Some Recollections of Our Antislavery ConflictMay, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph)
History
Some Recollections of Our Antislavery Conflict
May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph)
Antislavery movements -- United States
We left the committee very much dissatisfied with the treatment we
had received from Mr. Lunt and the majority of his associates. Hon.
Ebenezer Moseley was an honorable exception. From the first he had
treated us in the most fair and gentlemanly manner. And at the last he
protested against the procedure of the Chairman.
We forthwith drew up, and the next morning presented, a memorial to
the Legislature, intimating that we had not been properly treated
by the committee, and asking that our _right_ to be heard might be
recognized, and that we might be permitted to appear and show our
reasons in full, why the Legislature of Massachusetts should not enact
any penal law, nor pass any resolutions condemning Abolitionists and
antislavery societies. The remonstrance was read in both branches of
the Legislature and referred to the same committee, with instructions
to hear us according to our request.
On the afternoon of the 8th, therefore, we met the committee again in
the Hall of the Representatives. The reports which had gone forth of
our first interview had so interested the public, that the house was
now quite filled with gentlemen and ladies, many of whom had never
before shown any sympathy with the antislavery reform.
It was intended that Dr. Follen should address the committee first,
beginning just where he had been, on the 4th, so rudely commanded by
Mr. Lunt to leave off, and that he should press home that part of
his argument which we all deemed so important. But he was detained
from the meeting until a later hour. It devolved upon me, therefore,
to commence. I confined my remarks to two points. First, I contended
that our publications were not incendiary, not intended nor adapted to
excite the oppressed to insurrection. Secondly, I assured the committee
that, whatever they might think of the character of our publications,
we had never sent them to the slaves nor to the colored people of the
South, and gave them our reasons for having refrained so to do.
Samuel E. Sewall, Esq., then made a somewhat extended, but very close
legal and logical argument against the demands of the slaveholding
States,--“arrogant, insolent demands,” as he called them. “To yield to
them would be to subvert the foundations of our civil liberties, and
make it criminal to obey the laws of God, and follow the example of
Jesus Christ.” His excellent speech evidently made an impression upon
the committee as well as his larger audience. But I have not room here
for such an abstract of it as I should like to give.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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