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Tous las autras axampiairas originaux sont fiimfo an comman9ant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illuatratlon at an tarminant par la darnlira paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Un das symbolas sulvants apparattra sur la darnlAra Imaga da chaqua microflcha, salon la cas: la symbols — ► signlfia "A SUIVRE ", la symbols V signlfia "FIN". Laa cartas, planchas, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atra filmte A das taux da rAduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document ast trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un seul cllchA, ii est fllmA A partir da Tangle supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imagas nAcessaire. Les diagrammes sulvants lllustrant la mAthode. ' * if I } •>r 3, A LECTURE ^ i ON THE HARPER'S FERRY TRAGEDY; V BY H. L.* GORDON : delivered in the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute, in Montreal, January 10th, 1860. ■ V- vc iliSontTtal : PRIKTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET 1860. y' ■!; I # kt" % f^ ^i * LECTURE. The liTcat Slavery ^quostioii in t'lie I'liiicd States is not only a (jue-tion of races, bat one of incompatible civilizations. And ever since the formation of the IVderal Union these tw6 hostile civilizations have Ix^en ii^iitinn^ for political supremacy in the nation. In this lii^-ht slavery ^is a political question, belonging to tiie whole ^country. It is also a (picstion betweemthc White man the master, and the Black man the slave. In this aspect of it, it is a question of morals, and belongs to the South. When or how the slave shall be liberated, is for the master andthe slave to settle. The abolitionists of the north are not politicians. To be political the Constitution must be recognized and acknowledged to be law, this the abolitionists refuse to do, hence they are moralists and oi)pose slavery on philanthropic grounds. The Anti-Slavery party, now known by the name pf Republican, is the truest exponent of Northern feeHng on the subject of Slavery. Its main object is to get hold of the government of the country, to keep slavery within its present limits and extend the area of free civilization. The Abolitionists do not recognize the master's right to slav.e property. The Kepublicans do and have no desu-e to invade his dominion. The 1 ^ «%" •Mr 4r. Abolitionists desire emancipation for tlio sake of the African. In their moral warfare aj^^aiiisl slavery, their eyes are kept u})()n the l)on(lsman. The Kepublicans have no particular love for the African, but because^ slaver}- is oj)pose(l to the interests of white men and o})pose(l to the L;ro\vth and liberties of the white comnmnities, they seek to check it by confining it to its present area. The South on the other hand is doing every thin^ in its power to enlarge its territory and to increase its power. It has generally succeeded in its attempts. Ey skilful management it identified itself at an early period with the Democratic party. This party is the most po])ular and the most national in the Eepublic. Popular because its name , of itself secures the foreign^votc^ wliilc its fundamental idea — the sovereiu^ntv of the State as opposed to the Central authority of the Union flatters State pride, and is perhajis the most popuhir political nation in America. Na- tional because it is a party at the South a^ well as at the North. Hence it is that what is called the Pro-Slavery power, (one of the names of the Democratic party), is united to the national sentiment of the IJnion. Its constant endeavour is to prove all other parties untrue to the Con- stitution. But it derives its main advantage from the powerful prejudice the American, both North and South entertains towards the negro race. By consumate management it turns this prejudice to account, and points out exultingly to the Anti-Slavery party of the country certain social / sake of a^^aiiisl (Ismail. for the to the growth ley seek \i area. rv thiuo: v iiicTeasc 1 in its lentified iioeratic and the because e^ wliilc of the i of the lajis the a.