When the Convention met again in 1819, the Pennsylvania society, in
sending up a statement of its views and proceedings, warned the
"abolitionists of our country to retain in view the lessons of
experience, and avoid substituting for them, schemes however splendid,
yet of questionable result;" and added, "for ourselves there is but
one principle on which we can act. It is the principle of immutable
justice! We can make no compromise with the prejudices of slavery, or
with the slavery of prejudice. The same arguments that are now urged
against emancipation, unless the subjects of it be removed from our
territory, were used with more plausibility when abolition was an
experiment, yet they were combatted with success."
Mr. B. says, page 52, it 'would-be difficult, if not utterly
impossible, for evidences of friendship to the Colonization Society
from an avowed friend of slavery to be culled out, as occurring within
the last three or four years.' Says the Emancipator, "So far is this
from being true, that the most decisive evidences of this sort are
found, _within_ the last three or four years. Scarce a pro-slavery
mob, or speech, or meeting, during this whole time, but has contained,
in one and the same breath, a condemmnation of abolition and a
commendation of colonization."
After quoting the resolution against the Colonization Society, in
Boston last year, Mr. B. remarks, 'that the verbiage of this
resolution, showed its parentage. No one who had ever heard one of Mr.
Thompson's speeches could, for a moment, doubt the authorship of the
resolution!' This is a small mistake indeed, and among so many great
ones, scarce merits a notice, but to show that Mr. B's sagacity in
conjecture, exceeds not much his veracity in assertion, we just
mention in passing, that the 'authorship of the resolution' belongs
_not_ to Mr. Thompson.
'The abolitionists,' says Mr. B. page 54, 'have been going about, from
Dan to Beersheba, not only attacking and vilifying the whites, for
proposing to colonize the blacks, with their own free consent; but
equally attacking the blacks for availing themselves of the offer.' An
assertion utterly false, and wickedly slanderous.
On page 55, Mr. B. introduces an extract from an address of some of
the Cape Palmas Colonists to their friends in America, for the purpose
of showing the prosperity of the Colony. In connection with this, let
the following letter from a colonist be read:--
'CAPE PALMAS, MAY 5TH, 1834.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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