Address from the people of Ireland to their countrymen and countrywomen in America

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ADDEESS FKOM THE PEOPLE OE IRELAND

TO THEIE COUNTRYMEN AND COUNTRYWOMEN
IN AMERICA.

Dear Friends : You are at a great distance from your native
land ! A wide expanse of water separates you from the beloved
country of your birth — from us and from the kindred whom
you love, and who love you, and pray for your happiness and
prosperity in the land of your adoption.

We regard America with feelings of admiration: we do not
look upon her as a strange land, nor upon her people as aliens
from our affections. The power of steam has brought us nearer
together ; it will increase the intercourse between us, so that
the character of the Irish people and of the American people
must in future be acted upon by the feelings and dispositions
of each.

The object of this address is to call your attention to the
subject of slavery in America — that foul blot upon the noble
institution and the fair fame of your adopted country. But
for this one stain, America would indeed be a land worthy your
adoption ; but she wnll never be the glorious country that her
free Constitution designed her to be, so long as her soil is pol-
luted by the foot-prints of a single slave.

Slavery is the most tremendous invasion of the natural,
inalienable rights of man, and of some of the noblest gifts of
God, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." What a
spectacle does America present to the people of the earth ! A
land of professing Christian repul)licans, uniting their energies
for the oppression and degradation of three millions of inno-
cent human beings, the children of one common Father, who
suffer the most grievous wrongs and the utmost degradation,
for no crime of their ancestors or their own ! Slavery is a sin
against God and man. All who are not for it must be against
it. None can be neutral. We entreat you to take the part of
justice, religion, and liberty.

It is in vain that American citizens attempt to conceal their
own and their country's degradation under this withering curse.
America is cursed by slavery! We call upon you to unite

.WITH THE Abolitionists, and never to cease your efforts until
perfect liberty be granted to every one of her inhabitants, the
black man as well as the white man. We are all children of
the same gracious God ; all equally entitled to life, liberty, and
■ the pursuit of happiness.

We are told that you possess great power, both moral and
political, in America. We entreat you to exercise that power
and that influence for the sake of humanity.

You will not witness the horrors of slavery in all the States
of America. Thirteen of them are free, and thirteen are slave
States. But in all, the pro-slavery feeling, though rapidly
decreasing, is still strong. Do not unite with it: on the con-
trary, oppose it by all the peaceful means in your power. Join
WITII THE ABOLITIONISTS EVERY WHERE. They are the only
consistent advocates of liberty. Tell every man that you do
not understand liberty for the white man, and slavery for the
black man; that you are for liberty for all, of every color,
creed, and country.

The xVmerican citizen proudly points to the National Decla-
ration of Independence, which declares that all mankind are
born free and equal, and are alike entitled to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness. - Aid him to carry out this noble
declaration, by obtaining freedom for the slave.

Irishmen and Irishwomen ! treat the colored people as your
equals, as brethren. By all your memories of Ireland, con-
tinue to love liberty — hate slavery — cling by the aboltion-
ISTS — and in America you Avill do honor to the name of Ireland.
[Signed by] Daniel O'Connell,

Theobald Mathew.

And sixty tliousand other inhabitants of Ireland.

LETTER FPvOM JAMES HAUGHTON, ESQ.

To Irishmen in America :

Countrymen : — My heart often prompts me to address you
in a few words of kindly remonstrance. I wish you so to con-
duct yourselves in the distant hind you have made your home,
as that your conduct may reflect honor on the loved country
you have left behind you, and cause you to be really respected
by the people among whom you now dwell. These advantao-es
can be secured only by a steady adherence, on your part, to

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the principles of truth and honor, which you shouhl make the
guiding star of your life.

You love liberty for yourselves. Be consistent m your ad-
vocacy of this universal right of the hunlan race ; and claim it
as the inalienable privilege of all men,— of the colored man, as
-well as the white man.

I fear too many of you have forgotten your duty, in this re-
spect, and that thus the fame of Ireland — which we should
shield from the breath of dishonor— is sullied in the eyes of
those who should only see reflected in your conduct, evidence
of the firm determination of your countrymen to stand fast by
the noble principles of Christian rectitude.

In the twelfth century, the synod of Armagh proclaimed
liberty to every captive in Ireland, and since then, a slave has
never polluted our green isle.

Remember the faithfulness of O'Connell. Let his memory,
which is embalmed in many of our hearts, and his whole life,
which was a consistent course in favor of civil and religious
liberty, be a beacon-light guiding you in y«ur career. Demand,
as he did, that freedom for all which you claim as your, own
birthright.

Thus, and thus alone, can you secure true respect for your-
selves, and cause the stranger to say of your country, " If I
were not an American, I should be proud to be an Irishman."
By all your pleasant memories of Ireland; by her glorious-
mountains and her beautiful valleys ; by her verdant plains,
which are watered by the streams in which you loved to dis-
port yourselves in childhood ; by your love of these things ;
by your affection for your kindred and friends, and by your
reverence for almighty God,— I appeal to you, and I ask you
to love your fellow-men of all complexions and of all creeds,
and to demand for them all, the exact measure of justice you
claim for yourselves.

The sad moan of four millions of slaves comes across the
broad ocean, and it sounds painfiilly in our ears. _ I ask you
to aid in turning their sorrow into joy— to aid in enabling
the fathers and jnothers of the colored race in America to clasp
their little ones, and feel all the happiness and all the respon-
sibility of being their guardians and their guides, from infancy
up to manhood. Turn not a deaf ear to the cry of the slave,
but let him feel, in future and for evermore, that in every Irish-
man he has a friend.

Whatever may be your rank or condition in the land of your
adoption, believe me, countrymen, you can only acqmre and
maintain an honorable reputation there, by such a course of

conduct as I recommend ; and "whatever may be your practice,
"whether in consonance "with, or in opposition to these sentiments,
I feel assured that you "svill say in your hearts, " He is right."
I entreat you to act manfully in accordance "with your convic-
tions, and 1 beg to subscribe myself,

Faithfully yours,

James Haughton.
Dublin, 35 Eccles Street.

SLAYEM NOT A DEBATABLE UUESTION.

