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AT THB ANNIVERSARY MEETING OF THB ANTI- SLAVERY SOCIETY OF CANADA, HELD AT TORONTO, ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1863. 5lVi- THE AMERICAN WAR AND SLAVERY. SPEECH OF THE HON. aEORaE BROTV^N, AT THE ANNIVERSARY MEETING OK THE ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY OF CANADA, HELD AT TORONTO, ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1863. The Hon. GEORGE BROWN, in moving the second resolution, spoke as follows : — Mr. Chairman, I have frequently enjoyed the pri- vilege of addressing my fellow-citizens in the public halls of our city, but I say sincerely that I never before e.xperienced such heartfelt pleasui'e in appearing on a public plationn as I do on this occasion. The Anti- Slavery Society of Canada has been many for years in existence, but I see around me not a few who, long before its establishment, were the earnest and untiring friends of the down-trodden slave. For twenty-tive years many of us have striven together to promote the cause of emancipation ; and long, long years we laboured almost without hope to arouse our neighbours to the frightful position they occupied in the eyes of the Christian world, and to goad them on, if possible, to some vigorous effort towards the suppression of the inhuman traffic that disgraced their land. How earnestly did we watch every passing event in the Republic that promised some little amelioration to the condition of the slave, or some additional influence to the friends of emancipation. Sad, hopeless work it appeared to be for many, many years ! But at last light broke in upon the scene — and, now, what a change has passed over the whole picture ! (Cheers.) What man among us ten years— aye, five years ago — ever expected to see the day when the cause of emancipation should occupy the position it does at this moment in the American Re- Eublic ? (Cheers.) For several years it has happened that I have not een able to be present at the annual meetings ol this society — but well do I recollect the work we had on hand at the last meeting I attended. Our work then was to mark and deplore the increasing power of the slave interest over the Federal (lovernment, to denounce the infamous Fugi- tive Slave Law as a disgrace to civilization, and to express our hearty sympathy with the noble, but inconsiderable band of true men, through- out the Republic, who were standing firm for the cause of liberty. That, sir, was a very short time ago ; but what an entire revolution have these few brief years witnessed. Now, sir, we have an anti-slavery President of the United States. (Cheers.) Now, sir, we have an anti-slavery (lovciniinul ill W.»'liiii;4ton. (Clicrrs.) Xnw, ^ir, we lijuc an imli- sliivcry ('(Hij^Tcs' at \\'a-'irni;j;tiiii., (Coutiiiiii'd clu'cis.) Already ^^lavory lias liicii ali.iii hrd in llu- district. dI' ('(•hniil-ia. (I'luci's.) .\l lilst a f^cnuinc^ Ircaty Uiv tlu- t-ui»prc-.-i(>n ol" the uluvi- Uaile lias lu'i-n ^i;,'nfd at Was]dn,ni(»u witli tlic (ioviTMnicnt of Great ]{iitain, and ru" tin- lirst time in lii'i'hi.-iMi"- ilu' nciialty ordcalli lias liccn cnt'orccil in i*In' l{«']iulilii' i'm ilu' c.nnif nl' niau-.'.i'aling. (CIkh-i'.s.) I'uj'.lur, (in- IMack I'rjmMii' (.f llayti Hiid Lilx'riu liavi- bwn i'i'(M,%'i)i.s(.Ml by the L'niti'd SlatiM as indiju'iidciit powci's— and, even mori' inijioilaiit still, the \ast tcriiti'i'itv: nl' the Uiiilnd StaU's liaw hr.-n ])!'i.liil>i(id l)y lav,- fioni cntciin.L,' the i{i']iiil>li(' i'.\:'f]it as Fi'ci' Slati's, (( 'diitinuid clici-rH.) And, ,«ir, tlir clinni.v \vu.s ica'dunl a nidiilli n;;n, wlicu Abiidiani Lini'uhi, a.s Pioidcnt ul' tlu- L^nih-d States, jmiclainird thai IVoin that inoiiiciit every .slave in the relnd SliUes was uhsolutcly I'lce, and that the Bc]iubli(' was iMt')iared to ]iay I'm' tin' IVce- doin of ad the slaves in the loyal Slalcs. Tlie live ly-idi-cled CJovi rnnient nnd Lc'^islaluri' (d'thi- Unilrd Siates have i)roekiiined that not with their consent shall one slave ii-niain within the I'l laiblic. t'tlreat elu eiin^f.) Was ] n'lj ri;;hl then, sir, wlh'ii I .^ud that we onj.;ht to rejon'c to^^i'thcr lo-ni^ht ! 1 (laej.Jidulalt' you, Mr. Chairman (llev. })v. Willis; o.i the issue of your i'oity years' coulest hen' and on the other side of the Atlan- tic on behalf of the American slave — I eon^'ratulate the venerable mover of the liist revolution {\{v\. Dr. Jiurns,) who, for even ii lon<^ev |)eriod, has lieen the unliinching friend of freedom— I eoni^'ratulate the tried friends of emanei])at ion around nn^ on the ]datform, and the uo less zealous friends of llie cause throughout the hall, vdiose well-remembered faces have been ever [noseut wlii'U a word of sympathy Avas to be uttered for the down-trodden and the oppressed. Who amon;^' u.> ever hoped to bee such a day a ; this > Ami does it not well become us to meet as we are now doing to ])ro('laim anew our earnest sympathy with the friends of freedom in the Kepublic, our hearty gratilicatuni at the great results that have been accojnplished, and our gratitude to the men who staked life and fortune on the elibrt to strike the shackles {'unn the bondsman. (Cheers.) Sir, 1 care not to pry narrowly into the motives of all tho.se wlio have contributed to biing about this great change in the I^'public. I care not to examine critically the precise mode by which it has been brought about. 