Green-Mountain freeman. [volume], January 08, 1846, Image 1

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

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Liberty and Equality, Jrian'8 common birthright, GojHJehut gift Religion and Law thei
r defence.
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JANUARY 8, 1846.
VOL. HI, NO. 2.
BY POLAND & BRIGGS,
1VIU1N 1 X JhUllJlX, V x ii u J v
IT
GREEN -MO
Twl
PREEMAn
1
Common Schools.
Circular of the State Superintendent.
The Hon. Horace Eato, State Superin
tendent of Common Schools, has issued a circu
lar to the County Superintendents of schools and
an Address to teachers.
' Suffer me then, once more, to urge it upon
you to address yourselves to your work with alac
rity and zeal, and to prosecute it with unabated
energy and vigor. The enactment of a law has
not completed the work of improvement. It has
merely authorized you to commence it. Almost
'everything of success every hope of good to be
'obtained, depends mainly upon the zeal andefli
ciency with which you perform your duty. Oth
ers are to co-operate with you in carrying on
'the enrerprize, but you must infuse into their
:bosor .the necessary energy and spirit. Leave
vour "foress for you may upon the character
of the estate of Vermont. Even should your
services be expended in this field of action but,
for a single year, you may leave a bright impress
ion (that shall be traceable for long years to come,
in the improved condition of our common
schools. You may identify your names with the
benign results which shall flow from such im
provement. The enterprising pioneer who first
lays opeu to the sun the pathless wilderness, is
not sou1' forgotten in the succeeding stages of
advance(' cultivation ; and the successive im
;prove,nents afterwards superadded, must be re
garded in history as but a continuation of thcla
'bor wmch his hand begun.
And finally, as a last incitement, (if indeed
i,floro could be needed to insure the exertion of
j-our best energies,) if you worthily and efficient
ly 'bear your part in those agencies under which
the State of Vermont shall gradually rise in the
scale of virtue and intelligence, until she shall at
tain a high eminence in these ennobling charac
teristics, you shall, if your lives are spared, reap
a rich and living reward in your own bosoms.
You shall look abroad and see her sons as they
emerge from childhood, growing up into intelli
gent, useful and honorable men her daughters
becoming virtuous, well informed and accom
plished women ;" these these are our jewels."
And that pride and gladness shall have a com
prehensiveness of scope, and there will mingle
with these emotions a sense or consciousness of
elevation and expansion of soul, unknown to the
bosom of the Roman matron j for while her
"jewels" were but few, yours shall be numbered
.by thousands and tens of thousands."
From the address to Teachers we extract the
following paragraphs upon School disipline : '
" Upon the subject of discipline in school we
would say that obedience and order arc indis
pensibly necessary to successful instruction
disobedience and confusion incompatible with it.
THE FIRE-SIDE.
Home Affections. .
BY DR. HAWKES.
The heart has memories that never die. The
rough rubs of the world cannot obliterate them.
They are memories of home, early home. There
is magic, in the very sound. There is the old
tree under which the light-hearted boy swung
many a summer day ; yonder the river in which
he learned to swim; there the house in which
he knew a parent's love, and found a "parent's
protection nay, there is the room in which he
romped with brother or sister, long since, alas!
laid in the yard in which he must soon be gath
ered, overshadowed by yon old church, whither
with a joyous troop like himself he has often fol
lowed his parents to worship with, and hear the
good old man who gave him to God in baptism.
Why, even the very school house associated ,in
youthful days with thoughts of ferula and tasks,
now comes back to bring pleasant remembrances
of many an occasion that called forth some gen
erous exhibition of the noblest traits of human
nature. There is where he learned to feel some
of his best emotions. There, percrknee, he
first met the being who by her love and tender
ness in after life, has made a home for himself,
happier even than that which his childhood knew.
There are certain feelings of humanity, and those
too, among the best that can find an appropriate
place for their exercise only by one's own fire
side. There is a sacredness in the privacy of
that spot which it were a species of desecration
to violate. He who seeks wantonly to invade
it, is neither more nor less than a villain : and
hence there exists no surer test of the debase
ment of morals in community, than the disposi
tion to tolerate in any mode the man who disre
gards the sanctities of private life. In the tur
moil of the world let there be at least one spot
where the poor man may find affection that is
disinterested, where he may indulge a confidence
which is not likely to be abused.
"I Forgot."
