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Mr. May offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That while we this day rejoice and give thanks to God, for the progress of our cause, we deeply lament the removal, by the hand of death, of several of our beloved fellow laborers in this work, particularly our much esteemed and deeply lamented George Benson and Henry E. Benson.

Mr. May said, he had often thought, while contemplating the progress of this cause, that justice is not done among men, to those who labor in private. We are apt to think that those whose names are continually before the public are the ones who are doing most in this cause. But, it is not so. I can never forget the deep impression made upon my own mind, by the private conversations of that excellent man, Géorgé Benson. I well remember the trueness of his mind to principles which were then new to us, but familiar to him. His epistolary correspondence, also, was abundant; and he always took occasion to press this subject upon the attention of his friends, to entreat and persuade those who stood aloof, and to rouse the apathy of the friends of the cause. I am unable-language is inadequate, to express the feelings of my heart, on this occasion. I have not words that burn '---I have thoughts that breathe,' but cannot find words to utter them. And I feel that almost an equal tribute is due to the memory of his son, Henry E. Benson, late Recording Secretary of this Society.(Here the speaker was so overcome with emotion, as to be unable, for a while, to proceed, and his feelings seemed to find a response from almost every eye in the house.) Having known him for years as a lovely youth, I have had the pleasure of knowing him for months as an indefatigable laborer in this cause. The adjoining room witnessed his incessant toil-there he labored, with an assiduity, which spared not himself and there, I hesitate not to say, he sacrificed his life. We saw his health failing-we remonstrated-but he saw the cause suffering for just such labors as his he went on-he lingered a little while, and--died. And, O, how he died! Would to God we could all die as he died! (Deep emotion.)

It was ordered, on Mr. May's motion, that the Board of Managers be directed to make an appropriate entry upon the records of the Society, in relation to the death of George Benson and Henry E. Benson.

Mr. May made some statements respecting a letter he had received from a distant abolitionist, in relation to the Liberator, urging its support. It remonstrated with those who had become hostile to the Liberator, on account of the incidental remarks which the editor had made respecting the Sabbath. It dwelt upon the fact, that while many other anti-slavery papers took the opposite ground, in regard to this subject; with great zeal, yet the Quakers had not, on that account, withdrawn from them their support. Mr. May said that, on reading Mr. Garrison's article, he immediately torned to Calvin's Institutes, and found that the views presented by Mr. Garrison were précisely those entertained by that Reformer. I do not agree, said he, either with Mr. G. or Calvin on that subject—but I am willing to hear; and especially, I would not make Mr. G. an offender for a word; especially as he has not made it the object of his paper to propagate his peculiar views, but only alluded to them incidentally. We all know that the weapons of the enemy are aimed continually at Mr. Garrison. Mr. G. has the power of speaking in thunder-tones-he has spoken so he has waked up the nation. O, had I the tongue and pen of Garrison, I too would speak in thundertones. I, for one, am determined, if Garrison is shot down, that the same ball shall carry me along with him! (Great applause.) Will any abolitionist be so timid, or so ungrateful, as to wish Mr. G. set aside? I rejoice that no power on earth can'

set him aside-(here Mr. Garrison left the room.) I wish for some immediate action, to secure the support of the Liberator and its Editor.

Mr. Walker of Boston, said, this topic touches my heart. The success of the Liberator is identified with the success of our cause. The enemies of the cause would give more to have the Liberator stop, than any thing else. It is even now a great cause of exultation, that the Liberator languishes for want of support. The Liberator is entitled to a circulation of 20,000. It has been the great pioneer in this cause, and it ought to be the centre-the organ of the Society. We do not all feel perfectly pleased with all Mr. G. says. Like Martin Luther, his language is rough, and sometimes violent. But, Mr. Birney has said, My Anti-Slavery trumpet would never have roused the country-Garrison alone could do it.' Sir, I wish the Liberator might be adopted by the Society-at any rate, that we all feel a deep interest in its support.