1 care not to dis'Uiss the arguments by which it has been promoted or defended in the Republic. What to us signities all this ? We see before us the great fact that the chains have already fallen from the hands of tens of thousaniLs (jf human chattels — we pee that if the policj' of the present Government at Washington prevails, the cur.se of human slavery Avill be swept from our continent for ever — and louv hearts go up with earnest petitions to the God of battles that he will strengthen the hands of Abraham Lincoln and give wisdom to his coun- «cils. (Cheers.) But, Mr. Chairman, Ave have yet another duty to per- foi-m. Ju the face of all the wonderful progress that the anti-,slavery cause has made in the United States — in defiance of the decided emanci- pation measure of Mr. Lincoln's Government — it is the fact, the strange and startling fact, that professing Abolitionists — nay, genuhu^ Abolition- ists — men who have done much for negro emancipation — are to be found both here and in Great Britain, who not only refuse theii' sympathy to Mr. Lincoln, but regard the slave-tratKcking Government of Jefferson Davis with something very much akin to sympathy and goochvill. (Hear, hear.) As you are aware, .sir, I have rect'iitly returned from a visit to Gi'eiit Britain — and I am bound to say that I was astonished and grieved' at the feeling with which I found the content now waging in the United States generally regarded. In my six months' journey ings thrctii;;!' Kiiuliii'l ami Seotliunl, 1 liiul i)].ij)iirtiniitii'^ ot't-nnver-'iii:,' with a very Iiii'.;i' iMinilicrtif jicr-^iiin in all |ti)-;iliniii nf HI',- ainl 1 'iin .•mivv In say - tliut, wliili- llnic wi'iv iiMiiy iiiaik''i| ('Xr',.ji(iiin-< aiunii;^' iiicii nl" tliuii;^ht iui<l iiilliiciii'i', tlx! ^'fiu ml Hviiiiiathy was vcrv (U'cldcdly >m the n'u\v ol" the South. I iiitiivly a;,'riT with vcti, sir, tliat lliis rci'linj^ lui •■ init «>rij.riii.itt'(l iVuiii any « Iiuiii,'!' in tlic )Mi|iiilar Jiiiiiil nf t!icat JU'itaiii on the .iuiijci't of African slavery. On thv cnntrnry, I liclicvi.' tin- liativd of Hlavcry, and th'.' dtvii'c t'lir I'linnicijiation all nviT tlic world, aiv iicnrly ii< striini,' as ever. In ahiiont I'vcry ont- of tlic hundred! of disiMi^siim-t iji whirli I WiiH a iiaitii'i|tatMr. it, w;i-< a.^ain and a_c,'ai;i lemMtiMl hy all, that ei iilil they lu'lit'Ve AlVieau .slavery to he tin- ciune ol tlie civil war, an<l that Mr. Lincoln ',va^ t<iiic(!!'ely deHirnu-^ of hriiij^dn,:^' the horiid tiathc to mi end, they would iJi'i'mptly ami heartily -.(ive their synni.ilhy I) his cauHc. r.ut the tiHitli i < that tlie systeinitic uii-reinv-i'iitatioii nf tli • London Tinii^a and other jounials, cumincnced shortly after the outhr.'ak of the civil wai' and diii>j;ently kept nj) ever >ince, has jierverted t!ie puhlic mind of ^Ireat Briiain, and the mot ania/.in,n' niiscoiice;)tioni^ a-, to the ti'Ue nature of the sfru|^';^'le are t:very\vhere met wiili, and that even amou;,^ ih" mo-it candiil and f^enerous-mindel men. (Henr.) I have i-'aid, sir, that to this ^'eneral .-tate of feelin;^' there are n>any emiiunt ex- ceptions — lh.it there are men in J'ritain who peifectly comjuehi'nd the whole merits of the contest — and pre-einiueiit amou;.' these, I helieve, stand th'- memhorn of the British Cahini't. [ entirely a;^'ie'! with yon, sir, that the wiiole pidicy and conduct of the Urilish (<overnment throU!.i;hoiil the war has ])een wt)rthy of all jiraise, and 1 do think it is nauh to lie regretted that our neighbours across tlie lines have not viewed aright the wise course it has pursued, hut have permitted their joui'uals, anil some of their ]>uli!ic s])eakers, to indulge in accusations as gionndless as impolitic. When the impartial histoiT of this civil war shiH he written, that pag(.' of it which will record the ]iart taken in it l>y the British Government — it.s dignified disrcganl of contunndy — it* patient endurance of commercial distri;ss and indiviilual suifering and (le-titu- tiou directly re-ailting froin the war — its firm and persistiiit resist- ance of the seduction^i of other Povre.-s to intrude unasked in the domestic feuds of the I'epuhlic — will, I am persuaded, stand out as an imperishable n»onument to the wisdom anil justice of the men wdio held the helm. ((Jheiu's.) ^Vhatever misconceptions may exist among the ])eople, there have bee:i no misconoeptions on the part of the British (Joverinnent: tirmh' and discreetly it has pursued the only course open to it, that <■ • •rupulous neutrality. That the sympathies of the peojde (d" Englan ■ have not been with the North in the present struggk — that those who urged the Ameiican peojde to throw o(f the disgrace of slavery have not ai.'ted up to their own ])rinciples when their advice was ibl lowed ami the contest came — that aid and encouragmeut have been given to the slaveocracy l)y subjei;ts of Great Britain — we ai'e forced to concede and deplore ; but the British pei.ple are a free people, over these things their Governnx'nt has little or no control, and wdiat has bi'en tlone by the British Governniei>t, as u Government, has l)een all that any just American could demand. (Cheers.) Now, Mr. Chair- man, I humbly conceive that in all this we, the anti-slavei'v men of Canatla, have an important duty to discharge. We wdio have stood here on the borders of the Kepublic for a (luarter of a century protesting against slavery as the " sum of ail human villanie; '' — we v, ho have closely watched every