An American gentleman "waited upon me this morning, and
I asked him, "s\'ith some anxiety, " "What part of America do
you come from?" "I came from Boston." "Do me the
honor to shake hands. You came from a State that has never'
been tarnished vritli slavery — a State to which our ancestors
fled from the tyran-ny of England, and the Avorst of all tyran-
nies, the odious attempt to interfere between a man and his
God ; a tyranny that I have in principle helped to put down
in this country, and "wish to put down in every country upon
the face of the globe. (Cheers.) It is odious and insolent to
interfere between a man and his God ; to fetter "with law the
choice which' the conscience makes of its mode of adoring the
eternal and adorable God. I cannot talk of toleration, be-
cause it supposes that a boon has been given to a human
being, in allowing him to have his conscience free. (Cheers.)
It "was in that struggle," I said, "that your fathers left Eng-
land, and I rejoice to see an American from Boston ; but I
should be sorry to be contaminated by the touch of a man
from those States "svhere slavery is continued." (Cheers.)
"Oh," said he, "you are alluding to slavery : though I am no
advocate for it, yet if you will allow me, I will discuss that
question with you." I replied, that if a man should propose
to me a discussion on the propriety of picking pockets, I
would turn him out of my study, for fear he should carry his
theory into practice. (Laughter and cheers.) " And, mean-
ing you no sort of offence," I added, " which I cannot mean to
a gentleman who does me the honor to pay me a civil visit, I
would as soon discuss the one question with you as the other."
The one is a paltry theft :

"AVho steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands" —

but he who thinks he can vindicate the possession of one hu-
man being by another — the sale of soul and body — the sep-
aration of father and mother — the taking of the mother from
the infant at her breast, and selling the one to one master and
the other to another — is a man •\vhom I will not answer with
words — nor yet with blows, for the time for the latter has not
yet come. (Cheers.) — Daniel O'Connell.

EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECHES OF O'COMELL.

I now come to America, the boasted land of freedom ; and
here I find slavery, which they not only tolerate but extend,
justified and defended as a legacy left them by us. It is but
too true. But I would say unto them, you threw ofi" the alle-
giance you owed us, because you thought we were oppressing
you with the Stamp Act. You boasted of your deliverance
from slavery. On what principle, then, do you now continue
your fellow-men in bondage, and render that bondage even
more galling by ringing in the ears of the sufierers from your
tyranny, what 3"ou have done, what you have suffered, for free-
dom ? They may retaliate upon us. They may reply by allu-
sions to the slaveries we have established or encouraged. But
what would be thought of that man who should attempt to
justify the crime of sheep-stealing, by alleging that another
stole sheep too ? Would such a defence be listened to ? Oh,
no ; and I will say unto you, freemen of America, and the press
will convey it to you almost as swift as the wind, that God un-
derstands you ; that you are hypocrites, tyrants, and unjust
men ; that you are degraded and dishonored ; and I say unto
you, dare not to stand up boasting of your freedom or your
privileges, while you continue to treat men, redeemed by the
same blood, as the mere creatures of your will ; for while you
do so, there is a blot on your escutcheon which all the waters

of the Atlantic cannot wash out.

* * # *•* * *

Of all men living, an American citizen, who is the owner of
slaves, is the most despicable ; he is a political hypocrite of the
very worst description. The friends of humanity and liberty,
in Europe, should join in one universal cry of shame on the
American slaveholders? '"Base wretches," should we shout
in chorus — " base wretches, how dare you profane the temple
of national freedom, the sacred fane of republican rites, with

the presence and the suffering? of human beings in chains and
slavery?" — Speech delivered at an Anti-Slavery Meeting in
1829.

I speak of liberty in commendation. Patriotism is a virtue,
but it can be selfish. Give me the great and immortal Bolivar,
the saviour and regenerator of his country. He found her a
province, and he has made her a nation. His first act Was to
give freedom to the slaves upon his own estate. (Hear, hear.)
In Colombia, all castes and all colors are free and unshackled.
But how I like to contrast him with the far-famed northern
heroes ! George "Washington ! that great and enliglitened
character, — the soldier and the statesman, — had but one blot
upon his character. He had slaves, and he gave them liberty
when he wanted them no longer. (Loud cheers.) Let America,
in the fullness of her pride, wave on high her banner of free-
dom and -its blazing stars. I point to her, and say, There is
one foul blot upon it ; you have negro slavery. They may com-
pare their struggles for freedom to Marathon and Leuctra, and
point to the rifleman with his gun, amidst her woods and forests,
shouting for liberty and America. In the midst of their
laughter and their pride, I point them to the negro children
screaming for the mother from .whose bosom they have been
torn. America, it is a foul stain upon your character ! (Cheers.)
This conduct, kept up by men who had themselves to struggle
for freedom, is doubly unjust. Let them hoist the flag of
liberty, Avith the whip and rack on one side, and the star of
freedom upon the other. The Americans are a sensitive,
people ; in fifty-four years they liave increased their population
from three millions to twenty millions; they have many glories
that surround them, but their beams are partly shorn, for they
have slaves. (Cheers.) Their hearts do not beat so strong
for liberty as mine. * * * * I -will call for justice, in the name
of the living God, and I shall find an echo in the breast of
every human being. (Cheers.) — Speech delivered at the An-
nual Meeting of the Cork Anti- Slavery Society, 1829.

Ireland and Irishmen should be foremost in seeking to effect
the emancipation of mijnkind. (Cheers.) ****** The
Americans alleged that they had not perpetrated the crime,
but inherited it from England. This, however, fact as it was,
was still a paltry apology for America, who asserting liberty
for herself, still used the brand and the lash against others.
(Hear.) He "taunted America with the continuance of slavery ;
and the voice with which he there uttered the taunt would be
wafted on the wings of the press, until it would be heard in the
remote wilds of America ; it would be wafted over the waters

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of the Missouri and those of the Mississippi ; and even the
slaves upon the .distant banks of the Ohio "would make his words
resound in the ears of their heartless masters, and tell them to
their face, that they were the victims of cruelty, injustice, and
foul oppression. (Cheers.) Bright as was the page of Ameri-
can history, and brilliant as was the emblazonment of h^r
deeds, still, negro slavery was a black, a " damning spot" upon
it. Glorious and splendid as was the star-spangled bonncr of
republican America, still it was stained with the deep, foul
blot of human blood. — Speech delivered at a Meeting of the
Dublin Asnti- Slavery Society, 1830.

Man cannot have property in man. Slavery is a nuisance,
to. be put down, not to be compromised with ; and to be assailed
without cessation and without mercy by every blow that can
be leveled at the monster. ***** Let general principles
be asserted. And as it is the cause of religion and liberty, all
that is wanted is the unwearied repetition of zealous advocacy
to make it certainly triumphant. Let every man, then, in
whatever position he may be placed, do his duty in crushing
that hideous tyranny, which rends the husband from the wife,
the children from their parents ; which enables one human
being, at his uncontrolled will, to apply the lash to the back of
his fellow-man. — Speech delivered at the London Anti- Slavery
Society, 1830.

We are responsible for what we do, and also for the influence
of our example. Think you that the United States of America
would be able to hold up their heads among the nations, — the
United States, who shook oiT their allegiance to their sovereign,
and declared that it was the right of every man to enjoy free-
dom— of every man, whether black, white, or red ; who made
this declaration before the God of armies, and then, when they
had succeeded in their enterprise, forgot their vow, and made
slaves, and used the lash and the chain, — would they dare to
take their place among the nations, if it were not that Eng-
land countenances them in the practice ? — Speech delivered at
the General Meeting of the British Anti-Slavery Society, 1831.