Napoleon said there should be no such word
as impossible,' believing, and justly too, that to
the intrepid, willing and resolute spirit, theiange
of the possible extends much farther than the
world, in its indolence and faint-heartedness, is
apt to Btippose i and one might wish that the
phrases "I forgot" were also blotted from the
vocabulary ef human excuses, as being, in truth,
no excuse at all, but rather an aggravation of
the errors which may have been committed
"Forgot " why this is worse, a great deal, than
the mere nonperformance of the contract, what
ever it may have been, by which you were bound,
for it is a broad confession that the person and
the nromifw matta to tint nerfinn werp nnl nf snf-
Regularity, order and submission to established ecif,p, imnr,.tn6ft to, Lfemaia in memory, and
T:8 u,,,s,"lhin' bc cnR!ed Jna.litairilnt dismiW from thoWht with the occasion.
1 1 U. J I P .V I J- w
of sextons' clerks' and grave-diggers' fees, which
are exhorbiant. To show the difference m tne
mortality in the parishes of Whitechapel and
Marylebone, it may be mentioned that in the
poverty-stricken and crowded parish of White
chapel, one person in every twenty-eight dies
annually, but in wealthy and airy Marylebone
only one in forty the former i3 crowded with
chnrch-yards, but in the latter there are few or
none. This subject is one of great importance,
and deserves the serious attention of the author
ities in the large cities of the United States.
The Sabbath-day, is not very strictly observed
in London. Every hotel, tavern, gin-shop, or
gin-palace, is open to the public after church
service is over, morning and afternoon; and du
ring the evening these public places are gener
ally crowded with men, women and, xbildtenl'
who resort to them for gin or beet. Eya during
divine service the omnibusses continue. Wttl1.
alone the principal streets, and the cCruiutitoii.il?
not neglect to call out ''Charing-cross'iartk,!''
&,c, to attract the attention of pedestrians.
Sunday, too, is a day which is very profitable to
the numerous "bill-stickers" of the metropolis.
This industrious class receive all their bills,
great and small, from the printer at an early
hour on Sunday morning; they then go over the
whole town, and wherever there is an untenan
ted building, or a fence, they cover it entirely
with mammoth bills, Last week a bill-sticker
was fined at Guildhall for sticking one of Mons.
Jellier's monster bills against the walls of the
Fleet Prison during the hours of divine service
on Sunday. These bills were more than nine
feet long, and some of the letters were one yard
in length. The bill contained one hundred and
fifty sheets of paper, and the bill-sticker was two
hours posting one of them on the wall. He
plead at his examination that he was not aware
that he was doincr. wrong by posting bills on
Sunday.
But this is nothing in comparison to the
sanction of Government to the sin of breaking
the Sabbath day. It is well known that accord
ing to the act of Parliament, all railway plans
and maps are required to be deposited with the
Board of Trade oil or before the 30th ult.
The 30th of November fell on Sunday, and as
it was vastly important, for the sake of wordly
pelf, that this rule should not be disobeyed, Sir
James Graharn, of letter-opening notoriety, was
appealed to, requesting him to state whether
these railway plans could be deposited on Sun
day ! He replied that the Board of Trade, by
the direction of the Law-officers of the Crown,
would receive such plans up to twelve at night
on Sunday, the 30th ! You will make your
own comments on this fact. Never was Sabbath-day
so lightly regarded.
A New Enelandtr. ,
. H i t
vvlw V ling the new laws to an excited
croH, ":e Mignantly replied, "I am only blow
ing thu trumpet, if you dislike the notes go settle
the matter with those who composed the music."
During the day, the appearance of popular com
motion became mure and more threatening. As
the Andes of night darkened the streets of the
inflated city, cries of "Live the Constitution,"
"Don with the 'Bourbons," "Death to the min
istry," resounded through the gloom. As the
mounted troops of the King, with drawn sabres,
were driving the people from one of the streets,
the populace seized upon an omnibus, overturn
ed it and throwing around it such articles as
could be gathered from the neighboring dwellings
fortved a baricade which effectually arrested the
proKjs of the. ttonpsi' Behind this barricade
4hej'alietly '(fKfyn(,1a themselves, with paving
rjla-tiflniev;jtHws;iJ within their reach. In-st'-HlMWT,jHfi
saw the efficacy of this
dasteq f ana' the populace toiled the livelong
night in the mystery of darkness, making ar
rangements for the conflict of the morrow.