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The only trouble about the Liberator is, that it is always a little ahead of public sentiment. But, if nobody was in advance of public opinion, would public opinion go ahead at all? The complaint is, that it is ultra. Now, ultra, if I recollect my Latin, is beyond. The Liberator, then, is a little beyond us. Is not that the reason we are so ready to find fault with it? When slavery ceases, then I trust the Liberator will cease to be ultra. If we concentrate our influence, we may have a paper three times as large.

Mr. Stanton said, his excuse for saying any thing was, that he was an agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Wherever I have been, I have recommended the Liberator; and I know it to be the opinion of the Society I represent, that the Liberator ought to be sustained; and any one who is conversant with these matters must know that it is utterly out of the question for a moral reform paper to be sustained by its subscription list. It is often asked, Why does not the American Society sustain the Liberator?' The uniform reply of that Society to this question has been, Why does not Massachusetts sustain it, as it ought?'

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The views of these speakers were also sustained in an animated strain, by Messrs. Chaplin, Norris, and St. Clair; all agreeing that the Liberator must be sustained.

Mr. Garrison having returned, rose and said-Mr. President, without affecting any diffidence, I have been out and in several times during this discussion, hoping that it would be brought to a speedy close. It cannot but be grateful to my feelingsindeed, I am overwhelmed by a full tide of emotions-to know that my humble labors in this righteous cause are thus highly appreciated by those who are united for the peaceful but utter overthrow of American slavery. But, sir, while I duly appreciate the kindness and generous confidence of my abolition brethren, as exhibited toward me on this as well as on many other occasions, I am constrained to say, with all sincerity, that I think there has been too much said, and too frequent reference made, in applauding terms, respecting Garrison' and 'Garrisonism'-certainly, many things have been uttered in my hearing, wholly unanticipated by me, and which ought not to have reached my ear. Still, though not far advanced in life, I have seen enough of the world, and the folly of courting the breath of popular favor, ever to feel elevated by human applause, or depressed by human censure. There is but one Being in the universe whose frown I dread, whose smile I seek; and if, in doing his will and acting in his service, I shall happily be hailed among the benefactors of mankind, to him be the glory forever.

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Sir, the position which I occupy is purely accidental. What is it that has given me notoriety, and made me widely conspicuous? It is not that I have labored

so much more abundantly, or successfully, in the anti-slavery cause, than others: for I dare not measure my efforts with such men as Samuel J. May, William Goodell, Henry B. Stanton, Theodore D. Weld, Elizur Wright, and others. It is not that I have made any moral discoveries, or established any new principles. It is simply because I happened to perceive and expose the cruelty and hypocrisy of a professedly benevolent Society, and to depict the true character of American slaveholders. For so doing, rewards have been offered for my head, lynch law has been adminis tered to me, and the whole nation thrown into commotion. These things, and not any personal merits, have made ine in some places an object of hatred, in others of sympathy, in all of notoriety. I have only echoed the self-evident' truths set forth in the Declaration of Independence-nothing more. Yes, something more-the cheer❤ ing and thrilling sentiments contained in that book which tyrants have always proscribed, that God hath made of one blood all nations of men '--that he requires the oppressor to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free-that, in Christ Jesus, there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, but all are one.' The practical enforcement of these truths has alone caused me to be denounced as a madman and fanatic by my enemies, and unduly applauded by my friends.