My claim to be heard on this occasion is included in one
sentence — I am an Abolitionist. (Cheering.) I am for speedy,
immediate abolition. (Renewed cheers.) I care not what
caste, creed, or color, slavery may assume. Whether it be per-
sonal or political, mental or corporeal, intellectual or spiritual,
I am for its total, its instant abolition. (Great applause.) I
enter into no compromise with slavery. I am for justice, in
the name of humanity, and according to the law of the living
God.

The time has now come, wlien every man who has honest
feelings should declare himself the advocate of abolition. He
who consents to tolerate crime is a criminal ; and never will I
lose the slightest opportunity, whether here or in the legisla-
ture, or any where else, to raise my voice for liberty, — for the
extinction of slavery. . (Great applause.) Humanity, justice
and religion combine to call upon us to abolish this foul blot.
But it is not England or Britain alone that is stained with this
crime. The democratic Republic of America shares in the
guilt. Oh ! the inconsistency of these apostles of liberty talk-
ing of freedom, while they basely and wickedly continue the
slavery of their fellow-men, the negroes of Africa ! A repub-
lican is naturally proud and high-minded, and we may make
the pride of the North American republicans the very weapon
by which to break down slavery ; for, if the example of Eng-
land were gone, they could not, in the face of the world, con-
tinue the odious and atrocious system one moment longer.
(Cheers.) Abolish it throughout the British colonies, and
away it goes in America. (Renewed cheers.)

Slavery is a crime, a high crime against Heaven, and its an-
nihilation ought not to be postponed. We have lately heard
a good deal of the iniquity of the East India Company, getting
money from the poor, infatuated wretches who throw themselves
beneath the wheel of Juggernaut's car. This is lamentable
indeed ; but what care I, whether the instrument of torture
be a wheel or a lash? (Applause.) I am against Jugger-
gernaut, both in the East Indies and West Indies, and am
determined, therefore, not to assist in perpetuating slavery. Is
it possible, that Avhere humanity, benevolence and religion are
combined, there can be doubt of success? The priests of
Juggernaut are respectable persons compared with those who
oppose such a combination, (applause) ; and I entreat you to
assist in the great work by becoming its apostles. — Speech de-
livered before the London Anti-Slavery Society, 1831.

I will now go to America. I have often longed to go there,
in reality ; but so long as it is tarnished by slavery, I will never
pollute my foot by treading on its shores. (Cheers.) In the
course of my Parliamentary duty, a few days ago, I had to ar-
raign the conduct of the despot of the North, for his cruelty to
the men, women and children, of Poland ; and I spoke of him
with the execration he merits. But, I confess, that although
I ha'te him with as much hatred as one Christian man can hate
another human being, viz. : I detest his actions with abhor-
rence, unutterable and indescribable ; yet there is a climax in

my hatred. 1 would adopt the language of the poet, but re-
verse the imagery, and say,

" In the deepest hell, there is a depth still more profound,"

and that is to be found in the conduct of the American slave-
owners. (Cheers). They are the basest of the base — the most
execrable of the execrable. I thank God, that upon the wings •
of the press, the voice of so humble an individual as myself
will pass against the western breeze — that it will reach the
rivers, the lakes, the mountains, and the glens of America —
and that the friends of liberty there will sympathize with me,
and rejoice that I here tear down the image of Liberty from
the recreant hand of America, and condemn her as the vilest
of hypocrites — the greatest of liars." (Long continued cheers.)
When this country most unjustly and tyrannically oppressed
its colonies, and insisted that a Parliament of borough-mongers
in Westminster should have the power of putting their long
fingers across the Atlantic into the pockets of the Americans,
taking out as much as they pleased, and, if they found any-
thi ng, leaving what residuum they chose — America turned round,
and appealed to justice, and she was right; appealed to hu-
manity, and she was right ; appealed to her own brave sword,
and she was right, and I glory in it. At that awful period,
when America was exciting all the nations of the world ; when
she was declaring her independence, and her inhabitants
pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, and
invoked the God of charity (whom they foolishly called the
God of battles, which he is not, any more than he is the God
of murder) — at that awful period, when they laid the foundation
of their liberty, they began with these words : " We hold these
truths to be self-evident ; that all men are created equal ; that
they ai^ endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness," Thus the American has acknowledged what he
cannot deny, viz., that God the Creator has endowed man with
those inalienable rights. But it is not the white man, it is not
the copper-colored man, nor is it the black man alone, who is
thus endowed ; it is all men who are possessed of these in-
alienable rights. The man, however, who cannot vote in any
State assembly without admitting this as the foundation of his
liberty, has the atrocious injustice, the murderous injustice, to
trample upon these inalienable rights ; as it were, to attempt
to rob the Creator of his gifts, and to appropriate to himself
his brother man, as if he could be his slave. (Cheers.) Shame

10

be upon America ! eternal shame be upon her escutcheon !
(Loud cheers.)

Shortly there will not be a slave in the British colonies.
Five lines in an Act of Parliament, the other night, liberated
nearly 500,000 slaves in the East Indies, at a single blow.
The West Indians will be obliged to grant emancipation, in
spite of the paltry attempts to prevent it ; and we will then
turn to America, and to every part of Europe, and require
emancipation. (Cheers.) No! they must not think that they
can boast of their republican institutions — that they can talk
of their strength and their glory. Unless they abolish slavery,
they must write themselves down liars, or 'call a general con-
vention of the States, and blot out tlie first sentence of their
Declaration of Independence, and write in its place, "Liberty
in America means the power to flog slaves, and to work them
for nothing." (Loud applause.) * * * *

The voice of Europe will proclaim the slave's deliverance,
and will say to him, " Shed no blood, but take care that your
blood be not shed." I tell the American slave-owner, that
he shall not have silence ; for, humble as I am, and feeble as
my voice may be, yet deafening the sound of the westerly
wave, and riding against the blast as thunder goes, it shall
reach America, telling the black man that the time for his
emancipation has come, and tlie oppressor that the period of
his injustice is soon to terminate ! (Clieers.) — Speech de-
livered at the G-reat Anti- Colonization Meeting in London,
1833.

Mr. O'Connell presented himself to the meeting, amid the
most enthusiastic cheers. After some remarks of a general
nature, the Hon. and learned gentleman proceeded to speak in
terms of severe censure of the conduct of the Americans, in
continuing to keep in bondage the bUick population in many
of their States. He did not wonder at the death pkgues of
New Orleans, or the devastation of its people, many of whom
enjoyed health and vigor at morn, and were lifeless at noon,
when they had committed or countenanced crimes which could
only be registered with the annals of Nicholas and the curses
of Poland.

