughter, probably, becomes that pitia
ble, helpless object, a novel-reading giil. The
son, if he surmounts the consequences of your
neglect, does it, probably, after .his plank and
station for life aie fixed, and when knowledge,
for one of its important objects, comes, alas! too
late. ; .
No man or woman is fully educated, if not
accustomed to manual labor. Whatever accom
plishments they possess, whatever their mental
training, a deduction must be made for ignorance
of that important chapter of the world's great
book.
Book of Valine.
From the Knickerbocker f..r Oct.-bsr.
Auliiiiiii, .
"The hiivcst is past, the summer is ended,"
and to us "the melancholy days aro come."
Pardon us, therefore, indulgent reader, for re
calling to your recollection the nppropiiate and
kiudied thoughts of one- with whom the influ
ence of this pensive season will ever bn associa
ted in our mind and heart; "Magnificent and
pompous Autumn ! It cometh before ire with
'dyed garments' of glory; with trailing clouds
of innumcrnus' tints, with leaves that fill the air
with solemn whispers, and paint the viewless
glials in hues of" beauty.' Splendid "Autumn !
Thy very-fjautre is lovely to my soul. There
is nut a spray which yields its tribute to the
wind, that hath not a lesson in its shiver ami a
moral in its sound. When the "Sweet South"
seeks in vain for the summer flowers, over which
it ranged like a chartered libertine, rifling their
cups, and betraying their soft odors; when the
clouds lie in long red bars across the West, and
the deep tone of woods and waters ring through
the clear and searchable atmosphere, then is the
Spirit of Autumn my monitor and my companion.
I walk over the sear meadow I see the many
colored fruits piled up in rich profusion under
the generous orchard trees; I hear the pensive
and farewell chatting ef the birds, as they poise
their pinions for milder climes, and I dream
their melody a 'summons of gratitude a calling
for thanksgiving. The memory is busy; a
sweet repose falls like a golden light on every
vision of the past, and all its regrets arc lost in
that enchanting radiance. This is Autumn, to
me. I think of the pure skies, the broad lakes,
and the swelling mountains, on which the eye
of childhood feasted, until I become again a res
ident among them, scaling verdant peaks, look
ing abroad on seas of rainbow foliage tossing to
the breeze; or mayhap, delecaling my palate
witn gathering cliosnuts, and my ear with their
harmony, as they pattered on the leaves from the
lofty burs ; tone'. inn perchance, in their fill, the
whirling wings of the nitridgc as it wheeled
through .the woods. I love Autumn for itself
alone; 'scene of lipe fruits anil mellow fruit
fulness;' of calmness, beauty and abundance;
it Ins voices, and sights, and influences, that I
would not exchange fi r n dukedom." Thus
wri te thn nature-loving "Ollapod ;" and in
alier jeirs, when "Mirrovv bad touched bosom's
c ue," lie poured forth kindred thoughts in touch
ing verse :
OCTOBER.
' Solemn, yet beautiful to view,
Month of my lieirt! tliou da'vncst here,
" With s id and faded leaves to strew
The summer's melancholy bier.
The moaning of thy winds 1 hear,
As the red sunset dies afar,
And bars of purple clouds appear.,
Obscuring every western star.
Thou solemn month ! I hear thy voice,
It telis my soul of other days,
When but to live was to rejoice, "
When earth was lovely to my gaze;
Oh, visions bright! oh, blessed hours!
Whore are their liv.ng raptures now?
I ask my spirit's wearied powers
I ask my pale and fevered brow.
I look to nature and behold
My life's dim emblems, mstling round,
In hues of crimson and of gold
The year's dead honors on the ground,
And sighing with the winds 1 1cel,
While their low pinions murmur by,
How much their sweeping tones reveal
Of life and human destiny.
When Spring's delightful moments shone,
They came in zephyrs from the West:
They bore tho wood-lark's melting tone,
They stirred the blue lake's glassy breast :
Through Summer, fainting in the heat, -
They lingered in the forest shade ;
But changed and strengthened now, they beat
In storms, o'er mountain glen and glade.
How like those transports of the breast
When life is fresh and joy is new ;
Soft ns tho halcyon's downy nest,
And transient all ns they are true!