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I am accused of using hard language. Sir, I have not been eager to repel this accusation. It gives me no uneasiness, and I cannot suffer myself to be turned aside from my warfare against merciless oppressors to antagonize with captious critics respecting the propriety of my diction. This is not the time to consult rules of taste, and evince literary acumen. Who are my accusers? The entire South, reeking with pollution and blood-slaveholders, slave-traders, slave-drivers,—' recreant priest and lynch committee'-northern apologists for crime, and terror-stricken recreants to God and liberty-all charge me with using hard language!! Am I to give heed to such instructors, or to aim to suit their taste? Not so long as they trample upon the image of God, and justify robbery and pollution by wholesale! Not, sir, that I mean to say that I have always used the very best words, and have never violated the rules of good taste. No human composition is faultless-least of all is it to be expected, that the editorial articles of a newspaper, written necessarily in great haste, will always be precise in language and perfect in execution. But, sir, while millions are groaning in bondage, and women are sold by the pound, in our country, it is solemn trifling to think of sitting down coolly to criticise the phraseology of those who are pleading and toiling for their deliverance. The interests of this cause are too momentous to allow us to spend our time in studying rhetoric, or polishing our language.

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One other charge. It is not only said that the Liberator uses hard language, but also that it is calculated to stir up the slaves to insurrection. But, even were this true, what American, who prides himself upon the fact that our fathers fought for liberty, will dare to arraign me for imitating their example? Is it wrong to resist oppres sion unto blood? A voice from Bunker Hill cries, No!' The gory soil of Lexington and Concord thunders, ' No!' A revolutionary war of seven years, and the conflict with Great Britain from 1812 to 1815, during which blood flowed in torrents, answer indignantly in the negative. The encouragement and applause given by the American people to the fighting Greeks and Poles, reply No!' Look at the doctrines promulgated by the slaveholders themselves! A prominent article in the Constitutions of Maryland and Tennessee is in the following words :- The doctrine of non-resistance to oppression is ABSURD, SLAVISH, and destructive to the good and happiness of mankind'!! This authorises every slave in the land to rise up against his master. If it had been found in any anti-slavery publication,

it might well be termed an incendiary document. You well remember, sir, that the young men of Boston sent a standard to the Poles, to stimulate them afresh in the work of butchering their oppressors. If another Nat Turner should appear in the South, what better motto could he select for his banner than the article I have just alluded to?

Sir, it is not pleading the cause of the oppressed, but oppression itself, which stirs up the slaves to revolt. Those who bind heavy burdens, and wield the lash of cruelty, and rob the poor and needy, and dispossess men of their bodies and souls, are the real instigators of servile insurrection. For myself, it is well known that I am an 'ultra' peace man, under all circumstances; that I dispute the right of any portion of mankind to redress their wrongs by violence; and that I could no more justify the slaves at the South in fighting for liberty, than approbate their masters in holding them in bondage. But the creed of the American people, which they have practically enforced, is, Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.' Let them not marvel if the victims of their power should adopt it as their own.

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One word as to the Liberator. I have no desire that it should be supported any longer than it is regarded as an useful instrument in the anti-slavery cause. I ask no man to approve of every sentiment contained in its columns, or to patronize it, except on the ground of its advocacy of the rights of plundered millions. It is neither my aim nor expectation to please every individual subscriber to the Liberator, in every particular: such a coincidence, while men differ so widely in their tastes and notions, on various subjects, is utterly impracticable. It must suffice, that free discussion is its motto, and that those who are opposed to me in sentiment are always invited to occupy its pages.

There must not, there cannot be, a spirit of competition between the Liberator and the publications of the American Society. But, it will be seen at once, that the Liberator, if left to depend upon its subscription list alone, cannot maintain its ground, whilst the Emancipator, for instance, sustained by the funds of the Parent Society, is issued on a much larger sheet, and afforded on the same terms. I do not wish the Liberator to be the organ either of this or any other Society, nor any body of men to be responsible for every sentiment it may promulgate; and I am quite sure that I shall not permit any persons to control my pen, or establish a censorship over my writings.

As the Sabbath question has been alluded to, allow me to say, that it has not been the object of the Liberator to maintain my peculiar views on that subject. I have inserted in its columns, many articles advocating either directly or indirectly the generally received opinions respecting the Sabbath; but none of my numerous subscribers among Friends has in consequence discontinued his subscription. In reviewing Dr. Beecher's speech, it was my object not only to convict him of gross inconsistency, but to enforce the truth that we are to be wholly consecrated to God at all times-to maintain a perpetual sabbath-to observe every day as holy unto the Lord. It was no Jacobinism that I wished to advocate. But the leading, all-absorbing object of the Liberator shall continue to be, as it has been hitherto, the overthrow of American slavery-not to conflict with any religious sect or political party.