The Hon. and learned r.ntleman read several extracts from
an American slaveholding Act, in which it was enjoined that
no judge, legislative member, barrister or preacher, should
speak or write anything against slavery, under the pain of
being sentenced to not less than three years, and not more
than twenty-one years' imprisonment, or death, at the discre-
tion of the court ! ! ! And that no American should teach a

11

slave to read or write, under tlio pain of not Icps than three
months, and not move than twelve months' imprisonment.
(Hear, hear.) The Hon. and learned gentleman flung this
black dishonor on the star-spangled banner of America — in
vain did it wave over every sea, proclaiming the honor of the
boasted republic of modern times — those who fought under it
were felons to the human race, (hear, hear,) traitors to liberty,
to their ow^n honor, and blasphemers of the Almighty. "The
red arm of God," continued the Hon. and learned gentleman,
"is bared; and let the enemies of those whom his Son died to
save, the black man as well as the white man, beware of its
vengeance ! The lightning careers through the troubled air
resistless, amidst the howling of the tempest and rolling of the
thunder. Oh, for one moment of poetic inspiration, that my
words, with the fire of indignation with which my bosom burns,
Diay be borne on the western breeze across the wide Atlantic,
light on their shores, reverberate among their mountains, and
be wafted down the rivers of America!" — Speech delivered at
an Anti-Slavery Meeting-in London, 1835.

He had given the Americans some severe but merited re-
proofs ; for which they had paid him wages in abuse and scur-
rility. He was satisfied that they had done so. He was ac-
customed to receive such wages in return for his labors. He
had never done good but he was vilified for his pains ; and he
felt that he could not sleep soundly were such opponents to
cease abusing him. (Cheers.) He would continue to earn
such wages. (Cheers.) By the blessing of God, he would yet
trample on the serpent of slave-owning cupidity, and triumph
over the hiss of the foul reptile, which marked its agony, and
excited his contempt. The Americans, in their conduct toward
their slaves, were traitors to the cause of human liberty, and
foul detractors of the democratic principle, which he had cher-
ished throughout his political life, and blasphemers of that
great and sacred name which they pretended to reverence. In
reprobation of their disgraceful conduct, his public voice had
been heard across the wide Atlantic. Like the thunder-storm
in its strength, it had careered against the breeze, armed with
the lightning of Christian truth. (Great cheering.) And, let
them seek to repress it as they may; let them murder and as-
sassinate in the true spirit of lynch law; the storm would wax
louder and louder around them, till the claims of justice bey
came too strong to be withstood, and the black man would
stand up, too big for his chains. It seemed, indeed — he hoped
what he was about to say was not profanation — as if the curse
of the Almighty had already overtaken them. For the first

12

time in their political history, disgraceful tumult and anarchy
had been witnessed in their cities. Blood had been shed with-
out the sanction of law, and even Sir Robert Peel had been
enabled — but he was here in danger of becoming political.
(Cries of No, no — Go on, and cheers.) Well, then, even Sir
Kobert Peel had been enabled to taunt the Americans with
gross inconsistency and lawless proceedings. He differed from
Sir Robert Peel on many points. (Laughter.) Every body
knew that. (Renewed laughter.) It was no doubt presump-
tion in him to differ from so great a man, but yet such was the
fact. (Laughter.) On one point, however, he fully agreed
with him. Let the proud Americans learn, that all parties in
this country unite in condemnation of their conduct ; and let
them algo learn that the worst of all aristocracies is that which
prevails in America — an aristocracy which had been aptly de-
nominated that of the human skin. The most ' insvifferable
pride was that shown by such an aristocracy. And yet he
must confess that he could not unclerstand snch pride. He
could understand the pride of noble descent. He could under-
stand why a man should plume himself on the success of his
ancestors in plundering the people some centuries ago. He
could understand the pride arising from immense landed pos-
sessions. He could even understand the pride of wealth, the
fruit of honest and careful industry. Yet when he thought of
the color of the skin making men aristocratic, he felt his as-
tonishment to vie with his contempt. Many a white skin cov-
ered a black heart ; yet an aristocrat of the skin was the
proudest of the proud. Republicans were proverbially proud,
and therefore he delighted to taunt the Americans with the su-
perlative meanness, as well as injustice, of their assumed airs
of superiority over their black fellow-citizens. (Cheers.) He
would continue to hurl his taunts across the Atlantic. And,
oh ! — but perhaps it was his pride that dictated the hope — that
some black 0' Council might rise among his fellow slaves, (tre-
mendous cheers,) Avho would cry. Agitate, agitate, (renewed
cheering,) till the two millions and a half of his fellow-suffer-
ers learned the secret of their strength — learned that they
were two millions and a half. (Enthusiastic cheers.) If there
was one thing which more than another could excite his hatred, it
was the laws which the Americans had framed to prevent the
instruction of their slaves. To be seen in company with a
negro who could write, was visited with imprisonment, (shame!)
and to teach a slave the principles of freedom was punished
with death. Were these human laws, it might be asked ? Were
they not laws made by the wolves of the forest? — No — they

18

were made by a congregation of two-legged wolves — American
wolves — monsters in human shape, who boast of their liberty
and of their humanity, while they carry the hearts of tigers
within them. (Cheers.) — Speech delivered at the Presentation
of the Emaneipation Society' s Address to 3Ir. O'Connell, 18o.3.
I hate slavery in all countries— the slavery of the Poles in
Russia under their miscreant tyrant, and the slavery of the
unfortunate men of color under their fellow-men, the boasted
friends of liberty in the United States. Let the slave leap up
for joy when he hears of the meeting of this day (cheers) ; let
liim have the prospect of freedom to cheer him in the decline
of life. (Cheers.) We ought to make our exertions strongly,
immediately, and unanimously. (Cheers.) Remember what
is taking place elsewhere. Only cast your eye across the At-
lantic, and see what is taking place on the American shores.
(Cheers.) Behold those pretended sons of freedom — those who
declared that every man was equal in the presence of his God
^ — that every man had an inalienable right to liberty — behold
tbem making, in tbe name of honor, their paltry honor, an
organized resistance in Southern Slave States against the ad-
vocates of emancipation. Behold them aiding in the robbery
committed on an independent State. See how they have seized
upon the territory of Texas, taking it from jMexico, Mexico
having totally abolished slavery without apprenticeship, (loud
cbeers,) in order to make it a new market for slavery. (Shame !)
Remember how they have stolen, cheated, swindled, robbed
that country, for the audacious and horrible purpose of perpet-
uating negro slavery. (Cries of " Shame !") Remember that
there is now a treaty on foot, in contemplation at least, be-
tween the Texans and the President of the United States, and
that it is only postponed till this robbery of Texas from Mexico
can be completed. Oh ! raise the voice of humanity against
these horrible crimes ! (Cheers.) There is about republicans
a sentiment of pride — a feeling of self-exaltation. Let us tell
these republicans, that instead of their being the highest in the
scale of humanity, they are the basest of the base, the vilest
of the vile. (Tremendous cheers.) My friends, there is a
community of sentiment all over the world, borne on the wings
of the press ; and what the humble individual who is now ad-
dressing you may state, will be carried across the waves of the
Atlantic ; it will go up the Missouri — it will be wafted along
the banks of the Mississippi — it will roach infernal Texas itself.
(Immense cheering.) And though that pandemonium may
scream at the sound, they shall suifer from the lash of human
indignation applied to their horrible crime. (Cheers.) If they