^ ^Na- i a^ well is called Bs of the nallional ideavour ;ie Con- xc^e from h North ro race. )rejudice to the in social consc(iiiciices of ilie success of liberal doctrines. Nothini^r cools the ardor of the Anti-Slavery party so much as the contemplation of elevatini^ the black man to a level with the white and mini^dinq the blood of the races toi^^ether. Brown understood thorou^dily the issue bet ween tlie South and the North, butliis stroiii^r sympa- tliii's with the slave led him to adojit the views of tho abolitionists, and when his sons were luunhred in Kansas he stepped forth and took part in the conflict of arms. It was the valor of this enra^Yid I)arent that saved the territory from the -rasp of slavery. His sympathies for the shive now wore a sterner aspect. He resolvetl to invade the South, lie spoke to a few of his conruk'ntial friends of his plan. It seems they ^^ave him but little encourao^ement. JJut this did not dishearten him. How true tlie words of Horace, '• not the rai^^e of the people pressinj:^ to hurtful measures, not the aspect of the threatening tyrant can shake from his settled purpose the nian'that is just and ^■, determined in his resolution." To convince his friends that his plan was feasible, he made an experiment in i\lissouri, and wa^ successfid in brinufinp: ofPa number of slaves, and landing- them safely in Canada. Prom t^s he det4?rmined to try itron a larger scale. Accordingly in May 1858, he held a meeting of his confederates in Chatham, C. W. Here was drawn np a provi- sional constitution, from wdiich it appears that his object was not, as is commonly supposed, a ser- vile insurrection in the sanguinary sense of the word, but to run off large bodies of shires aud protect the movement by an armed force. Short \y after the meeting in ('liatluun, lie and two of his sons under the name of Smith took up their residence near Harper's Ferry. Here he manap^es to receive his arms and ammunition from the north, and to liohl com- munication with tiie slaves in the neii^Hil)orhood. The night of October 16th comes, and Brown with twenty-one men (five of them colored), move upon the Ferry, quite a town containing a United States arsenal, with 100,000 stand of arms. Quietly this intrepid band walk into the arsenal and take it without firing a shot, citizens suspect- ing nothing, no guards on duty. One ])arty taxes possession of the bridge, another captures Beveral wealthy planters in the vicinity, bringing tbem and their slaves to head-quarters. In the morning as fast as the workmen make their ap- pearance they are taken prisoners. 'I'hirty of them are captured before this remarkable com- muiiity finds out, that an enemy is in its midst. Very soon, however, the report spread abroad that an army of many hundreds was in the arsenal, and that all the slaves were in arms ! It was at ^tiiis point that the Chivalry of the Old Dominion Ibrgot its ancient valor. Military companies poured in from all quarters. It took them thirty-six hours to release a few prisoners, to ahoot two men, one of them an unarmed man. Finally, on the morning of the 18th the United States marines with amazing courage, entered ^ sldveti a)id r. Shortly (1 two of his ok \ip their is anus aiul hold com- iirhhorhood. and Brown lored), niovo nga United x\ of arms. the arsenal .eris suspeet- One party her captures ity, bringing [^rs. In the ,ke their ap- Thirty of rkable corn- in its midst. I abroad that the arsenal, 1 It was at Id Dominion r companies took them prisoners, to narmed man. h the United •age, entered the engine house held by lirown and his eigliteen men. Nineteen of the insurgents were killed, seven captured, including JJrown himself who was severely woimded. Two made good their escape. Bills of indictment were found by a Virginia Court against all the prisoners except Ilazlett and Stephens, who were handed over to the I'cderal or United States Courts. They were charged with inciting the slaves to insurrection, with treason and murder, and were sentenced to death. Brown was executed on the 2nd of De- cember, and the four others on the IGtli of the same month. How bravely he died you all know. The world knows it, and calls him insane. If he had succeeded, however, in conducting several thousands of slaves out of Virginia into the North, instead of calling him crazy, men would have bestowed on his genius and plan as they do now on his courage, the highest praise. People ask what could he have expected to ac- complish with a mere handful of men against a powerful state. Saying nothing about those from the North who had promised him support he calculated upon large mimieVs of slaves joining him. Why did they disappoint him ? I think these are the reasons : 1. He took the slave too mucfr by surprise. There was not sufficient time taken to prepare him for the movement. White men taking slaves out of the South by a moral Exodus was a thing entirely new to the slave. It had for him no precedent had never entered in- to his hopes. To secure his confidence Brown re- ^ ■'""I'lw 8 , ' auured % much longer time than a few months. i. The place of operations was badly chosen. In lu8 MiMOuri experiment Brown liad found the ikhres