When the light of Wednesday morning dawn
ed upon Pans, the principal streets were seen
filled with these effective blockades. Instead of
the unarmed mobs which had fled before the
dragoons the day before, there now appeared
throngs of well-armed citizens, here and there
marshalled in military array, under active lead
ers, either veteran generals of the old revolution
ary armies, or enthusiastic s tudents from the mi
litary school. The sound of war against oppres
sion had aroused LaFayette from his retreat, and
his silver locks were seen floating in the breeze,
as he headed and guided the struggling people.
A deputation ol students from the Polytechnic
school called upon La Fayette for counsel. With
the most solemn emphasis he uttered the . single
word, " Resifit." Frouuhe venerable towers of
Notivj Dame the tri-colored flag of the Revolu
tion was seen floating in the breeze ; the tri-co-lore'l
cockade, the pledge of resistance unto death
was upon every hat. The melancholy peal of
the lann bells, and the martial drum, collected
the populace in innumerable rendezvous for war.
Anxiety and stern defiance sat on every counte
nance. Paris was a camp, a battle-field. The King
had m Paris and its immediate vicinity eighteen
thousand troops, veterans in war. To meet them
in deadly conflict was no child's play.
As soon as the morningj:Iight was spread
ovei the city, the sound of the trumpet and mar
tial drum was heard, as the regiments of the
King, in solid phalanx, marched from their head
quaiters in the Tuillerics, with infantry and ar
tillery and cavalry, to sweep the streets of the in
surgent city. The populace were prepared for
deadliest rasistance., ,tThe troops of Charles
His defeated troops, drived in from all points to
their head-quarters at the Garden of the Tuiller
ics and the Palais Royal, from the assailants be
came the assailed. Charles, terrified at the re
sistlessness of the fury which he had excited, re
called the execrable ordinance and dissiniesed
the obnoxious ministers. But it was too late for
compromise. The victorious people rushed like
an inundation into the Lonvre and the Tuiller
ics, and the exhausted troops were swept before
them like rubbish on the fllood.
(To bc continued.)
THE FREEMAN-
all hazards. The good of the whole clearly de
man (Is it. But how or by what means this im
portant end is to be gained, is a question which
may sometimes present some difficulty in the so
lution. We are not prepared to say that corpo
real punishment can, at least in the present con
dition of our schools, be entirely dispensed with.
Whenever it is resorted to however, it must not
be with the expectation that it can be relied on
as a means of reformation. And it is admissible
in schools in any case only the principle that the
advancement and interest of the many must not
be sacrificed for an individual. While we are
niot ready therefore to pronounce it "a relic of
barbarism," and to say that the cases are rare
in which a resort to it is demanded ; and that
even in those cases moral influences would more
certainly and successfully accomplish the desira
ble end of reclaiming and reforming. We firm
ly believe that governing by kindness is ordina-
tily "a more excellent way" more excellent in
the direct success which attends it, in its effects
upon the character of the individual, and its in
fluences upon all. Kindness is the very "magi
cian's wand" in its effects upon the character of
ahe individual, and in its influences upon all.
Kindness is the very 'niagicia's wand' in its po
tent control over the rebellious and angry pas
rsioos of the soul. There is scarce a human heart
rthat is so eased and steeled but that' some ave
nue to it remains ; and it is rare but that kind
inese w'il find tins way. Jt is rare but that pa
riient, persevering kindness on your part will at
ilength he leciprocated by docility on the part of
: the pupil. Many a wayward and unlucky boy
,who now eems a fair candidate for a prison or
4he gallows, and whom no severity could reclaim,
.' t f 1. ' ,1 I c l
, iiiigni uj uca B-numegs ue nun ironi ins perverse
;and evil ways, and become a useful member of
.society. And a victory would be more glorious
than ever was gained over mere flesh and blood,
.it Would be 1 16 oral triumph which should fairly
entitle youito higher honor than belongs to him
who conquers empires by violence and devasta
tion. But whether' good moral conduct can be in
sured, and ivirtuous prmciple be instilled into the
heart by means of stripes, or not, we think theie
an be no controversy upon the question whether
a love of study can he iafused and the pupil's
progress ia learning be promoted by these means.