turn of the nuestion — we who have for years acted and sympa- thized with thegooil men of the Republic in their efforts for the freedom (d" their country — we who have a ]»ractical knowledge of the atrocities of a H wlif> never Imd tliey know lu'ttiT, niiilt(;r ! Tens of millions ol' Ueuaurc every lUniily in the tlu- "pecnliiir iuHtitiition," learnt frtini the lipsol ilie panting refuL'cu' unon ourwhon's — ue wlm liiive in our ruukM npn well known on th"' ntlier Hide (if tlie Atlaiilii' as life-Ion^' Alioliti(>ni-<ts— we, I nay, are in a position to Hpeak with confiileiice to the anti-slavery men of (Jreat Ihitain ; to tell them that they liave not rightly nndeiNtood this matter-- to tell tlu-ru tliat slavery is tlie one <,'ieat cause of tlie Ameriiim rehellion, and that the Hwcress of the N'orlh is the deiitli-knell of slavery. (Cheers.) Stninj^c, Hir, after all that has pa-^^ed, that a doiilit nt this sliouhl remain! The North derlares that it was the determination to j»er|ietiiate and extend nlavery that, raused the South lo a|)peal to aims; tlie South declares that the deteriiiinatioii of the \oilli to aholish -slavery caused the election of ^Ir. Lincoln, anil that this is tht^ ^n-at end ami aim of Mr. Lincoln's (lovernnieiit ; the whohf thirty millions of the American people unite in declarin;^' slavery to he the one ^ivM issue of the war; luit these ^'ood ]ieople, thousilids of niih ■> oil", their feet on American soil, are satislied tlia and thai slavery lias no conceni in the thousand-! of lives have lieen lost, hundreds o( have Ikm'U spent, the peace and hapjuness id" laml have heeii hrokeii ii]) ; liut it sec:ins the comhatants are in entire if,'noraiici! of the cause of (piarn'l— the whole contest is a mere strife for power ! Now, sir, we who have watt lied the stru;,'gle fi\>m its commonce- ment, and from day t(j day, almost from hour to hour, well know how erroneous all this is. We can look hack to the timt^ when tlie Aholition- ists of the States were a small and feelde jiarly ; we can recollect when James (r. JJiriiey, the aholition candidate for the Presidency, received no more than six tiiousand votes in the whole Repuldie ; we can recol- lect when iioltle old .John Quincy Adanis stood alnioHt alone hattling in Conj^ress for the lust rijfht of freemen— the sacred ri},dit of petition ; we can rememher how completely and how ruthlessly the slave intiuence (Umiimited over tlu- whole affairs of the Rei)uhlic ; and well can we remem- ber when the first ray of hope broke in upon ns when the slaveocracy, growing insolent in their day of power, r'lshed to their own destruction by the repeal of the Mi.ssoari compromi.se that laid ,do\vn the line of de- marcation between Slavery and Freedom. That act did more for the caii.se of emancipation than tongue can tell. The fierce contests fought in Kansas and jN ebraska between Freedom and Hhively added immensely to the strength (d' the friends of freedom ; and the atrocious Fugitive Slave Law, compelling the freemen of the North to beconie slot hounds on their own farms after the human chattels of the slavehohlers of the South, roused a feeling deep and strong throughout the free States. It was soon apparent that the time had come when the issue between Freedom and Slavery for supremacy in tlie Republic must l)e fought and won. That feeling, sir, increased and strengthened, until it oecame overwhelming in the Northern States ; and under its influence the great Republican party was formed, and Abraham Lincoln selected as their standard-bearer in the Presidential contest. (Cheers.) Now, let it be well remembered, that Mr. Lincoln was not elected as an abolitionist, in the sense ordinarily applied to that tenn. He did not openly avow that slavery was an outrage on all law, human and Divine — and that every law or constitution framed to legalize and establish it should be treated with contempt, and the vile traffic swept away. Mr. Lincoln and the party who elected him did not go that length. They said : We want nothing more tlian the Constitution gives us ; we wish to abolish slavery wherever we have control under the Constitution ; we wish to restrict slavery within its present domain, so far as the Constitution permits us ImiiiKlarit v, l'',!t coiiM hciiin' its iilt'iiintf aliolitioii. 'I'lic Smith y i'MTiitnv!nn<i( il tlial Mr. Ijiiu'iilii, if elected, iiiij^'lit kirp within t(i thi ; v.c ui h J» cxi'ivi-f <tur ci'tr-litutiMial iij;]it t«i lilcVilil ihi- I'X- tctisiiiu ofi'ilavoiv over thf tmitfiitx of th*- lUpiiMic iM.t \»1 inliuitu-il i\* State-* of the I'niuii, Th.it was the mm ami '.iih«taii«c oi tin- Hi'|inh- licaii <it'(!iaiiil ; thcv i-tnnd li;, tlic Cnii^f itutioii. Aiul when it i-,a>kt'<l wliy thi' N'uitht iti iiMii h:ivi' al\va\ h avrtiiil that tln-y wru- H;.^htiri^ for the rniniMiiiil )h(! CiiiHlitiitiiiti, ami not for ;.ih.ilitioii, it nhoiihi lit'luiinc iliniiiHllli.it ill • ( 'ni' -titiiti.'!! j^a",f llniii i';l tlif j>o\Vfr that thfv coiild nossilily iic.-i:\', Will ilid lhr\ know, and will diil the Sunthmn'i-H Know, that an anli->'avi!y I'fc-'idint ami « 'on.^'ri'-s liy llitir diici i power of h'j,'iM!ation, I'y their tontinl of the imMic patronni^'t', and hy their ai»- pHvMtioii of the i>ii1)'if moneys, eoiild not oiny ivtrict slavery within it-* l»reseiii ja-rfeL't tlie letter of the Ci ii-titutioii, aiul set sap the fonndatioiis of tin whole slave .'