They stir tho leaves in that bright wreath,
Which Hope about her forehead twines,
Till Grief's hot sighs around it breathe,
Then Pleasure's lip its smilo resigns.
Alas! forTirne, and Death and Care,
What gloom about our way they fling !
Like clouds in Autumn's j;usty air,
Tho burial-pageant of the Spring.
The dreams that each successive year
Seemed bathed in hues of brighter pride,
At last like withered leaves appear,
And sleep in darkness, side by side.
Willis Gavloro Claiik, formerly the Ed
itor of the Knickerbocker, N. Y.
I'or Young- .. en.
How do you spend your Evenings?
Young man, how do you spend yom eve
nings ( Answer this question, and we can tell
you ulniost to a ceitaiuty, what will be your fa
ilure character. Jn our view, more depends up
on the manner in which youn;? men pass this
season, as it regards their course and conduct in
yeais to come, than upon anything else. We
have been an observer cf men and things, for the
last twenty years, and can point timaiiy a youth,
who has caused weeping and sorrow in his fami
ly, disgraced his n unc and is now an outc-st in
the world, or has punk to a dishonored grave,
who commenced his caieer of vice, when he
broke away from wholesome restraint and spent
his evenings in the company of "he abandoned.
On the contrary, we know many estimable young
men- the pride and hepe of their friends who
are working their way to favor and wealth, who
spend their leisure evenings in some useful pur
suit.
Young map, listen to us and take heed to our
words not that we wish to deprive you ol a
single pleasure, or debar you from any innocent
amusement. We entreat you to be particular
where and how you spend your evening hours.
If you lounge about the. bar-room, partaking of
tho vulgar conversation that is introduced and
join the ribald song, or stand at the Qorner. cf
the streets, usins profane and indecent language,
you will soon habituato yourself to low black
guardism and vile conversation, that no young
man wh; respects himself will be found in your
company. - Nay more, you may be induced to
follow the example of others and partake occa
sionally of the pleasant cordial or agreeable wine,
until you have planted seeds of inebriation in
your sys.em. Beware ! We have seen the
downfall of bright, active, intelligent and high
minded youth, and from their sad tales of wrelch
edness nnd woe would caution you to be on your
guard,,
Cafl you read ? Thece are thousands of vol
umes at your command not fictitious and we
had al.no.it said licentious trash, which is daily
poured from the press under the name of 'cheap
liter?2,' but works of merit, which you can
oblf-A almoit a;.y where. Read those and be
profited, during your leisure evenings. We would
recommend Histories, Biographies and naratives
to your attention. ,'Read Rollin, Plutarch and
other historians, and if you once acquire a taste
for reading, you will never better enjoy yourself
than when perusing some useful volume.
Can you write ? Put your thoughts on paper.
This is a pleasing and useful exercise. If you
commence early and habituate yourself to com
pose, you will soon acquire a taste for writing,
and express yourself on paper with perfect free
dom. There are other ways hi which you can pro
fitably and pleasantly pass your evenings. ' Be
careful then of this portion of time, remembering
that you are forming your character for life. O,
be faithful to yourself and when you take an ac
tive part in the concerns of life, virtue, will be
your support and integrity your guiding star.
Portland Tribune.
"A Talk with Young Men."'
Under this heading the N. Y. Tribune has
some sound and logical remarks, a portion of
which we extract for. the benefit of that class of
our readers, to whom they arc particularly direc
ted. Head ;
"It is a common and most ruinous prcsumP'
tion that simple industry never leads to coitipc-1 ed Roport of tll0 Committee on si .very. I cannot a
tence, and that wealth is necessarily the productJ uopt an tne phraseology of the Report, but do approve
ot trade, and generally of fraud or crime. The
young mechanic or artisan says, "O, it is no
use for me to try to save any thing out of my
five or ten dollars a week in the city, or my ten
to twenty dollars a month (beside board) in the
country, as the case may be nobody ever got
rich in that way." Now it is quite true that
a cnllossnl fortune was never realized from the
savings of simple and straight-forward labor, and
probably never will be. But it is a great mis
take ttmuppose that a competence may not (by
most -men) be realised by naked, downright La
bor, ( r that men are not constantly doing this.