ready and willinff to follow him. But the Kanaas boraer war had made the Missouri sluve acoiiaintftd with a class of Anti-Slaverj men and witti a mode of conducting Anti-Slavery opera- tions entirely unknown to the slave of Virginia. Bendea slavery wears a milder aspect in Northern ,mA Northwestern Virginia than in parts further Sooth. The Northern line is dose oy, and the Blister II obliged to treat him well to keep ffia. Biown's ohanees of success in my opinion would re been better in almost any other part of the A* The deuest intellect might nave made IlllhlVf I haf0 alln4ed to. The most illus- jpimls haire been (bund guUty of errors ^_ ; ffn$ii9fy iJezander the Qreat after nenetra- i^M: with Ins Tictorious arms into the neart of ^ OQmmittfd ^nenous blunder in sailing down > imlnit^P'V ^^^'^ f^ attemptmg the jmrnU Oeodrosia. He lost three- %^-^ ^ —^JSipimiQr. . Napoleon remmned thirty- ^9^ i%:|hJooiir, delaying his retreat to^ .apid^'gnuidarmy was destroved in the llfiiqi winter. Hiwger, cold and ex- K pnodooed gieatei laraffes than Bussiin and CkMsaok lances. Our material ag« siistaMil'^Mnii for insanity. TheOreekLeon- i4fig tibte Boman Beja^oliiB and the British Bidh^ MMwedeaohl^ his dajinsanie to tibe orowOt b# il tllM 4MiiiM they kx)k gkrious, and the ■i iii 9 > future will rank the hero of Harper'a Ycrry amongst them. To understand him and to appreciate him, oh- seives an eminent writer, it is necessary to place ourselves as near as possible to his position and look at slavery as he viewed it. For more than twenty-five years lie had been, reflecting on the horrors of slavery. And in imagination he had dwelt in the midst of its awful scenes. The flesh galled by the iron and cut by the lash, the fierce Bcentof blood hounds in pursuit of the. panting fugitive, the cruel separation of husband and wife, of parent and child, of brother and sister, the slave without howe, without family, deprived of . every sacred right, no equivalent for his labor, no reward for his industry, and the gates of knowledge closed against him, were to him awful realities. He had read the Slave Code. It told him that the slave ws^ entirely^in hi*^ master's power. That the master might sell hii, dispose of his person, his industry and; hbjiifcor,. that he could do nothing, own nothing, bafr'-what TOwt belong to his master ; that the slave, was adjudged .in law to be a chattel phonal m'the hands of his owner, possessor, or k^ exeeutorSyadministrar tors and assignees to «11 inteiits. oofistructionfi,\ and purposes whatsoever. He had re^ the worfir of eminent judges, and they told Kimf that the slave was not to be ranked with sentient beings, but among thmgs, and tbat this was a cardinal principle of slavery. la ike pubiio assembhes of the nation he kad listaied to th» camd arguments '■: i..MJ '4* ^ nmmm <■ ^' /J 10 of slave holders. That tlie nep:ro holoiiirrd to an inferior order of hoiiiLCs, an onU^r created for slavery. That it was Ids destinv to pass throusfh slaVery into civilization, he had heard tlieni speak of the happiness and eoritentiiicnt ot'tlie slave, how ijell he was fed and clad and caved for in his old acfc, and how snperior his condition was to that of the free nei^^o, and llnally that the Bible sanctioned slavery, -and that the constitu- tion ijnarantccd to tlie master liis rii^hts in shivc property! John l^rown, however^ had a manly Christian heart and a clear locfical liead. A\dien he was told of the inferiority of ihv ncLrm he replied, more the reason for tlie exercise of hene- Tolence towards him, AVhen told that the ne^fro was created for slavery lie replied that there was BO more proof for it than for the fitness of the white man himself for slavery, aii^^ainst whose liberty tyrants had often used tlie very same argument. " If," said he, *' the neqro is to reach civilization throuj^^h slavery, the master will as certainly reach slavery throui^li the civilization that fostered it. Why degrade the white man in order to elevate the black ? Admit tin 2: that the physical condition of the slave is good, he is still a moral and intellectual being, •ossessing faculties \^hich require liberty for their aevelopment and growth. True it may be that he sometimes prefers slavery to freedom, yet this only furnishes an argument against his enslave- ment. It proves that slavery so degrades the moral and intellectual nature of the slave that i 1] tlio (lisliiiciioii heiwcMMi IVocdoin and slincrv is oblileratcd from liis iiiiiid." Jolm IW'ow ii w.'is a ]>il)le sliuliMil and wa^ l()(T\\(dl inforiiuMl not to !:^(H' that an essential did'ercnco exi-tcd I'rl.vm^ii Bil)le vServitnde and Aiucriran Slaxcry'. Ira ])('lieve(l tlie liiblc to Ix' an Ant i-Sla\ cry book. The contrarv bidicd' would have l)cen cxceediin^dy danL>Trous to his r('li^•ious faith. The jiolitieian ar^aKHl in vain to him ol' the riLi-hts of the master in his slave |)r()])ert\'. With a di^tinu'inshed J^ritish Statesman, hesair^U^idl me not ol' riu'lits. Talk not to me of the projierty of the planter in his slaves, I deny the ri^-ht. I aeknowhuli^^c not the |>i'operty. In vain you tell me of laws that sanetion such a claim. There is a law above f\u all the enactments of human codes. i lie same throuLjiiout the uni\(M-se, the same in all times. It is the law written by the finu'cr of God upon the he:u-t of man, and ])y that law ui.chanu'cable and eternal, while men des])ise fraud, loathe rapine, and abhor blood, they will reject willi in- diii-nation the ^^ild and itmiltv ])hantasv that man can hold })ro])erty in man." We are told that he was a lineal descendant of the I'hii^disli ])uritans. Like them the suffer- ini^'-s throuu'h which he had passed had introduced an iron hardness into his resolution, had irritated him, and had roused into life and activity the ft. revolutionary spirit within him. Earnest in his relis^ious convictions," constant in his study of the l)ible, like Luther his conscience was imprisoned in God's AA'ord. Tender hearted, and a lover of Q i m: 12 liberty, his sympathies were easily enhsted in behalf of the weak' and oppressed. Possessed of . a daring spirit, he looked upon the most hazard- ous enterprises without alarm. He hclieved with W^ley that slavery is the sum of all villanies. He regarded it as a state of piracy, and the government that sanctioned it a government of wickedness. He was a thorough American, and believed in revolutions. He knew that his country for a far less cause arose in arms against the authority of Britain. His family had fur- nished sohHers for the conflict llesistance to tyrants is obedience to God, said his countrymen Ipen and he believed them to be great and good men, worthy of all imitation. He loved the .^frican race. The brotherhood of man was a { oardinal principle of his religion. The equality h \ Le ree |IW9 [ith he lOf the and the suhllmc faitlf^*iBi which he dicel, en- circle his memory \vilh VedeciniiiL'- hi;lit. The important (question now arises -. — Has he advanced the cause of hherty ? lias he for- warded the interests of the Anti-SUiVery enter- prise ? I think he has. He has i^iven the worhl an lieroic example. A greater gift he could not have bestowed. Socrates, the best man of the Ancients, was accused t>y tlie So})hist3 of cor- rupting the youth and of introducing- false gods, and when condemned to death, instead of im- ploring his judges witli tears as was then the custom, he bravely told them that he deserved to be ranked with the most illustrious men. "When his friends urged him to fly, he rejected their counsel, ^nd with an eloquent discourse on the immortality of the soul, he drank tlie poison. Brown, like Socrates, scorned to sue for his life, and told a Sovereign State thai he asked no favor of her. As the living generation is inspired to glorious deeds by the death of the Greek, so will future generations be animated to like deeds by the steadfast courage of the Americanlr He has demonstrated one great truth, namely, that slavery rests upon an insecure basis. That it rests on cowardice, cruelty and meanness. Aristotle said that w^hen a despot ascended the throne, he took a beast with him. ' This torch of northern fire hurled into the camp of des- potism, has exposed to the view of the world the hideous features of the enthroned beast. Chris- tendom sickened at the sights and at this moment hates oppression more than ever before. i! !; 1,5 14 Behold a new born hope for the African, bond and free ! He now knows that it is possible for a white man to love him and to die for him if need be. Never was assurance more needed. In a state of freedom even the condition of the coloured man is a deplorable one. The ancient •lave had his master's complexion. The only distinction between tliem was removed when the slave was set at hberty. The highest stations were then within his reach, his child might by ffenius or wealth wipe out forever the stain of aegradation. Horace, the son of a freedman was the associate of noblemen and kings. In America the master is white and the slave black, and the distinction of color is added to that of slavery. Slavery is transient, color is fixed. TV^heii^he African changes his condition he does not change his color. Prejudice, therefore, fiistens upon this only remaining distinction and badge of degradation. I think it becomes more