After considerable discussion, as to the best method of securing the desired object, the following resolution was adopted:

Resolved, That the Board of Managers be instructed to take such measures as they may deem necessary to sustain the Liberator; leaving its editorial department entirely in the hands of William Lloyd Garrison.

Mr. H. B. STANTON offered the following resolutions:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the United States, by its recent vote to lay petitions for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia, on the table, unread and unreferred, has virtually denied the right of the people to petition for a redress of grievances, and has stabbed the vitals of the U. S. Constitution.

Resolved, That while we disapprove the treacherous conduct of those northern Representatives who voted for that resolution, and declare the unworthy of the trusta confided to them, we do most cordially approve the vote of those gentleinen who recorded their names against it, and call upon their constituents, of all parties, to sustain them in this particular.

Resolved, That we do most especially commend the undaunted course of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, in defending the unrestricted right of THE PEOPLE to petition for the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia.

Resolved, That we believe it to be the duty of THE WHOLE PEOPLE OF THIS COMMONWEALTH, of all political parties and of every religious sect, to rally now while they may, and, invoking the aid, and guided by the wisdom of Heaven, rush into the imminent breach,' to rescue the Constitution from ruthless violation, to save the cause of God's perishing poor from immolation, and to roll back the tide of anarchy and impiety, which is now flooding the nation.

Resolved, That we invoke the Legislature of this Commonwealth, as they love their fellow men and fear their God, as they love their country, have sworn to support its Constitution, and would perpetuate its freedom, to request their Representatives in Congress to use their influence to procure, without delay, the rescinding of the vote above mentioned, and to sustain, unabridged, the right of the people to petition that body-and also, to instruct our Senators and request our Representatives to vote for the immediate abolition of slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. Resolved, That it is the solemn duty of THE PEOPLE of this Commonwealth, of all parties, to immediately petition the Legislature of this State, to thus instruct their Senators and request their Representatives.

Resolved, That THE PEOPLE of this State should vote for no member of the National or State Legislature, who is not in favor of freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of the people to petition for a redress of grievances :-and who will not sustain, by his influence and vote, the rights of the minority as well as the majority, in a free, unmolested, unawed expression of their opinions, on all subjecta, and will not give to their petitions a respectful hearing.

Mr. Stanton said he thought he saw, from the aggressions of Congress upon our liberties, that our nation is on the downward road to ruin. For our sins, a righteous God is at open war with us. I am astonished, that in all our 4th of July orations, it seems to be taken for granted, that our liberties are secure, and the perpetuity of onr institutions decreed by Heaven. But, Sir, it is a delusion. Our dearest rights are rapidly fading away. The right of petitioning for a redress of grievances, the barrier against the encroachment of arbitrary power, is denied to the people. Daniel Webster could talk of the people coming to the rescue, when the Bank was assailed. But, how contemptible is this party question of dollars and cents, compared to the interests involved in the denial of the right of petition! Why, Sir, our liberty is but a name, our Constitution but a blotted parchment, unless this right may be enjoyed by the meanest―untrammelled, unmolested, unawed. I was in the State House, at the opening of the Legislature this winter, when the Governor administered the oath of office to the members. It was a solemn scene, when they invoked High Heaven to witness their promise to support the Constitution of the United States, and of Massachusetts. And, Sir, does not that body know, that while slaves are bought and sold as cattle, in the metropolis of this nation, our mouths are shut, our petitions are hurled back in our teeth, and, in defiance of the Constitution, we are told we must not speak on this delicate subject?

When the Constitution is thus violated-when it is stabbed in its vital part-when the most sacred rights of the minority are offered up a living sacrifice on the altar of

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