^ystciti. And they acted ai'i'oidin^-ly. A )^Meat. and linal etfmt waH rcsolveil on I'y the Slave Power for the masteiy of the I'liioTi ; ami it was iiisulently inoflainied tliat if the Xoithei'ii electors daied to eh'i't Mr. Lincoln to llie I'lcsidential eliair, the South would Heeede from till' Union, and loice tlieii' sei'e;-sion hy an appeal to arms, '['he jireseiit rc'hellion, then, wa ; conici'. cd and planned, not only helore Mr. Ijineolii api)eared at W'ashin-t.-n. hut previou-; to hh eleition ; and the sok; 'Touml on which it \\:i- threatened wa:J his deterniinalion to restrict the limit^i of slavery so far a < he had the jmwer under the Constitution, and no further. Well, sir, the North was not intimidated liy the threats of the South, and Mi'. Lincoln was elected. (Cheers.) J-'roin that day actual revolution he;,'Mii. Months hefore he was sworn in, the Southern- era, with the connivance of a weak DeTuocratic President, connneuced their preparations for revolt. Anns and supplies were distrilmtetl over the South, and hefore Mr. Lincoln reached Wasliin;^'ton the tocsin of civil war had heen sounded. The tirst hlow was struck hy the Southeriieiv— it was struck at Fiut Sumter--- althou^di Mr. Lincoln had not yet taken the slijjlitest step in the direction of emancipation. The ]»reservution and peii»etuation of slaM-ry was tlie one cause why that hlow was struck ; and had any douht on that point existed, the speech of Mr. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederate States, delivered at Savannah in March last, would have elfectually removed it. He said : — " Last, not least, the new Constitution lias put at rest /or ever all the agi- tating (picstions relatin;,' to our j)oculiar institution — African shivery as it exists among us, the jirojicr status of the negro in onr form of civilization. This was tlie immediate caune of the late rupture and present revolution. Jetlerson, in his foreciist, liad anticipated this, as the 'roukupon which the old union would split.' He was right. What was conjecture with him is now a realized fact. 15ut whether he fully comprehended the great tmth upon which the rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas enter- tained by him and most of the leading statesmen of the time of tlie formation of the old Constitution, were that the enslavement of the African wa8 in \ialation of the laws of nature, tlmt it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. * * * * Those ideas, however, were fundament - ally wrong. They resred u]>oii the assumption of the eiiuality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation ; and the idea of a Government built upon it — when 'the storm came and the winds blew, it fell.' Our new tiovernment is foimded upon exactly the opposite ideas ; its foundatiotis are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great trutb that the negi'o is not eijual to the white man ; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition. This, our new Government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth. " Here the issue between North and South is clearly and frankly stated, 1* ..iiiJ^ () und tlin!.f who >viiiiiiilliiNf willi flic South ran .-«••' vci-y plainly what it in they arc aiding' to t>taliti>li. Hut, Mr. Chainnan, the (|iii'Htiiiti is con- Htaully ]Mit: Why, wht-n Mr. Linroln and his (>ovrr-nni<'nt naw that thf Soiilhi-ni Stati"< wt-rc ilcti'ituiniil to liavf tht- I'nioii, diii they not lit thira (^'o in itracc, ami navi- tli<- tii^'htt'ul tiriisinn iif lilooil that Iuim I think it ini^'ht hr t-nnu^'h fur inii'ri- iK-t'U uitni'<'>i'(t / lo this, sir, i tniiiK it nii^'iii nr fiinu^'ii lur an rail to itply : Why tliil nut Kii^{laiul h-t the thirltiii Stalt-Ki^u/ Why iliiliiot liriiain hi InlamlKo/ Why did not AiLstria let HiiiiKiU'y K" ' Wl»y does iintlht' ro|M' let thr |Mti|iIc ol' itoim'K"' Wi' have oltcn heard oljuirtH or Hcrtionsol' Statrs desiring to st'ccdc, Honii'tiniis with reason uiul soine- tinies withiiiil, Imt who ever heard of thereiitral aiithf»ritv of any country |iatiently ai'<|uiesiiii^r in the disnicnilierineiit of their lantU Such a con- ceHHion is not in human nature, ho\v»'ver reasonalile the deinan<l for it. But, it is contended, the South had the rii{ht to secede; the Kepuhlic wa.s hut a collection of independent States, Hunmdering for a while their s((V('ivij,'nty, but holding the ri;^ht to asHunie it nt any moment. Now, sir, i do not think it worth while to waste time in discussing this noint I have failed to meet with any i)ro<)f that tlie Federation woh only as- sented to for a limited time. The argument seems to rest simply on the plea that as the States freely dio-c to enter the Union, somuy they freely choose t(» <lepait. U'ell, sir, ScotIan<l freely entered into union with England — hut does that prove that Scotland can separate when she chooses/ Ireland entered tne union with Great Britain not over willingly — but d(M's that prove that she can leave it when she chooses? No doubt, the Southern States, like Scotland or Ireland, may break the compact and go — if they have the power — but success woulil be revolution, and failure rebellion. (Chetsrs.) Governments exist for the good of the wliole people. We once hail a glorious revolution in England — (cheers) — and assuredly when the Government of any country ceases to be ad- ministered for the essential benefit of the people, a revolution is the sound and politic remedy. The world no longer admits the Divine right of either Knigs or Presidents to govern