All around Bost.n, Lowell anil almost every city
are the comfortable dwellings of mechanics who
commenced without a dollar, and never made a
good bargain in their lives, but have bought a
lot, built a house, and now live independently
therein, on the savings of ten to twenty years'
honest labor. Sav, if you please, that they ought
to have received and laid up still more in the
time, and we shall not contradict you ; we are
as strenuous as you can be in asserting that la
bor can be and should be secured a fuller reward.
But do m t cling to the fatal mistake that indus
try is never prospered.
Look back over the careers of nine-tenths of
the rich men among us, and you will find they
commenced life as poor men, and laid the found
ations of their fortunes by saving a part of the
scanty proceeds of thoir daily toil. Afterward,
they wore enabled to accumulate property more
rapidly by the help of that they had acquired,
but they began with little savings, and could
never have succeeded otherwise. We arc not hol
ding these men up as models for imitation we
regard the ambition to heap up riches as grovel
ing and despicable. But few men can he truly
indepentTent or greatly useful without some prop
erty, and no man can innocently take upon him
self the responsibilities of a husband and father
without saving to provide for those who have a
right to expect of him a subsistence. The young
man who saves nothing out of his weekly or
monthly earnings will rarely if t ver save any
thing; and he who cannot lay up something out
ofa moderate salary will never obtain a salary
from which he can save any thing. Vain is the
expectation of the clerk or journeyman that he
may spend all he gets now, and begin to save
after he has "got into business ;" if he does not
save now, his chances of ever getting into busi
ness are precarious, and he will vol be likely to
stay in long if he gets in."
THE FIKE-SIDi:.
' I can't do it.' Yes you can,
If you try and try again ;
If you'd be a sterling man
Move your limbs and stir your brain.
You will conquer if you try
Energy can never fail
" Delving earth and rending sky
'" Gloriously it will prevail.
Do Good.
.f'Whcii?" Now. "Where?" All about you.
"What shall I do?" Clothe the naked feed
the poor visit the afflicted. Speak a word of
encouragement to those who are struggling with
poverty to young men just starting in life.
There are a thousand opportunities of being
useful, if you have right feelings and are dispo
sed to do good. Wherever you look in what
ever path you tread you may be useful. All
have the means to do something the poorest
and the feeblest the oldest and the youngest.
Let usefulness be the great object of life.
Portland 'Iribunc.
Exercise.
Throughout r.ll nature, want of motion indi
cates weakness, corruption, inanimation and
death. Trenck, in his damp prison, leaped
i about lib q a lion, in hi fetters of seventy po inds'
weight, ju older to preserve his health, and an
illustrious physician observes: r" know riot
which is the more necessary to the support of
the human frame food or motion. Were the
exercises of the whole of the body attended to
iii a coriesponding degree with that of the mind,
men of great learning would be more healthy
and vigorous of more general talents of more
practical knowledge, more happy in their domes
tic lives, more enterprising and attached to their
business.
A Father's care for his Soft.
Beautiful and becoming in the eyes of the
paternal God, is the unwearied attachment of
the parent to the child! Alns! how little does
the unthinking spirit of youth know of the ex
tent of its devotedness. There sits the forward,
fretful, indolent boy. The care that keeps per
petual watch over his moral and physical safety,
he misnames unjust restriction. The foresight
that denies itself many a comfort to provide for
his future wants, he denounces as sordid ava
rice. He turns from his father's face in cold
ness or in' anger. Boy! Boy! the cloud upon
that toil-worn brow has been placed there by
anxiety not for self, but for an impatient peev
ish son, whose pillow he would gladly strew
with roses, though thorns should thicken around
his own. Even at the moment when his arm is
raised to inflict chastisement on thy folly, thou
shoulilst bend and bless thy parent. The heart
loathes the hand that corrects thy errors; and
not for worlds would he use "the rod of re
proof," did lie not perceive the necessity of
crushing his own feelings, to save thee from
thyself. Amulet.
For the Green Mountain Freeman.
A Voire from Spiingfirld District.
Messrs. Poland & Briggs. By a vote of the
Preicher's Meeting of tho M. E. Church, on Spring
field District, holdon at Chester on the 28th ult., I was
ordered to forward to you for publication, the append-
the general sentiment.