initense as the blaclvis elevated by the laws to political equality. For prejudice of race is strong- er at the north than it is at the south, stronger against the free man than the slave, and is in \ 6ci in the free states of the North an insupera- Ue" barrier between the two races. The colored Iceedman's child possesses wealth or genius in ^llin. He is bom in a country where every pranue to social eminence \a closed against him, |Ad where his chief inlieritance is his parent's Ipiafortunes. Freedom then, it would seem, in- ftaad of joining the two races separates them. I/- . Imn^y^ i 15 bond lie for im if ?eded. )f the icient 3 only 3n the ations ^ht by ain of ^dman 3. In black, hat of fixed, ledoes refore, n and Is more aws to (trong- •onger Id is in upera- lolored lius in every |t him, irent'a [m, in- them. I hope tliat the love of John Bj^own anc^ his heroic death will prove a blessing to the free coloured man, and enable him to act in the presence of his difficulties like a man. Then there is the slave ; he cannot be shut out from the knowledge of what is going on around him. He will perceive his master's alarm and soon discover its cause. He will see him watching an enemy, and in a short time he will welcome this enemy as his friend. There are Gabriels, Ycseys and^Turners^with^ plantations of the south, teaching tlieir companions in chains what Thales is said to have taught his disciples : to be watchful of opportunities. Southern men used to think Northern men cowards, and that the abolitionists were great talkers, but not disposed to sacrifice much for the cause they talk so earnestly about. But since a self-sacrificing old man made them trem- ble beneath his eagle glj^P> they will think more highly of the class whicEjhe represented. The abohtionists too will entertain a higher opinion of their mission, and move, with a more manly port in the presence of the nation. They wiU speak braver words, and live in contemplation of nobler deeds. The Anti-Slavery spu-it of the North already assumes grander proportions. Like the Afrite of the Eastern tale, it may have seemed to the slave-power only a bottle of smoke ; but that smoke is now let loose upon the air, is raising its head into clouds ; its hands are be- coming winnowing forks, its nostrils trumpets, and its eyes a consuming fire. i \ 16 Thousands hitherto indiffetcnt to the Anti- Blaveiy enterprise, will now he drawn within the circle of its discussion. Men are seriously asking themselves what is the^ natifre of the evil which J. Brown sought to remove. (When Tiberius Ghracchus travelled through Itpiy, on his way to join the army before Nufnantia, he discovered that the great mass of the citizens of tlie rural districts was impoverished and the fields desolate, by the existence of slavery. He proposed to tenninate its evils by a simple, just, and practi- cable law, which should build up in the midst of the luxurious Roman nobles and their abused slaves, an independent and virtuous yeomanry. Southern men will now be led td^hiquire into the true character of slavery, and, like Tiberius, make the discovery that the great body of white citi- zens of the rural districts are kept in poverty and ia ignorance by it ; that, as in Kome, its effects aore peooming every day more and more apparent iimong the higher orders ; that it is fast cor- inpting the virtue of families, destroying domes- tic life, and diminishing the frequency of mar- liageB among the dominant caste ; that the dave popfulati(Hi is gaining, by inevitable law, in relative numbers ; that it is fostering an injuri- 008 pride and the habit of luxury, and increasing daity the fiacilities of licentious gratification ; that ike very worst effects of it operate princi- pally, and, in some instances exclusively, on the white man himself. It is to be hoped that, un- ISkse the Bom^mM who refused, the Americans lilrtiiMMiM 17 will adopt some practicable method of emanci- pation, else there may arise ere long an African Dpartacus with as much courage and with more virtue than his Iloman namesake. It would be well for the South to bear in mind that Tous- saint Loverture is a great historic character. I know that Eoman slavery was not abolished by servile insurrection, and, not being able to fathom the designs of Heaven, I am far from feeling certain that it will remove the cruel des- potism of America. But I do know that God is just and his laws invincible. Slavery destroyed Roman civilization, the force and dignity of which we so much admire. I fear it will destroy that of my native land. The alarm bell in the heavens has pealed forth another loud and solemn note. There is yet