wrong — but those who seek to change an established Government by force of arms, assume a fearful re- sponsibility—a responsibility which notliing but the clearest and most intolerable injustice will ac(iuit them for assuming. The Southern States plead as their excuse for revolution that Abraham Lincoln was fairly and constitutionally elected President of the Republic, and that the perma- nency of slavery was thereby placed in danger. Is that a plea to be ac- cepted by the civilized world in the second half of the nineteenth century ? Revolutions have usually arisen from efforts of the oppressed to deliver themselves from bondage ; but here is an attenjpt at revolution to perpetuate slavery, to fasten more hoplessly than ever the chains of ser- vitude on the limbs of four millions of human beings, — (cheers) — is it with that Christian England can sympathise ? Ought not an outburst of indigna- tion at such a spectacle be heanl from every land I (Cheers.) There is no justice, no right, in the case of the Soutlu'rn slaveholders ; it is simply a question of might. If they have the power to go, of course thej' will go — A VOICE—They have gone! ANOTHER VOICE— That's so! Mr. BROWN — Not quite yet ; but whether they go or stay is now of comparatively little moment. What does concern us, and what must rejoice every true-hetuled man in Christendom, is that go when they may, they will go without their slaves, ((ireat cheering.) We owe that much, at any rate, to Abraham Lincoln and hia iriends. (Continued cheering.) 13ut, Mr. Chairman, let ,us return to the (inestion, why did not Mr. liiiu'oln let the Sliiv«- Slater p>f Aiiil iMlun- pnx <*'«liii^> to i>x- ittiiiric that qiicHtinii frniri itii iinti->'liivti'v |i<iiiit of virw, will \uii |i<rtiiit in<>, HJr, to iiiakt' a ili^'nssion, ami, Hpt-akiti^ tor tiiN^cIf aii'l not I'or an itht'r, to L'ivi- an answer witli wliirh 1 am ixrHuailcil i>v«T> trnc Itritin i; hcatt ou^'lit to syinpatlii)'*-. Sir, Wf all know tin* |iri'jiuli(f at tliif< ino- uicnt a^'uinst tlx' rnitnl SlatcM in (irtat iiritain an<l Canada; wc know w<-ll all that in Hiiil.antl that unlnitunatily can li«- naitl with too iniu h truth, iiM to th«' HtatrsnianHhi|) ol' tlic Kcpnlilic— iim to thi' ttMniiHsuini'd hv tlu' AnuricanN towanlx lorcip^'n nations —ax to tin- dflVrts in tln'ir iiolitt- cul HyHtt'in, ami ax to tli<> idnilnct of tho civjl war; hut wore all tlnit iH uUi'Ucd on tlu'Hc i^'rountU triif — wfrc vantly more than is avcrrt'd, trut- — 1 do think tliat no man who loves human freedom and desires the eleva- tion of mankind could contemplate without the deepest re^r-t a failun^ of that yreat experiment of self-j^'overnment, across tin- lim-s. (Hear, hiiur.) Had Mr. Lincoln consented to the H«>cession of tjie Houtheni States, ]uid hv. admitted that each State could at any moment and on any hiA plott Uike its departiire from the Union, In- would simnly Have ^'iven conHetit to the comidete nii>ture of the Federation, llu' Southern StateH and the Border States would have j»one — tlie Western states mi^ht soon have followed — the States on the Pacific wouUl not have heen long be- hind — and where the practice of Hecession, once comnH-nced, miKht have ended, it would be dimcult toKuy. Petty llenublics would have covered the continent, each would have nad its ntunding army and its standing feuds ; — and we, too, in Canada, were it only in Kelf-defenci-, must have been compelled to ann. I, for one, sir, cannot look back or the history of the American Republic without feeling that all this would be a woild-wide misfortune. How can we ever forget that the United States territory has, for nearly a century, been an ever-open asylum for the poor and the perse- cuted of every lamt i Millions have fled from suffering and destitution in every comer of Europe, to find happy homes and overflowing prospeiity in the Republic ; and I confess I know no more wonderful or more didightful spectacle than to pa-ss (as you easily can) for thousands of miles along tne high roads of the Republic, and witness the wonderful material success that has been achieved by men who, a few short years ago, landed on the American shore, for the most part without means and without education. Is there a human being who could rejoice that all this should be ended ? And who could fail bitterly to regret the effect of such a catastrophe on the politics of Europe / Who can tell how Tnuch influence the great American Republic has exerted on the libeilies of the world. Circum tances have caused me to search deep and often into the debates of the British Parliament, and I confess I have been frequently struck by the constant references in the speeches of our greatest statesmen, for nearly a century past, to American ju-actices, American preceilents, and American institutions. These may not have been coj»ied by the mother country, but it is impossible to doubt tliat on many important (piestions the free theories and tree exam^iles of America liave greatly intlueuced fur good the legishvtion of Great Britain. And if this hiia becm the case luider the good government of Britain, what influence may not have been exerti'd upon the despotic systems of the European continent i Can the hosts of Freiichinv^n, Austrians, Prussians, Italians, and other Europeans, Avho found homes in the United States, have failed to waft across the Atlantic or to carry back with them to their native lands, the new ideas of popular rights acquired in