It must be ufficiently obvious that it is impossi
ble to instill Jove into the bosom by the hateful
process of eastigation. We shonld sooner expect
a sick 'man who Joathra the sight of food, could
be whipped into aji appetite. There is no rela
tion between the means and the end. If your pu
pil manifests aa aversion to study, he must be al
lured, not drivea to it You lack qualifications
if you cannot thus allure him you fail of success
f you attempt to coerce him. Fear or physical
oercion can never call forth those spontaneous,
'dent,, mid delighted efforts which alone can
isure any substantial and valuable progress
It is equivalent to declaring that "I remember
nothing about you, when you are out of sight,"
which is scarcely to be set down in the list of
compliments. Never "forget," then; it is your
business not to forget ; the mind, properly exer
cised and regulated, rarely forgets what its own
er has to do, but forms a habit of frequently re
viewing its obligations and liabilities as it goes
along, so that at last it seems to acquire a new
sense, which remains, as it were, unequally a
wake until each duty is fulfilled, just as some
men obtain power, through the force c.f will, of
arousing themselves from slumber at any hour
they please. After a little practice of this sort
"what have I to do to-day?" it will be dis
covered what an internal regulator is gradually
brought into action, which causes one to feel
that something has been neglected although we
cannot on the instant, recollect what that some.
thing is until at last, it becomes scarcely prac
ticable to "forget." Neats Gazette.
ELr-KwowLEDOEWho teeth not how great is the
'ntage arising from this knowledge, and what mis
e0rost attend our mistakes concerning it For he,
, .... ws possetssd of it, not only knoweth himself, but
knoMh what is best for him. 1 ; He perceiveth what h
Ctt" $ what he cannot do ; he applieth himself to the
one h gajnath what is necessary, and is happys he at
ienptiot the other, and therefore, incurs neither dis-
ress rw diwppointmenWSoertdej, in Xtnophon.
HISTORIC AL .
Correspondence of the Traveler.
Interments in Cities Crowded st ile of the Ijondon
grave yards Singular Fads The Sabbath in London
Government offices open on Sunday.
London Dee. 3
As I was passing along the crowded Strand
on Sunday last, I observed a large collection of
persons in St. Clement's church yard. I cross
ed over and entered the yard. A coffin had just
been lowered into a newly made grave there
were several beneath tt, and on each side of the
grave, ends and sides of coffins would be seen
human bones were scattered on the fresh
turned earth around this grave. The whole
yard has been dug over and over so often that it
may be called human dust. From twenty, and
even, it is said, thirty feet beneath where I stood
to within two feet of the surface coffins filled
the space. It is time that burials should cease
in such an over-crowded metropolis as London.
It has been truly remarked that one cause, if
not the greatest, of atmospheric impurity in large
towns will be found in the sy3tem of interment
generally practised. Grave after grave is dug
n soil so overcharged with putnscent animal
matter, that it is impossible to prevent the cor
ruption of the atmosphere from the exhalations
unavoidably arising from the frequent up-turning
of the earth. The condition of most of the
grave yards in London has been said, for many
years, that they have not been capable of receiv
ing the annual mortality. In some yards the
most shameful and revolting practices are pursu
ed by individuals who mutilate and displace and
burn bodies in various stages of decomposition,
to a certain destruction of the health of the
living. I need only refer to the shocking scenes
which recently took place in the Spafields bu
rial ground ! It is computed that no less than
two thousand two hundred and sevsnty tons of
human flesh and bones are put " into the earth
every year in London alone! Many yards are
owned by undertakers who resort to revolting
practices to get rid of the decomposed and de-
composing bodies as fast as possible. , The bu
rial fees are enormous, and hence the temptation
to fill the yards, and to empty them and re-fill.
Clergymen's burial fees in London are computed
at thirty-five thousand pounds annually, exclusive
From tho Now York Evangelist'
Louis Philippe, King of thrcnch. .
BY REV. J. S. C. AB110TT.
( Continued.)
France, with about twice as many inhabitants
as the United States, has but one popular assem
bly, the Chamber of Deputies; corresponding
in some degree with our Genera) Congress.
There are in France no provincial bodies, anal
ogous to our state legislatures ; and the active
minds of the nation have no means of communi
cating with the people, but through the press.
The weekly newspapers of France consequently
employ the pens of her ablest writers, and her
leading statesmen. The peculiar mode of life
in Paris greatly favors an extensive acquaintance
with the public journals. Thousands daily fre
quent the coffee houses, whore the journals are
spread before them. In all parts of the city, in
all the places of refreshment, in the public walks
and gardens, little pavilions are tented, where the
citizen or stranger can, by the payment of a pen
ny, read any of the journals or pamphlets of the
day. The resorts are greatly multiplied in times
of great political excitement, and attract in im
mense crowds, the roving and unsettled popu
lace of Paris.