14

are not arrested in their career of guilt, four new States in
America will be filled with slaves. Oh, hideous breeders of
human beings for slavery ! Such are the horrors of that sys-
tem in the American States, that it is impossible, in this
presence, to describe them ; the mind is almost polluted by
thinking of them. Should the measures now contemplated by
the Americans be accomplished, these horrors will be increased
fourfold ; and men, with the human soul degraded, will be in a
worse state even than the physical degradation of human bodies.
(Cheers.) What have we to look to ? Their honor — their
generosity! We must expect nothing from their generosity.
(Cheers.) ' Sir, I cannot restrain myself. It was only tire other
day, I read a letter in The 3Iorning Chronicle, from their
Philadelphia correepondent. A j)erson, whose Indian name I
forget, (a voice, " Osceola,") but who was called Powell, had
carried on a war at the head of the Seminoles, and other
Florida tribes, against the people of Florida. He behaved
nobly, and bravely fought for his country; and he would have •
been deified as a hero had he fought in a civilized nation, and
testimonials would bave been reared to commemorate his deeds,
as great and numerous as those which have been raised to a
iSi^apoleon or a Wellington. But what happens to this warrior?
Why, these Americans, having made a iruce with him, invited
liim to a conference. He comes under the protection of that
truce. Thus confiding in their honor, is he allowed to return ?
Oh no ! He is not allowed to return, but is taken prisoner,
and carried captive to the fort. (Shame, shame!) Oh, cry
out shame, and let that cry be heard across the waves of the
mighty ocean ! (Cheers.) We are the teach'ers of humanity,
we are the' friends of humanity. What does it signify to us,
that the crime is not committed on British soil ! Wherever it
is committed, we are its enemies. (Cheers.) The American
it is true, boasts of having been the first to abolish the slave
trade carried on in foreign vessels. Why, he Avas. But what
was the consequence ? Every one of his own slaves at home
was made of more value to him. It was as>vindling humanity.
It was worse than our twenty millions scheme. It had the
guise of humanity, but had really the spirit of avarice and
oppression. (Cheers.) I, perhaps, ought to apologize for
detaining you (No, no ! Go on !) ; but we are all children of the
same Creator, heirs to the same promise, purchased by the
blood of the same Redeemer, and what signifies of what caste,
color or creed we may be ? (Cheers.) It is our duty to pro-
claim that the cause of the negro is our cause, and that we will
insist upon doing away, to the best of our human ability the

15

stain of slavery, not only from every portion of this mighty
empire, but from the face of the whole earth. (Cheers.) If
there be in the huts of Africa, or amidst the swamps of Texas,
a human being panting for liberty, let it be proclaimed to him
that he has friends and supporters among the great British
nation. (Cheers.) — Speech delivered at a Public Meeting of
■ Anti-Slaver^/ Delegates in London, 1837.

It is utterly impossible that any thing should exist more
horrible than the American slave-breeding. The history of it
is this : The Americans abolished tlie foreign slave trade earlier
than England, but with this consolation — no small comfort to
so money-loving a race as the slaveholders — that by such
abolition, they enhanced the price of the slaves then in America,
by stopping the competition in the home market of newly im-
ported slaves. Why, otherwise, was not the home trade stopped
as well as the foreign ? The reply is obvious.
' To supply the home slave trade, an abominable, a most
•hideous, most criminal, and most revolting practice of breed-
ing negroes exclusively for sale, has sprung up, and especially,
we are told, in Virginia. There are breeding plantations for
producing negroes, as there are with us breeding farms for pro-
ducing calves and lambs. And as our calf and lamb breeders
calculate the number of males of the flock to the females, simi-
lar calculations are made by the traffickers in human flesh.
One instance was mentioned to me of a human breeding farm
in America, which was supplied with two men and twelve
women. Why should I pollute my page with a description of
all that is immoral and infamous in such practice ? But only
think of the wretched mothers, whom nature compels to love
their children — children torn from thicm for ever, just at the
period that they could requite their mother's love ! The
wretched, wretched mother ! Who can depict the mother's
distraction and madness? "But their maternal feelings are,"
says a modern writer, " treated with as much contemptuous
indifi'erence, as those of the cows and ewes whose calves and
lambs are sent to the English market."

That it is which stains the character of the American slave-
holder, and leaves the breeder of slaves the most detestable of
human beings ; especially when that slaveholder is a republi-
can, boasting of freedom, shouting for liberty, and declaring,
as the charter of his liberal institutions, these are self-evident
truths, " that all men are created equal — that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights — that among
these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

My sole object in my speech at Birmingham, and present

16

object, is to rouse the attention of England and of Europe to
all that is cruel, criminal, and, in every sense of the Av<jrd, in-
famous, in the system of negro slavery in North America. My
deliberate conviction is, that until that system is abolished, no
American slaveholder ought to be received on a footing of
equality by any of the civilized inhabitants of Europe. — Let-
ter of Mr. O'Connell to the Editor of the London 3Iorning
Chroyncle, 1838.

I have no superfluous tears to shed for Ireland, and shall
show my love of my country by continuing my exertions to ob-
tain for her justice and good government; but I feel that I
have something Irish at my heart, which makes me sympathize
with all those who are suffering under oppression, and forces
me to give to universal man the benefit of the exertions which
are the consequence. (Cheers.) And what adds peculiarly to
the claim of Ireland for sympathy and support is, that in the
great cause of suffering humanity, no voice was ever raised, but
Ireland was found ready to afford relief and succor. — Speech %
delivered at a 3Ieetlng of the British India Society, London,
1839.