the land of their adoption ? — and would it not be sad indeed if the echo of these ideas so often heard on the Continent, in the shape of demands for extended popular rights and free constitutions, covild be met by the • U'Mjuiiic rukrs nl' Europe with the tauiil Lo lnok .it Auu'iira iiiid leiirn how free nnisiiliiti tis u'hI ]i())mlai' rii^lit-t I'lidcil in disniptiuii uiid aiiarcliy / Wlii can ''.t'liy tiiat tlio Aiucricaii (•(iiistitntiuii, as framt'd by tlie lUtiit'iv 111' the rcvoliiticii n[ '7(), warf one of the noblest conceptions that ever eniannted fioif he human mind ! — and if one must regret that tlie tVuit ofhitc years ha-^ Jiot been wortliy of the tree, avIio shall say how much of that we are conii)elle(l to dej)recate may nut bi; directly traced fo the cjvnker-worm of Slavery. (IJear, hear.) V/ilh a free C(jnstitution the United iStates has not been a five country. One half has been entirely surrentb red to slavery, ami the other half has been subject indirectly to the same malij^'ii influence. The Southern States have lieen knit together by one common bond — touch the slave interest and the whole South is in a llaiue au'.l drawn together as one man. The Northern States, on the ciutrary, had no sui.'li univeisal interest to bind them togetbci', and through tlieir divisions as Vv'higs and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, the South always continued to hoM the bahuice of 1 lower, and control the national i>o]icy of the Union. The South has had entile sway at Washington. Xo man could be successful in public life, no man could hone to I'ise to eminence in the a<lministva- tion of affairs, unless he knelt at the Southern shrine, and maintained with his whol(! strength the peculiar in-^titution. Nothing cuuld be more corrupting,- more utterly deiinn'alizing to the public men of the North than the choice cf)nstant:y presentetl to them — adhere to your Northern ])riii('iples and ruin your career — abandon your principles and bow your neck to slavery, and the gates of the White House are open to yon. Nor vras the slave influi^uce contined t(j the jiolitical arena— it permeated every walk of life. The A'ast cotton trade and the supplying of goods to the slaveholder, exteiidi'il their ramifications all over the Union ; their iiilluence was felt in the store, the woi'kslio]), the lecture- room, the press, — aye, even in the puli»it. Every one was made to feel the potency of cotton, and a styh' of argumentation in defence or pallia- tion of slavery v/as heanl everywhere from men who, on any other ques- tion, wcnild have scorned to advance such miserable sophistries. The whole Union was debauched by the cotton influence ; and it does appear to me that it would be unreasonable and nnjust to test the American constitution by its working while cimtroUed by influences so malign and injurious. Let the friends of freedtnu rejoice that at last the hoj)e of a better state of things begins to dawn, and that, freed from the curse of himian slavery, the American peojde maj' yet show themselves worthy of their high origin, and take their right place anuuig the free nations of the world. We, in Upper Canada, Mr. (Jhairman, cannot help having some sympathy Avith the Northerners in their peculiar position ; for though we have no South, we have an Eastern influence to contend with — an Eastern minority that rules the Western majority — that controls our public afiairs and dictates terms to our public men as the price and the penalty of otlicial success. (Hear, hear.) None know better than the peo]de of U]>per Canada the demoralising scenes that may be witnes- sed iu the public arena under an influence like this. (Hear, hear.) Let it not be imagined for a moment, Mr. Chainuan, from my speaking thus, that I am a Republican either in theory or practice. Sir, I am persua- ded that no one can have studied closely and impartially the Republican system of the United States and compared it with the; limited monarchy of Great Britahi, without coming to the conclusion that the practical results obtained from our ovm form of Government are infinitely more satisfactory than those secured under the system of our neighbours. (Cheers.) But let us not forget that we are apt to judge of monarchy 9 by the monarchy of Quciii Victoriii — the Lest, the widest Sovereij:^! ^^^^^ ever asceuded u throne. (Great cheering.) Let us not forget that there have heen, and there are still, very different monarehie.s in the world from that of our own beloved Queen — and assuredly tliere are not so many free governments on earth, that we should hesitate earnestly to desire the success of that one nearest to our own, modelled from our own, and founded by men of our own race. (Cheers.) Sir, I do most heartily rejoice for the cause of liberty that Mr. Lincoln did not patiently acquiesce in the dismemberment of the Kepublic. But, Mr. Chair- man, let us return from this lou;^' dii and examine the ques- tion from an anti-slavery point of view, — fyhij not let them go i No honest anti-slavery man can hesitate in answering — because it would have been wrong to do so, because it would have built up a great slave; re- public that no moral influence could have reached. (Cheers.) Had the extreme Slave States been allowed to secede without a blow, there is every reason to believe that all the Border States would have gone with them, and a large portion of the unadmitted territories of tlu; Union would have been added to the