Charles X. was a gentlemanly and good-na
tured old man, but obstinate and in his dotage.
There is not a little truth in the antithesis, that
during his exile lie reindinbered every thing he
ought to have forgotten, and forgot every thing
he ought to have remembered. Seeing and fear
ing the progress which liberal opinions were ma
king in France, he had the folly to appoint a
ministry, each individual of which was a known
opponent Df liberal principles, and especially ob
noxious to the French people. The public press
immediately opened upon this ministry the most
harrassine and merciless warfare. Charles, an
noyed and irritated by the loud and continued1! fw
demonstrations of the public hatred, with an in
fatuation of which we can hardly find a parallel
even in the insanity of princes, determined to
abolish the freedom of the press, and silence
these remonstrant voices of the nation. He
thought it safe to follow the counsel of the Rus
sian Empress Catharine, that "kings ought to
proceed in their career, undisturbed by the cries
of the people, as the moon pursues her course
unimpeded by the howling of dogs."
It was a lovely Monday morning in July, 1839,
when the "Moniteur," the Government paper,
appeared with an ordinance declaring, umong
other obnoxious articles, that "at all times the
periodical press has been, and it is in its nature,
to be, only an instrument of disorder and sedi
tion." It therefore declared that the freedom
of the press was no longer to be tolerated, but
that it was placed under the censorship of the
Government. Upon the appearance of this exe
crable ordinance, excitement and indignation fla
med like a conflagration through every lane and
alley of the city. Thousands began to assemble
in the coffee-rooms and around the reading shops.
The great thoroughfares leading to the public
squares of the city, to the Garden of the ruille
ries and to the Palais Royal, were thronged with
the roused masses crowding to these foci of in
telligence.. Readers mounted upon barrels and
chairs loudly read the Government ordinance to
the gathering multitudes.
As a police officer endeavored to arrest a man
For Urn Green Mountain Freeman.
MUsWelis'ers Defence,
Messrs. Editors : You doubtless have seen the
- r. ). - ...:cn - ..
v,.,,. Tfflin;1;.-.S , .vl y ;.W , '.' T
on my book and chr.mctcr. I forwarded to that punor
the enclosed communication in rr-ply, which the editor
has soon fit to return, without giving it an insertion in
his columns. His reason for not admitting it 1 will
give in his own worda, and then I shall not misrepre
sent him. His language w the following, viz :
"Miss WMcr: Youw of the 1st is on hand. I
have road it with care, and, I think, candor. Were it
over so satisfactory, its length, and the limits of thu
Reporter would forbid its insertion. It is, however,
very far from beinjr. satisfactory. I do not see that its
reasonings and statements help the case at all."
Now I feel that tho course Mr. Phelps has pursued
in this affair is very reprehensible indeed. To hold
up a youn female to tho world as a liar, and then re
fuse her the privilege of giving her own explanations,
and of speaking in her own defence to the same class
of readers, is certainly exhibiting more ot the Pope
than I had supposed could ho scared np in tho entire
anti-slavery ranks in tho nation. I Rm aware that some
may deem this remark rather severe, but I cannot think
it more so than tho case demands. For an editor of a
paper to assail the character and christian standing of
an individual, and then refuse this individual the right
of self defence, is a most palpable violation of tho laws
of justice and Christianity. I know it is a courjo fre
quently pursued by editors, but I believe it merits the
severe rebuke of every lover of fair dealing in the land.
One word uprm the reason given by the editor fur
not publishing my reply.
1. When Mr. Phelps published his criticism, he
must have known that if it received a reply at all, that
reply must necessarily be somewhat lengthy; and if he
did not wish his columns filled up with such matter, lie
should not have introduced the subject into his paper.
Again: if tho length of the reply was such that it
could not consistently be admitted into one No. of the
Reporter, why did not the editor divide it and admit it
in that form, rather than do mo the injustice to refuse
it altogether? If he should object that he was not at
liberty to divide it, I would answer, that there is a reg
ular mail between this place and the city of New York,
and, as ho holds the pen of a ready writer, he could
i i.-vi. trtf, uot an hnve have askml tho nriviteire of duimr so. which I would
vW'1 -drilled ffld tfiafsTrtdle'd'fbr the must deter
.nfaet 'tnaf dSrort en ensued scene?