He then came to North America, and there, thank God, he
found much reason for congratulation. There were now pre-
sent forty representatives of American Abolition Societies to
aid them in the great struggle for human liberty. Let them
be honored, in proportion as the slave-holders were execrated.
Oh ! they had a hard battle to fight ! In place of being
honored as they were in this land, they had to encounter cool-
ness and outrage ; the bowie-knife and lynch law threatened
them ; they were Abolitionists at the risk of their lives.
(Cheers.) Glory to them ! A year or tAvo since, he made
some observations upon the conduct of the American Minister ;
he charged him with breeding slaves for sale ; he denied it ;
and, in order to prove who was right, he sent him [Mr. O'Con-
nell] a challenge to fight a duel. (Laughter.) He did not
accept it. Nothing would ever induce him to commit murder.
God had forbidden it, and he would obey him. (Cheers.) The
American Minister denied the charge, but he admitted that he
had slaves, and he admitted that he did afterwards sell some ;
so let him have the benefit of sucli a denial. (A laugh.) He
added, however, that he did not believe that slaves were bred
for sale in Virginia. Now, he wou^d read some few extracts
from Judge Jay's book, published in New York, in 1839. He
would call Mr. Stevenson's attention to page 88 of that book,
and that would prove to him, not only that slave-breeding ex-
isted in Virginia, but within twenty-five miles of his own resi-

/^-^

17

dcnco [The Honorable Gentleman read several extrnct?,
proving the practice ;' also several advertisements of lots of
slaves wanted for ready money, for shipment to New Orleans,
and dated in Richmond, the very place of Mr. Stevenson's re-
sidence.] He had established against the Ambassador, that
slave-raising did exist in Virginia. Yet all these things took
place in a civilized country — a civilized age — advertisements
of human flesh for sale, and written in even a more contemj)tu-
ous manner than if the subjects of them were cattle. The
trafiic in slaves from the North to the Southern States was im-
mense. In the latter, they were put to the culture of sugar —
a horrible culture, that swept oflF the whole in seven years —
every seven years there was a new generation wanted. This
was in a community calling themselves civilized. Why, they
were worse than the savage beasts of the desert, for they only
mangled when driven to it by hunger ; but this horrible prac-
tice is carried on by well-fed Americans for paltry pecuniary
profit — for that low 'and base consideration, they destroy an-
nually their tens and twenty thousands.

These scenes took place in a country, which, in all other
respects, had a fair claim to be called civilized — in a country
which had nobly worked out its own freedom — in a country
where the men were brave and the women beautiful. Amongst
the descendants of Englishmen — even amongst such was to be
found a horrible population, whose thirst for gold could only
be gratified at the expense of such scenes of human suff'ering ;
a population who were insensible to the wrath of God, who
were insensible to the cries and screams of mothers and chil-
dren, torn from each other for ever. But there was one thing
they would not be insensible to — they dare not, they would
not be insensible to the contempt of Europe. (Loud cheers.)
While they embraced the American Abolitionists as friends and
brothers, let none of the slave-owners, dealers in human flesh,
dare to set a foot upon our free soil. (Cheering.) Let them
call upon the Government to protest to America, that they
would not receive any slaveholding ambassador. (Loud cheer-
ing.) Let them declare that no slave-owner can be admitted
into European society ; and then Calhoun and Clay, and men
like them, who stand up putting forth their claims to be Pre-
sident of the great Republic, must yield to the pu1)lic, univer-
sal opinion. He had made mention of those two men — he
would only say that Calhoun was branded with the blood issu-
ing from the stripes of the slave, and Clay drowned in the
tears of the mothers and the children. (Cheers.) Let the
people of Europe say to slave-owners, " Murderers, you belong
2

IS

not to us ! Away to the desert, and herd Tvitli kindred sav-
ages!" (Cheers.) He begged pardon of the savage. (Laugh-
ter.) Sometimes in anger he committed heinous crimes, but
he "was incapable of coolly calculating how long or how hard
he could work a human being with a profit, — sometimes grant-
ing him a boon for the purpose of obtaining a year or two more
of labor out of him. Well, are we to remain passive as hither-
to? (Loud cries of "No, no !") Let our declaration also go
abroad. Let this Society adopt it — let the benevolence and
good sense of Englishmen make that declaration. If an
American addresses you, find out at once if he be a slave-
holder. (Hear, hear.) He may have business with you, and
the less you do with him, the better (a laugh) ; but the moment
that is over, turn from him as if he had the cholera or the
plague (cheers) — for there is a moral cholera and a political
plague upon him. (Cheers.) He belongs not to your country
or your clime — he is not within the pale of civilization or Chris-
tianity. (Cheers.) ]jet us rally for the" liberty of the human
race (applause) — no matter in what country or in what clime
he is found, the slave is entitled to our protection; no matter
of what caste, of what creed, of what color, he is your fellow-
man — he is sufi'ering injustice ; and British generosity, which
has done so much already, ought to be cheered to the task by
the recollection of the success it has already attained. (Cheers.)
* * * I am zealous in the cause, to be sure, but inefficient —
acknowledging the humility of the individual, I am still swelled
by the greatness of the cause. My bosom expfinds, and I glory
in the domestic struggle for freedom which gave me a title to
stand among you, and to use that title in the best way I can,
to proclaim humanity to man, and the abolition of slavery all
over the world. — Speech delivered at the Anniversary of the
British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, 1840.

From this spot, I wish to rouse all the high and lofty pride
of the American mind. Republicanism necessarily gives a
higher and prouder tone to the human mind than any other
form of government. I am not comparing it with any thing
else at present ; but all history shows there is a pride about
republicanism, which perhaps, is a consolation to the republi-
can for any privations he may suffer, and a compensation for
many things in which he may possibly be inferior ; but from
this spot, I repeat, I wish to rouse all the honesty and pride
of American youth and manhood ; and would that the voice
of civilized Europe would aid me in the appeal, and swell my
feeble voice to one shout of honest indignation : and when these
Americans point to their boasted Declaration of Independence,

/^i

19

exclaim, "Look at your pvactico I" Can there he faitli in
man, or reliance placed in human beings, who thus contrast
their action with their declarations ? * * * That was the first
phrase of their boasted Declaration of Independence. "What
was the last? — " To these principles we solemnly pledge our
lives," (invoking the name of the great God, and calling for
his aid,) " we solemnly pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our
sacred honor." It has the solemnity without the profanencss
of an oath ; it speaks in the presence of the living God ; it
pledges life, fortune, and sacred honor to the principles they
assert. How can they lay claim to "sacred honor," with this
dark, emphatic, and diabolical violation of their principles
staring them in the face ? No ! America must know that all
Europe is looking at her, and that her Senate, in declaring
that there is property in human beings, has violated her oath
to God, and " sacred honor" to men. Will the American come
down upon me, then, with his republicanism ? I will meet him
with the taunt, that he has mingled perjury with personal dis-
grace and dishonor, and inflicted both with a double barb into
the character of any man who claims property in any human
being. France, and even England, might possibly adopt buch
a resolution without violating their national honor, because iLey
have made no such declarations as America, and therefore biie
is doubly dyed in disgrace by the course she has taken, in upon
opposition to her own charter of Independence. * * * J icjuico
to hear the present agitation is striking terror into the hearts
of the slave-mongers, whose selfish interests, vile passions, and
predominant pride, with all that is bad and unworthy coai-
mingled, make them Avilling to retain their hold of human pro-
perty, and to work with the bones and blood of their fellow-
creatures ; whilst a species of democratic aristocracy, the
filthiest aristocracy that ever entered into civilized society, is
set up in the several States — an aristocracy that wishes to have
property without the trouble and toil of earning it, and to set
themselves above men, only to plunder them of their natural
rights, and to live solely upon their labor. Thus, the gratifica-
tion of every bad passion, and every base emotion of the human
mind is enlisted in defence of the slaveholder's right. "When
we turn our eyes upon America, we see in her Declaration of
Independence the display of the democratic element of popu-
lar feeling against every thing like tyranny or oppression.
But when I come to the District of Columbia, there I see in
the capital and temple of freedom, the negro chained to his
toil, and writhing beneath the lash of his taskmaster, and the
negress doomed to all the horrors of slavery. There I see