slave domain. Such a confederacy would liave over-awed the free Northern States, the slave trade would at once have been thrown open, and no foreign Government would have ven- tured to interfere. It has been said that if that wire attempted, France and England would enforce by arms a treaty against tlu; inhuman trattic. I do not believe anything of the kind. If England could have been in- duced to go to war about the slave trade, she woidd have gone to war with Spain long ago. She paid money to Spain to give up the shameless trattic, and yet Spain canies it on to the present day, and England has not gone to war to compel her to desist. No, sir, — if this Confederacy had been formed, with slavery and the slave trade as its chief corner- stones, no European Government would have interferiid ; and we should have had on this continent, under the protection of a regularly organised Government, the most monstrous outrage on humanity that has disgraced the present age. (Hear, hear.) Had Mr. Lincoln passively pennitted all this to l)e done — had he permitted the Southern States to go, and such a Government to be formed without a blow — he would have brought en- during contempt iipon his name, and the people of England woiild have been the first to have risen up and reproached him for his imbecility. " Why," they would have demanded, " did you allow the whole of that vast country to pass under the rule of -slavery without one ett'ort to pre- vent it ? How came it that you struck not a single blow to avert such a frightful evil ? Had you only stood firm, the attempt would have broken down — and even had it not, you might have fearlessly looked to us for sympathy, and at once we would have aided you!" Mr. Lincoln and his Government did their duty in resisting the establishment on this continent of so infamous a Government ; they are striving to do it now ; but unfortunately the sympathies of a large portion of the British people were wrongfully withheld from them, if not indeed given to their op- ponents. And yet I believe most sincerely that if they had allowed the South to go — if they had permitted a vast slave Republic to be built up and the slave trade declared legal, — there are few men in England or France who would not have expressed bitter indignation at such lamentable weakness — and foremost among them, 1 do not doubt, would have been the very men who now cry, — " Why not let them go T (Cheers.) Sir, Mr Lincoln and his friends would have dis- graced themselves for ever had they consented to let the South go with a knowledge of what would happen. And come what may hereafter, already has enough been achieved to justify their refusal 10 Slavery lia-; Ix'oi aholisluid liy law in tlic Di^tiid i<\' ( 'uluiiihia, lialt' of Virj^'iiiiii liiiK (l"clan'(l for frecdoiu, the <^\vn\ State of Missouri Iian rcsolv- (h1 to ai'ccjtt iTKiciiiuifu'atioii iniil iiianuniil it^ i>oiiilMiiicii, ami llitic can he very little duiiUt that IXlawaic, Mtiryl.iiKl, ainl Kentucky, conii'. what luay, will now cast in their lot witii the free Northern Slates. Tens of tliousiuidH of .slaves have hem actually set fi'ee ; the law hiis declared every slave in the relx-l States free; and were (lie South to achieve itn freedom to-morrow, it is hard to see how tlie elmttelH can he held in hondaj^'e. These f^reat results have not het'ii oliir.iued without prodi.niuuH sacrifices; hut assuredly for what has heeu done t lie hearty thanks of the civilized world are due to the (Joverimieiit at \Viishiii;4(»u. But, Mr. Chairman, there is another question c(»nstaaily heard, and it is this: — Why did not Mr. Lincoln openly, frankly, and I'roiu the first declare the overthrow of slavery to he his ohject in the civil war^ Now, sir, I could uiiderstand such a (pu'stiun a^ thi* couiiii;^' I'roni a pro- slavery man, for we have hccoine used to the twistiu;.;s uud winding's of that class of disputants ; hut T ccmfe.-s 1 do not coiMnteheii'l such a ([uestion conun;^' fi'om tlu' Ii]is of a true eiiiaiicii»a,tionist. Mr. Lincoln was not electetl hy the whole North, hut only hy a j)or- tion of the Northern electors. Mr, Lincoln's views on the slave ((ucs- tion w('re not held hy the v/hole North, hut on the coulrary, u larj^e portion of the North a]i]troved of slavel'v, and denounced Mr. Lincoln's policy u])ou it. Mi'. Liiuoin had a divideil North to li|^lit with a;!;ainst a united South; and yet these professiufj,' Alxditionists would have had him couu' out with an nnnecessiuy declaralion which wotdd have s'>lit uj* his su)»iiorters, and j^iven mastery of the Union. (Hear, hear.) hetter Avliat he was ahout. He sim])iy of the Union. And why I Because he in to ti^'ht with hiiu for the mahitenance of the rnion, whose political antecedents forhade 'them fnmi tightin;,' for the overtlirow of .slavery. He desired toj;et a united North as !i;.i'ainsta united South, and he ctaUd only ^a't them uniteil on the jL^i'ound of the niiuutenance of the Union. But well he knew that, if the Union were uiaiutaine(l, and he himself remained President of the Union, his eiul would he accomplish- ed. One can fancy ]\Ir. Lincoln reiisoninj,' thus: — "if 1 am I'residi'ut, I have power to aholish slavery in the District <d' Columhia; I will have power to prevent its entrance into the territoi'ies; I will he, uhle to otter money to induce each State to aholish slavery; I. will have a rijj;ht to put men, loving freedom, in all the puhlic t)tlices of the South ; and