''ill V "" mw Mrut uo 8
ff 2f i)BN ixeejil 1ft any conflict. The
j'lMjWJ cannon mowed down the opposing multi
tulle',' with balls and grape shot. Bomb shells
demolished the houses which afforded a covert to
the assailing people. Well-mounted troops, arm
ed to the teeth, pursued and cut down the flying
fugitives. And sharp shooters drove their bul
lets into every eye that peeped Irom a window,
and every hand that appeared from a turret.
It is not eas-y to imagine the havoc that must
be produced by the balls from heavy artillery,
ricocheting over the pavements of a crowded city,
and tearing their destructive way through parlors
and chambers, where affrirhted mothers and
the'r babes were clustered together. One lady
had ihtired in terror to her chamber and her bud,
when a cannon ball pierced the house, passed
tlirtuleh her bed and her body, and scattering her
renih'ii!. over the room, continued unimpeded on
its wfy of destruction and carnage. A resolute
ivomm, observing with horror the awful slaugh
ter.iAiich one of the King's cannon produced,
as it mowed down the crowds in the streets,
rushed to the cannon, pressed her bosom to it.s
mouth, and clasping it with her arms, entreated
the filliccr in command to desist. The soldiers
endeavored to pull her away. But with frantic
strcigth she chiiiir to the gun, declaring that if
they would continue their slaughter, they should
fire through her body. The officer commanded
the torch to be applied. The gunner shrank
from the horrible deed. 'Fire!' shouted the offi
cer, 'or I will thrust my sword through your
pody.' The torch was applied, and instantly
the lemains of this heroic woman were scattered
in fragments through the air. A party of eiijht
gentlemen who were sitting at a table, hastily
parttking of refreshments. A cannon ball pier
ced the dwelling, passed over the table, just
swecpir.g it clean of its contents, and buried it
self in tho side of the house, injuring no one.
trwv-gilded, and puspendud in trout
of the dwelling, with this inscription. '-An or
(iHgi from Charles X; the last taken of his pa
ternal love."
As the King's troops encountered the barri
cades with which the streets were everywhere
impeded, the citizens, from the yards and cham
bers and roofs of the houses, and from every pro
tecting point, poured in upon them the most de
structive fire. As these veteran soldiers, inured
to all the horrors of war, fought their bloody way
along the narrow streets, compact masses, they
were crushed by logs of wood and heavy articles
of furniture, and paving-stones, thrown by a thou
sand unseen hands, from the windows of the hou
ses, and rained down from the roofs like hail up
on their heads.
For three days this terrible conflict continu
ed with unabated fury. The streets of Paris
flowed red with blood. The quick rattling fire
of regiment of infantry, the thundering explosion
of cannons and mortars : the shouts of the com
batant and the cries of the dying resounding
throujjri the ill-fated metropolis. New troops
were continually sent in by (he King to take the
phse of the wounbed and the dead ; more than
one thousand of the Royal Guard having been
killed the first of the three days. But all the sub
urbs were continually pouring in their countless
multitudes of enraged countrymen, to swell the
masses of the King's enemies, swarming in the
streets.
Th4 King soon became thorouohlv alarmed.
have granted most cheerfully, nuber than not haveiiad
my reply thrown before the same class uf minds that
had reird his criticisms.
2. As to his assertion that my case is not helped, at
all by tho reasoning and statements in my communica
tion, I think tho judgment of his readers would, at least
have been as unbiassed as his own, as he has now be
come a party in the affair.
That I feel wounded at these proceedings, none can
doubt. Hut, encouraged by the many kindnesses which
you, gentlemen, have already shown me, I am induced
to ask an insertion ot my reply in the Freeman. It is
lengthy, and, I am aware, will occupy much space;
hut do not sen how it cm well bo condensed. If con
sistent to give it room in your columns, you will (here
by confer a great obligation on the deeply injured.
D. A. WEBSTER.
Dec. Sllth, 1815.
For tin .lnli-S!aver;i Ihpnrhr.
I5no. A. A. 1'nri.i's : Sir In tho last number of
the 'Reporter' I noticed a somewhat lengthy editorial,
assailing mo in tho titroiigestlangnage, and embodying
more severity than 1 had ever anticipated from the anti
slavery press, and to which I feel it my duty to make
some reply. Without experience or ability to write
for tho public, it will not, of course, be expected that'
my response will be any thing more tn::n a feeble one.