20

their infant, yet unable to understand vrliat it is that tortures
its father or distracts its mother ; "while that mother is cursing
its existence, because it is not a man, but a slave ; and almost
wishing — ah ! -vN-hat a "wringing thought to a mother's heart —
that the child might sink into an early grave, rather than be-
come the property of an excruciating tyrant, and the instru-
ment of "wealth to others, "without being able to procure com-
fort and happiness for itself. That is America ; that is the
land of the free ; these are the illustrations of the glorious
principles laid down in the Declaration of American Indepen-
dence ! These evils, inflicted as they are by the democratic
aristocracy of the States, are "worse than ever "were inflicted
by the most kingly aristocracy, or the most despotic tyranny.
I do not mean any thing off"ensive to our American friends
present, but I do say, there is written in letters of blood upon
the American escutcheon, robbery and murder, and plunder
of human beings. I recognize no American as a fcllo"w-man,
except those "who belong to anti-slavery societies. Those "who
uphold slavery are not men as "we are, they are not honest as
"we are ; and I look upon a slaveholder as upon a pickpocket,
"who violates the common laws of property and honesty.

They say that by their Constitution, they are prevented
from emancipating the slaves in the slaveholding States ; but
I look in the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitu-
tion of "1787, and I defy them to find a single word about
slavery, or any provision for holding property in man.

No man can deny the personal courage of the American peo-
ple. With the recollections of the battles of Bunker's Hill and
Saratoga, — of which, indeed, I might be reminded by the
portrait which hangs opposite to me, of one of the oflScers who
took an active part in those conflicts, (Earl of Moira,) —
with the recollection, I say, of those battles it would be dis-
graceful and dishonest to deny to the American people per-
sonal courage and bravery. There exists not a braver people
upon the face of the earth. But, amongst all those who com-
posed the Convention of 1787, there was not one man who
had the moral courage — I was about to say the immoral
courage — to insert the word slavery in the Constitution.
No ! they did not dare pronounce the word ; and if they did
not dare to use the word slavery, are they to be allowed to
adopt the thing ? Is America to shake her star-spangled
banner in the breeze, and boast of liberty, while she is con-
scious that that banner floats over the heads of slaves ? Oh,
but they call it "persons held to labor" — that is the phrase
they use in their Constitution ; but dare any one say that sla-

/fC

very is implied in those words ? The term applies to any
person who enters into a contract to labor, for a given period,
as by the month or year, or for an equivalent ; but his doing
so does not constitute him a slave, surely ; the very term is
disgraceful to nature, and an affront to nature's God. No
wonder the word was not in their declaration ; you would not
look to find words of injustice and cruelty in a declaration of
honesty and humanity. I repeat it, they have not used the
word. They meant slavery : they intended to have slaves,
but they dared not employ the word ; and " persons held to
labor" was as near as they dared approach to it. Can you con-
ceive of a deeper crime than slavery ? A crime which includes
in it injustice and cruelty, which multiplies robberies and
murders ! Ay, there is one thing worse even than tins, and
that is hypocrisy added to it. Let hypocrisy be superinduced
on injustice, and you have, indeed, a character fit to mingle
with the murky powers of darkness ; and the Americans (I
speak not of them all, there are many noble exceptions) have
added hypocrisy to their other accomplishments. They say
they have no power to emancipate their slaves : is that the
real reason ? It may be, that they have not power to do so
in some particular States ; but then, what shall be said of the
District of Columbia ? There they are not bound by any re-
striction ; yet in that District there are slaves, and there they
furnish further proof of their hypocrisy. Oh, say they, we
are the finest gentlemen, the wisest statesmen, and most pro-
found legislators in the world. We are ardent lovers of liberty,
we detest slavery, and we lament that we have not the power
to make all free. Then I whisper, Columbia ! Columbia !
You have the power there, you have the authority there, to
remove this foul blot ; you have the means and opportunities ;
you have, in short, every thing but the will : the will alone is
wanting ; and, with all your professions, you are hj^pocrites.

But I will now turn to a subject of congratulation : I mean
the Anti-Slavery Societies of America — those noble-hearted
men and women, who, through difficulties and dangers, have
proved how hearty they are in the caui^e of abolition. I hail
them all as my friends, and wish them to regard me as a
brother. I wish for no higher station in the world ; but I do
covet the honor of being a brother with these American Abo-
litionists. In this country, the Abolitionists are in perfect
safety; here we have fame and honor; we are lauded and en-
couraged by the good ; we are smiled upon and cheered by the
fair ; we are bound together by godlike truth and charity ; and
though we have our difl'erences as to points of faith, we have

22

no cliflfcrcnce as to this point, and we pi'oceed in our useful
career esteemed and honored. But it is not so with our anti-
slavery friends in America : there they are vilified, there they
are insulted. Why, did not very lately a hody of men — of
gentlemen, so called — of persons who would be angry if you
denied them that cognomen, and would even be ready to call
you out to share a rifle and a ball — did not such "gentlemen"
break in upon an Anti-Slavery Society in America; aye, upon
a ladies' Anti-Slavery Society, and assault them in a most
cowardly manner ? And did they not denounce the members
of that Society ? And where did this happen ? Why, in Boston
— in enlightened Boston, the capital of a non-slaveholding
State. In this country, the Abolitionists have nothing to com-
plain of; but in America, they are met with the bowie-knife
and lynch law ! Yes ! in America, you have had martyrs ;
your cause has been stained with blood ; the voice of your
brethren's blood crieth from the ground, and riseth high, not,
I trust, for vengeance, but for mercy, upon those who have thus
treated them. But you ought not to be discouraged, or relax
in your efforts. Here you have honor. A human being can-
not be placed in a more glorious position than to take up such
a cause under such circumst;inces. I am delighted to be one
of a Convention in which are so many of such great and good
men. I trust that their reception will be such as that their
zeal may be greatly strengthened to continue their noble
struggle. I have reason to hope that, in this assembly, a voice
will be raised which will roll back in thunder to America,
which will mingle with her mighty waves, and which wnll cause
one universal shout of liberty to be heard throughout the world.
Oh, there is not a delegate from the Anti-Slavery Societies of
America, but ought to have his name, aye, her name, written
in characters of immortality! The Anti-Slavery Societies in
America are deeply persecuted, and are deserving of every en-
couragement which we can possibly give them. I would that
I had the eloquence to depict their character aright ; but my
tongue falters, and my powers fail, while I attempt to describe
them. They are the true friends of humanity, and would that
I had a tongue to describe aright the mighty majesty of their
undertaking ! I love and honor America and the Americans.
I respect their great principles ; their untiring industry ; their
lofty genius ; their social institutions ; their morals, such morals
as can exist with slavery — God knows they cannot be many —
but I respect all in them or about them that is good. But, at
the same time, I denounce and anathematize them as slave-
holders, and hold them up to the scorn of all civilized Europe.