by these and other means I shall confine slavery within so narrow a compass that it will soon come to an end." liy this course he kept his great end in viciw, and he prevented ojien division in the Noith at the commencement of the struggle. Time did its work — many of the Democratic i)arty. in the heat of strife, hn'got their i)olitical antecedents, and giiulually sav,- a.nd admitted tlu; neci'ssity of waging Avar against slavery ; and Mr. Lincoln was thus soon euahle<l to venture on measures that dared iu)t have heen ln'eathed at the hegiuuiug of the struggle. But, sir, we are tohl that if the North and South se]»arated, and the North hecanu- an indejtendent State, the most IVieudly relations would spring up between the South and Great Ih'itaiu, and an immense trade would Ik' thereby secured to the. Mother Ciauitry. Now, I ajijjre- hend that we very Avell under-taml what all this amounts to. If there is a iH'dy of nu'n on the face of the' earth wlut hate (ireiit Ihitaiu with undying hatred, it is the slaveholders of the Southern States. They hate the very name of Britain, because they know that the British ■ people love freedom, and are the genuine enemies of slavery throughout the South lli>' uncoil rolled No, sir, M r. i iiucoln knew declared tor tin ' ui.iintenance knew that men Would c(une 11 the worM. (Ch'Cis.) T<< .sirvi; iriv.sciit imiim.si's, they luuy juolV-s ti) be friendly lur the iiioiiieiit, but iw soon as iheii' ends are ()l)tained, tlicy will .speedily lie seen in their line colour^ iis the hitler enemies ot' (ir<.'at Britain. The nuist violent iittaeks on (Ireat P>ritaiii, the mo.st insulting lanmiau'e, has almost inviii'ialtly ])roeee.do(l i'roni Southern lips and Southern ])ens. lUit it is saiil "the North has the same leelini^'s, thi; " North has no love for (ireat Britain, and the inoni; 'it the present eivil " war is en<led, the Northerners will cross over to ( a'e'.da, coiuiuer us in "a weelc, and annex our country to their doniiriiiiis." 1 faney, Mr. Chairman, wi' undeistaud the eccentricities of ouv .''.mericau iiei!4id)ours nmch better than our friends in the Mother Couiiiry, and can place, a more correct value on the, vauntinj^^s of their pres-s, and the boastful lan- guage of their orators. We have lived at ])eac.e v.ith them for lifty yeaiv, ami notwithstandiiiL; all that is come and <:one, we In^e to live at ]>eace with them for lifty moie. We have 'arg'e commercial relations— mutu- ally profitable relations with them— we have no causi; of quarrel with them, ;;"d excejjt as oratorical llourishes, the i l^a of attacking; Canada, lam ;. i'snade<l, nevei' entered theii' concent! n. Were the civil strife endi'.i to-morrov/, our nei,L,'hboui's will have uu 1 enoujj[li of war to last tluin for years to come ; but assuredly, should I hey be mad enoujj;h to attack us, we arc vastly more able now to defend our soil than we were fifty years av'o— and what we did in IS12 we would unflinchingdy do again. (Cheers.) It is not by such petty bug-bears that honct IJrilons will lie prevented from camlidly examining the true merits of the Ame- rican civil war, and ])raying earnestly that Cod may uphold the right. (Cheers.) Mr. Chairman, there is one fact that I conceive ought to be perfectly conclusive with every sincere emancipationist, whether in Britain or in Canada, an to the side on which his sympathy should l)e cast. There liave been for many years in the United States noble men fighting for freedom— the Tappans, the Jays, the Adams, th(; Beechens, the Carriaofis, the Geri'it Smiths, and a host of other patriots, wliose names will one (hiy have a high rank in the annals of their country. These men have justly enjoyed the confidence and esteem of th(^ British pul)lic, and they liave never done anything to forfeit it. Now, it is an instructive fact, that there is not one such man, not one man who ever stood high in English estimation for moral worth and sterling patriotism, who is not found ranged <m the side of the North in the present struggle — there is not one such man who is not found on the side of Mr. Lincoln and heartily su])porting him. (Cheers.) Every one of them perfectly comprehends, and we anti-slavery men of Canada per- fectly comprehend, that tliewholehope of immediate emancipation,thorough emancipation, rests on the success of Abraham Lincoln's administration. (Great cheering.) Mr. (Chairman, T must apologize for detaining the meeting to so unreasonable a length — (CJries of no ! no I)— but I telt it was a <luty we owed to oui'selves, to our neighbors across the line, and to our friends iiv Great Britaiti, that the true merits of this great struggle should b(! clearly stated IVfim our position of advantage, and froin an anti-slavery point of view. I am well assured that those of us who may be spared sonu', years hence to look back upon this civil war in America, will niiver hav(! cause to repent that we took ])art in the ))roceedings of this night, but will rciuiendier with pride and pleasure that W(! did what we could to n])hold the right. (Cheers.) For myself, sii', whatever may be the result of the present stiil'e, 1 shall always lee! the highest satisfaction in recollecting that with the !-in of symiiatlusing with slavery or secession, my hands have iu)t been deii!ed ; but that iVoiu the commeucement of the struggle my earnest aspiiations have gone with the friends of freedom. (The hon. gentleman resumed his seat amid hnidaud continued a])])lause.)