Unaccustomed to grapple with minds like that of my
opponent, whoso whole business is to write fur the in
struction of tho world, mid whose able productions are
daily going abroad to the public; whoso intellect, ex
perience and talents command rcspecl, and whose su
perioi advantages give him power to influence mind, it
is with no little delicacy and embarrassment that 1
take up my pen to reply. Nor would I attempt a task
so inadequate to my abilities, were it not for tho ex
ceedingly trying circumstances in which you have at
tacked me.
No sooner had 1 turned my back upon Kentucky,
after my release from prison, than a class of slavolWd
ing editors, not satisfied with the -abuses already in
flicted, assailed ioy mural standing, and began, wish
greedy fury, to prey upon my reputation. This I ex
pected, as they were jcaloiw the anti slavery cause
would acquire strength from my inhuman treatment i
and knowing, 113 I did, that they were not above re
sorting to the foulest means tA defend their 'peculiar
institution.' Nor was I disupjwintcd when the pro
slavery press at the north combined with the south to
give circulation to these calumnies, hoping to attach
infamy to my name, and thus destroy my influence.
But when the anti slavery party the only people in
our nation who sympathize with the class for which I
suffered, when these side with the unprincipled slave
holder to deepen my persecutions, I am grieved and
disappointed. It matters not how much or how un
justly I have suffered how bitter my afflictions or
poignant my grief; they seem bent upon heaping
wrong upon wrong, and adding insult to injury.
Doubtless there are many things in my book that are
exceptionable, but I had no reason to suppose that any
candid mind, alter hearing the explanation, as given by
my friend at tho great eastern convention, would still
persist in condemning me. But you, sir, notwithstand
ing you heard that explanation notwithstanding your
anti slavery professions, are lending the whole weight
of your influence to ruin ine for life. You are throw
ing it out of my power to be useful, and fanning that
wicked flame of prejudice already existing against me.
You are holding ino up before the nation as a liar, and
boldly affirm that some of the statements made by that
Rev. gentlemen, at tho convention, wore false state
ments. Now, sir, I call upon you to rmke good those
charges.
Yoq say, m your third piraernph, "We were not a t
little annoyed with the explanation, as given to the
convention, and were on the point, more than once, of
expressing uur condemnation of it." Permit me to ask,
in all Iiiiidiie3.s, why you suffered that matter to pass
without meeting it on the opot? If the explanation
was faulty, or calculated to have a false impression, as
you affirm, why did you not meet h at the time, and'
not suffer that falsi impression to go forth to the world
without yourcxprcssiunof condemnation toaccompany
it? Then and there the parties were face to face ; ana
ad with me a friend, sent there by my father, whom
I think you would have found abundantly qualified to
defend bis position. Did you think, sir, it would be
easier to assail a weak, inexperienced female, unac
customed to writing for the public, than to grapple
with one of your equal? Iain hardly prepared to at
tribute to you such a motive; still I must confess there
are some things that look like it. At any rate, the
withholding of your condemnation at the time and
place whero it ought to have been f xpressed, if ex-,?V?.:".-1
t '!' Tii t'-'jti ii:r::w'm? it beP-i anor
class of minds, which never hoard tho explanation,!
think is doing me an act of great injustice.
You remark, "We pass over all that might be said
about tho letters to friends. We fix only upon her
denial of having aided the escape of sIuvcb. She ad
mits, in Boston, by her friend, that die did it, In her
book, and in Kentucky, she denies it. Nor will wo
admit, for a moment, that any play upon the term "se
duce," is to relieve her of the charge and the guilt ot
falsehood, in the case. It is not true, as the explana
tion affirmed, that all Miss Webster did, in her book
and in Kentucky, was to deny the mere act of seduc
ing slaves. She denied more, as the extracts will
show." Your charge, in the above extract sir, to say
the least uf it, is somewhat of a serious one. And un
less you are prepared to make out a clear and undoubt
ed case uf it, you are under the highest obligation to
retract and confess your wrong, bb publiciy and as ex
tensively as you have published me to the world as &
, ... . i .-j
liar. And it you ape a gcniiernan, a irue-neariuu
christian; or if you possess tho spirit of an honorable
abolitionist, (which I doubt not,) you will do so with
great pleasure. Please keep in view, sir, that you
should not only make out a prolmhh case, to justify you
in the strong ground you have taken, but you should
prove your charge beyond gainsaying or successful
contradiction. You doubtless imagine that the refer
ences you have made to my book ubundantly sustain
your position. I will examine these passages some
what in detail, after a moment's attention to another
point in the same extract, which should not he wholly
passed by in silence. This is your language. "Nor
will we admit, for a moment, that any play apon the
term "seduce," is to relieve her of the elwrgt and the
guilt of falsehood in tiie case." Again : a little atjova,
you say, " On the other point, the explanation was a
play upon the word 'seduce1 that she did not seduce
slaves to run away, to be sure, but only counselled and
aided such as were disposed of themselves to go."