time. But bye and bye emancipation w^ be as dangerous as slavery. There are those who desire to see the agitation of the question quieted, and who go so far as to express then" determination to effect it. How foolish. When Paris carried off in a Trojan ship the beautiful Helen, Nereus, it is said, suppressed the awift winds into a calm that he might sing to them their dire fates. Heaven, in like man- ner, may suffer the agitation to cease, may sup- press the swift winds cJ angry debate now sweep ing over the Republic, and, in the silence, pro- nounce the tyrant's doom. There are those again wlio expect, and not only expect but threaten, the dissolution of the Union of the American States. T^e Union is I i mm J, 18 not 80 easily dissolved. The wisest men of the South, where it is talked of most, do not desire it, even if it were possihle. The free States are too powerful to allov^ the slave section to witht draw from the Union without their consent. The dissolution of the Union, logically speaking, means civil war. Suppose for a moment a Re- publican President elected, and the South foolish enough to attempt withdrawal from the confedera- tion, we »houldsoon see 100,000 Northern troops on its frontiers, and how long would it take them to bring the revolting k^tate8 to their senses ? Not long. The presence of Northern troops on Southern soil would mean more than civil war. It would mean a war of liberation. This would be the inevitable result of a conflict of arms be- tween the North and South. An old man and ft handfiil of followers shot terror into every planter's home. Fifteen hundred men dared hot for a whole day attack this resolute band. It took the whole military power of the Old Do- minion to keep J. Brown in prison and to hang him. It kept her chivalry busy, and excited, even to alarm, to keep at a safe distance, a few Tankee reporters, artists, and. old ladies, and guard the State from the attack (yS. imaginary foes. W bat then would become ofUhe Southerners in a war 6i liberation with the iSorth ? Treason and the gallows staring them in the face, and a pow- erful army in their midst,bearing alofb the standard of liberation, would not only reduce them to cow- ardice, but would annihilate their system. The Hmg^ ) *S' 19 Soutli dare not attempt to dissolve the Union, and, inside of the Union, it must submit to its destiny. Slavery cannot last forever. The civilization of the North is irresistible, because it expresses th(! will of God. It is drivinu^ the dark despotism of this continent further and further towards the torrid belt. Nothing can ])revent the Africanization of the tropics, and this con- centration of the blacks, in vast nund)ers in the hot regions, will solve the American problem : because" it will establish a free black empire, and inaugurate a new order of civilization. In conclusion, permit me to say that I have nol the language to express my admiration of that Constitution which at this moment is giving protection to the oppressed of alllands. I mean the free Constitution of Great Britain. The debt of gratitude which I owe it I can never hope to repay. Happy are you inhabitants of this free and growing province, Britain's fairest daughter, happy in the inheritance of \\vj lan- guage, her history, and her literature — happier still in the possession of her free and glorious Constitution. What a mighty empire is yours. Your -national anthem encircles the globe. The sun in his course through the h(5ayens never for- sakes your sovereign's dominion ; but blesses it with a coristant light. Yet not on account of boundless empire, not because your flag rejoices in the winds of every clime, not because your commerce adorns every coast, and your navies ride triumphant on every sea, is Britain great. CV'"^?'^ BO These thinffs are gnmd it is true ; hut they do not constitute tlie essential element of national great- ness. British history abounds in acts of moral iMrasm, ib examples of mercy and goodness. In ^ibedieiioe to the Christian religion and the spirit of the Oonstitution, the nation arose above the •Qggestions of material gain, and, bj an act un- iilfpassed in moral gnmdeur, abolished foreyer BriUsh slaTenr. The moment a slave breathes your free air he is a free man. The moment an PiSb touches your shores the genius of liberty attends him, and protects him evermore &om the Komdi ^nrnnl Hence the greatness and glory of 'we British enmire. Continue free, benevolent, and biaye, and Heaven will continue to bless IPI with riches, soooees, and renown. i^f N ^:mm^'-^"- ^:mm."'--' :.M '>.r-Vft m^y if".*:.- ■ -•ft'sii.J.ii.Jtt'' ■ iMi ■'ifs.'iri-jji! Nf"> ?m!::^^rr^^'- i-M' 1' I) (!