"Oppression! I have seen thee, face to face, And met thy cruel eye and cloudy brow; By thy soul-withering glance I fear not now-- For dread to prouder feelings doth give place, Of deep abhorrence! Scorning the disgrace Of slavish knees that at thy footstool bow, I also kneel--but with far other vow Do hail thee and thy herd of hirelings base; I swear, while life-blood warms my throbbing veins, Still to oppose and thwart, with heart and hand, Thy brutalizing sway--till Afric's chains Are burst, and Freedom rules the rescued land, Trampling Oppression and his iron rod; Such is the vow I take--so help me, God!" There never was a grander declaration of war against slavery. There never was a more intrepid leader than William Lloyd Garrison. Words more prophetic were never uttered by human voice. His paper did indeed make "Southern oppression tremble," while its high resolves and sublime sentiments found a response in the hearts of many people. It is pleasant to record that this first impression of "The Liberator" brought a list of twenty-five subscribers from Philadelphia, backed by $50 in cash, sent by James Forten, a Colored man! One year from the day he issued the first number of his paper, William Lloyd Garrison, at the head of eleven others, organized _The American Anti-Slavery Society_. It has been indicated already that he was in favor of immediate emancipation; but, in addition to that principle, he took the ground that slavery was supported by the Constitution; that it was "a covenant with death and an agreement with hell"; that as a Christian it was his duty to obey God rather than man; that his conscience was paramount to the Constitution, and, therefore, his duty was to work outside of the Constitution for the destruction of slavery. Thus did Garrison establish the first Anti-slavery Society in this country to adopt aggressive measures and demand immediate and unconditional emancipation. It is not claimed that his methods were original. Daniel O'Connell was perhaps the greatest _agitator_ of the present century. In a speech delivered at Cork, he said:--