'Play vpon Hit word seduce?1 Alay 1 be permitted to
inquire here, sir, what you mean by that phraseology'
Did you intend to carry to the mind of your readers
That there is no distinction between wrfucuig'fitfMS to
Lave their miishrs, and aiding Ihcm in tlteir etcaptl
If so, I must differ with you materially. I believe
there h a manifest distinction between the two acts,
and that that distinction was clearly made by my friend
at Boston, and, as a general thing, fully apprehended
by those who heard him. I will try to illustrate this
distinction by supposing a case.
A slave escapes from Kentucky and is in pursuit of
Canada. On his way thither, he passes through Jyour
city, and calls iqwn you for counsel and assistance.
You replenish his pockets with change, get up your
horse and take him forward quite a little distance, and
then give him his direction, bid him God-speed and
semi him on. Now, could you not affinii, in truth,
that you never seduced that slave to leave his master?
Would the fact that you denied seducing him to leave,
amount to u denial that you aided him in his escape?
Would there not be an obvious distinction between
MiMing, and aiding, in the case sup 0S5i'. If you
should admit that you aided him in his escape, and
still denv that you seduced him to leave his master,
what )(' would there be ujKin tiie word seduce, in such
an instance? I affirm that there would be just none at
all. The distinction is a palpable one, and one that
in justice might be made; and if it could be made
in your city, it could be made, with equal propriety, in
Kentucky, where the slave commenced his escape.
And hero I reaffirm and endorse over tho explanation
given to the convention. And I say it is true, strictly
true, and there is no falsehood about it. I never did
seduce a slant to leave his master, while I admit I have
counseled and (tided more than one in their flight to
Camilla.
I will now examine, very briefly, tho quotations you
make from my hook, for the purpose of making good
your charge of falsehood, which, I am sorry to say, you
seem so intent upon proving against me. You eay, in
the extract above quoted, "Wo fix only upon her deni
al of having aided the escape of slaves. She admits,
in Huston, by her friend, that, she did it. In htr look,
and in Kcnturb;, slic- denies it." Your last assertion,
sir, permit me to say, is not true. I never denied,
while in Kentucky, I have nowhere denied in the book,
and I have not, at. any time, nor in any place, dtnicd
that I had aide! slaves in their escape. For this I of
ten did before I went south; I did it while there, and
have dune the same since my return. Furthermore,
your quotations from my book utterly foil to make good
that charge against me, as I will now proceed to show.
I will consider these quotations in the order I find
them in your communication.
First, then, comes my letter tn Judge Buckner. The
paragraph upon which you rely, reads ns follows:
" I have never, in any way, shape, or manner, seduced,
or endeavored to seduce any servant whatever to leave
his or her master or mistress, &c." Is your denial to
be found hero, sir? The thing, and only thing, donicd,
is, the ac t of seducing, and not of aiding. As that mat
ter has been somewhat fully discussed above, it is not
necessary for mo to prolong my remarks here. I will
however, subjoin Mr. Webster's definition of tie -werd
sulucf, and then leave the reader to judge whether it
makes good your charge or not. "Sedwe, 1st. to draw
asido or entice from the path of reetitude and duty in
any manner by flattery, promises, bribes, or otherwise
to tempt and lead to iniquity; to corrupt; to deprave."
To seduce a slave to leave his master, then, according'"' '
to this definition, would be, to entice or draw him a- 1
way from his master by presenting motives to his mind
for the purpose of accomplishing that end. But this I
never did, as I have already affirmed. Ii very in
stance whero I assisted slaves in securing their liberty,
they had decided to leave, at all hazards previously to
my counseling or assisting them! Consequently, thia
i quotation has nothing to do with the question at ten.' '
9. The extract from my letter to M. C. Johnsons,
J