Yours in behalf of the slave,
E. B. MORGAN, Sec'y. Pr. Meeting.
The committee to whom was referred the subject of
slavery beg leave to present the following resolutions :
1st. That American slavery is, in principle and prac
tice, a violation of every command in the decalogue
an intolerable disgrace, and horrible curse to our na
tion, and especially to the church.
2nd. That we cannot, with a good conscience, and
therefore will not, admit, slaveholders to the pulpits of
which we have the charge, or to the communion wc
administer.
3. That the cry of millions of suffering bondmen for
our sympathy and aid more deeply affects our hearts,
tlTcn the cry of peace raised by D.Ds. Bangs and Olin,
and tiiat wo pledge ourselves to pm-sue this system of
black villany by our investigations and rebuke, howev
er much tho3e who arc engaged in it, or their sympa
thizers, may cry " Let us alone."
4th. That wo regard tho late secession from the M.
E. Church, in the south, as the natural result of discus
sion, which is to separate the precious from the vile ;
and we rejoice tint the Wesleyan Methodists of Eng
land have somewhat plainly expressed their view of the
subject, by refusing to allow a member of that body of
sscedors a seal in their conference.
5th. That any appropriations of money by the Book
agents to Conferences represented in the Louisville
Convention can be justified only on tho ground that
said convention transends the trusts committed to them
by their constituents;' and unless tho southern confid
ences express their disapprobation of the doings of their
representatives, they can have no claim to any proper
ty of tho M. E. Church.
J. C. ASP EN WALL, Chairman.
By receding fiorn the M. E. Church.
F.trtlnCrjpn Mminta'n Frsemm.
Messrs. Editors: Notice was given in this vil
lage of an anti-Texas meetiug at tho Court House in
the evening of Nov. 11th; and the Court being in ses
sion, it was hoped that it would be emphatically an A
merican meeting; and we had encouragement that sev
eral respectable lawyers would address the meeting;
and we are informed of their starting to come to the
meeting. But tliey did not arrive, and our American
meeting proved to be a whig meeting; and the whigs
who attended were so determined against th: annexa
tion of Texas that they would neither remonstrate a
gainst it, nor suffer others to do it, if they could pre
vent it by arguments, with which they were filled,
which contained neither truth nor sound reason.
The truth is, as far as wc know, or have resson to
believe, that the respectable people, of all political dis
tinctions, who were attending court, were really intend
ing to be present and aid the object of tho meeting in
procuring signatures to the remonstrance, but were pre
vented by information that certain whigs of the baser
sort, living in the village, and dictating the policy of
tho whig party in the village, were mustering to make
a row and defeat the object of the meeting, and they
would not be present to witness tho degrading c induct
of their political associates.
It was expected and hoped, that men of the several
political parties would attend the meeting; but it was
hoped they would come without tlieir distinctive politi
cal names or prejudices; but would come as Americans
and join i l an united effort to prevent a great national
evil. But it now appears that we have some among us
with whom party must live, if its living crushes and
destroys the vital interests of our country.
UNION.
Woodstock, Nov. 12, 1645.
P. S. Further particulars of said meeting aro un
necessary, at present, because by tho movement and
vote of those who controlled the meeting, the whole
are to be published in the papers in Windsor county,
signed by the president and secretary. U.
Agrippa Hull.
In the village of Stockbridge, Mass. lives a
black man by tho name of Agrippa Hull, who
served in the Revolutionary war. At tho close
of it he was honorably discharged, in testimony
of which ho shows a certificate signed by Gen
eral Washington. Ho was for some yeais the
servant of General Kosciuskc, of whose gener
ous and humane character be speaks with love
and admiration.
Agrippa has an uncommon! fine head, and is
remarkable for his excellent understanding and
good character. By his industry he hasbecoma
possessed of a valuable farm, which, at the 8
of 70, he cultivates himself. He is eminent lot
his piety, and those who have heard him speak
at conference meeting, which he is in ths habi
of attending with his white neighbors, say that
iti prayer he is distinguished for fervor and dto'y
quenre, and peculiar originality and richness of
language.
The acctetiess and wisdom of his views upotf
most subjects, and the wit and force of hit
illustrations, make his conversation so impress
ive that you remember what he has said long
after you have parted from him. During an
interview of perhaps half an hour, 1 was so
struck with his remarks, that as soon as life left
me I wrote down bis very words without any
alteration or embellishment.
When I expressed to Agrippa my opinion
upon the subject of prejudice against cofof,
he said:
"When there is a flock of sheep, and gome
black ones among them, I always think tliat if
they behave well, they have as good a Tigtt to
be fed as the white ones.' God will not- ask
what is our color, but what has been our conduct.
The Almighty made till colors. If- we find fault
with the work, we find fault with the Workman.
His works are all good. It is not the cover of
the hook, but what the book contains is t$
question. Many a good book has dark covtll,
Which is the worst the white black man, or the
black white man?"
"When a white man says any hard thing tti
me about my color, I tell him I pity him; and
f ask him which is the worst, to be black out
side or in. When a black man is treated ill oy
a white man, and he bears it patiently, and on If
pities him, I think that he has a chance to taKf
a very high place over the white man."
"Once," said Agrippa "when I was a sarVini
to a gentleman who was very overbearing and
h-mghty, we both went to the same church.
On Sunday a mulatto gentleman by the name of
Ilaynes preachsd. When we came out of meet
ing my master said to me 'Well Agrippa, how
do you like nigger preaching?'"
"Sir," I answered, "he was half black and
half white; I liked my half, how did you like
yours?"
Upon the assertion that the slaveholder cac
not abolish slavery, Agrippa said:
"No one can say he is obliged to do wrong.-
When the drunkard says he cannot live without
spirits, I tell him to take temperate things for a
while and see if he is not better. It is his will
that is in fault. There is no necessity to d
wrong. God never makes us do wrong."
He put his hind upon a little boy's head and
said: "I love children; I love to see them well
brought up. It is a good thing to feed the
minds of children."
When speaking of the Abolitionists, he
said:
"It may be a great while before the Aboli
tionists can succeed in their purpose; but they
will do great good to the black men, by inducing
them to keep down tlieir bad feelings, knowing
that help wi I come at last. The Abolitionists
have the great happiness of working for a
cause in which they know that they have God on
their side."
In a cause, the merit of which depends upon
the question whether the black man is a man,
no further testimony is needed than the remarks
of Agrippa; and what greater encouragement
can the Abolitionists desire than that contained
in his words "God is on their side."
Mrs. Follin.
From the Christian Citizen.
To Mrs Virginia;
Dear Old Auirt There is
story circulating about here that: you don't take
good care of your children; that yon havn't got
any school houses, and don't give them any edu
cation, but let them grow up like wild asses'
colts. The newspapers are telling 'round that
you have nearly sixty thousand of grown-uy
white children in your family that can't write or
read their names! Now good old Aunt, that is
rather a hard story. Our mother here tells us
that you had the best setting out of the whole
American family of thirteen sisters; that you
had the largest and best piece of land in the
whole homestead, and that yotf - have always
dressed and lived in an aristocratic fashion,
looking disparagingly at your younger and poorer
sisters, who were obliged to wear homespun and
live on johnny cakes and roast potatoes. No
what do you think the. world will say of yotr, if
you go on raising up a large family of children
in this way? Suppo e that your sixty thousand
grown up men and wjman, who can't read their
a. b. r., should get together some day, and the
little black children that go to our schools should
point at them, and say, "There look! there are
some of the children of old, proud, aristocratic
Virginia, who is always boasting of her noble
descent, and of what her dead relations did !
There they stand, tall men and women, and can't '
read, can't write, can't spell bag or baktr .
proud as Lucifer, bragging all the while of their
mother, but can't spell her name;' nor their owil"
either ! Now, dear old Aunt, wouldn't it hurt
your feelings. to stand by and bear little black
boys and girls with primers in their hands, say
stc,h things of every twelfth son and daughter
of yours? to see them point their dark fingers
at theni in this way? I dou't . want to say any
thing to hurt your feelings, bu if you go, on, ID
this way much longer, you will ml only be
ashamed of your children, but they will be
ashamed ofou, and deny tbat you was ever
their mother.
With sorrowful respect,
I am your
dutiful nephew,
EZEKIF.L HuMPHBXT, Jl-
TIL. A1J C-l IT
1 110 UIU OCIlUVi 111M19G,
Cornwealih, Nov. 1845.
Some men get on in the world en tfc (MOW
principle that a chimney-sweep- P8 "n0,e
ruptedly through a crowd
- . z