/f?

I would that the govcrnracnt of this country would tell the
United States of America, that they must send no more slave-
holdinii; neo;otiators here !

I will tell you a little anecdote. Last year, I was accosted
with great civility, by a well-dressed, gentleman-like person,
in the lobby of the House of Commons. He stated that he
w^as from America, and was anxious to be admitted to the
House. "From what State do you come?" "From Ala-
bama." "A slaveholder, perhaps?" "Yes." " Then," said
I, "I beg to be excused ;" and so I bowed and left him. Now,
that is an example which I wish to be followed. Have no in-
tercourse with a slaveholder. "You may, perhaps, deal with
him as a man of business, but, even then, you must act with
caution, as you would with a pickpocket and a robber. You
ought to be very scant of courtesy toward him, at least until
he has cleared himself of the foul imputation. Let us beware
of too much familiarity with such men ; and let us plainly and
honestly tell them, as a Convention, what we think of them.
I am not for the employment of force ; no — let all be done by
the statement of indisputable facts ; by the diffusion of infor-
mation ; by the union of benevolent minds ; by our bold de-
termination to expose tyranny and cruelty ; by proclaiming to
the slaveholders that, so long as they have any connection with
the accursed traffic in human beings, we hold them to be a
different race. Why should it not be so ? Why should we not
shrink from them, as we would with shuddering from the ap-
proach of the vilest reptiles ? The declaration of such views
and feelings from such a body of men as are now before me,
will make the slaveholders tremble. My voice js feeble, but I
have no doubt but what I say will reach them, and that it will
have some influence upon them. They must feel that they can-
not much longer hold the sway. One of the great objects of
my hope is to affright the Americans by laying hold upon their
pride, their vanity, their self-esteem,, by commending what is
excellent in them, and by showing how very far they come
short in those proprieties upon which they boast themselves. I
would have this Convention avail themselves of all such aids,
and to urge them by every possible argument to abandon the
horrid vice by which their character is so foully disfigured.
* * * We have proof this day that there are those who love
the cause of freedom in every part of the globe. And why
should it not be so? Why should not all unite in such a
glorious cause ? We are all formed by the same Creator ; we
are alike the objects of the same watchful Providence ; Ave are
all the purchase of the same redeeming blood ; we have one

21

common Siivicur ; isnd our hearts beat high v^'iih. the same im-
mortal hopes. And why should any portion of the human
race be shut out from our affection and regard ? * * * 0, let
our word go forth from this place, that we do not deem the
Americans Christians, by whatever name they are called,
whether Episcopalians, or Baptists, or Independents, or Metho-
dists, or whatever other name, — that we regard them not as
Christians at all, unless they cordially unite with us in this
great work. "We honor all that is really good in America, and
would have it all on our side in this glorious struggle — in this
holy cause. Let us unite and persevere, and, by the blessing
of God, and the aid of good men, freedom will, ere long, wave
her triumphant banner over emancipated America, and we
shall unite with the Avhole world to rejoice in the result. —
Speech at the World's Anti-Slavery Convention, held in Free-
mason s Hall, London, June, 184(3.

At a Special meeting of the Loyal National Repeal Associi-
tion, held in the Great Room, Corn Exchange, Dublin, May,
9, 1843, — James Haughton, Esq., in the chair, —

Mr. O'Connell said : — The Association had adjourned to
that day for the purpose of receiving a communication with
which they had been honored from the Anti-Slavery Society
of America — a body of men whom they most entirely respect
— whose objects should be cherished in their hearts' core —
whose dangers enhanced their virtues — and whose persevering
patriotism would either write their names on the pages of tem-
poral history, or impress them in a higher place, where eternal
glory and happiness would be the reward of their exertions.
(Cheers.) His impressions were so strong in favor of the Anti-
Slavery Society of America, that he thought it would not be
so respectful as he would desire, if he brought forward that
document in the routine of business on the last day, when it
could not be so much attended to as it deserved. (Hear, hear.)
It was out of respect to the people who sent that document, that
they had adjourned ; and he might say, that personal respect
for I he Chairman was mixed up with that consideration. (Cheers.)
They could not have sent a better message, or a more sincere
one ; and, if he now had the kindness to make the communi-
cation, they would receive it with the respect it deserved.
(Cheers.)

The Anti-Slavery Address having been read, —

Mr. O'Connell then said : — I rise with the greatest alacrity
to move that that most interesting document be inserted on the
minutes, and that the fervent thanks of the Repeal Association
of Ireland be by acclamation voted to the writers of it. I

/<^<^

V

25

never in my life heard anytliing read that imposed more upon
my feelings, and excited a deeper sympathy and sorrow within
me. I never, in fact, before knew the horrors of slavery in
their genuine colors. It is a production framed in the purest
eaV.it of simplicity, but, at the s;.nie lime, powerl'ul in its sen-
timents, so at once to reach the human heart, and stir up the
human feelings to sorrow and execration — sorrow for the vic-
tims, and execration for the tyrants. (Loud cries of hear,
hear, and cheers.) It will have its eifect throughout Ireland ;
for the Irish people' did not know what was, alas ! familiar to
you. Sir, and to me, — the real state of slavery in America, and
of the unequaled evils it inflicts ; for slavery, wherever it ex-
ists, is the bitterest jjotion that can be commended to the lips
of man. Let it be presented in any shape, and it must dis-
gust, for a curse inherent to it grows with it, and inflicts op-
pression and cruelty wherever it descends. (Hear, hear, and
cheers.) We proclaim it an evil ; and though, as a member of
this Association, I am not bound to take up any national
quarrel, still, I do not hesitate to declare my opinions; I never
pjaltered in my own sentiments. (Cheers.) I never said a
word in mitigation of slavery in my life ; and I would consider
myself the most criminal of human beings if I had done so.
(Hear, and cheers.)

Yes, I will say, shame upon every man in America, who is
not an anti-slavery man ; shame and disgrace upon him ! I
don't care for the consequences. I will not restrain my hon-
est indignatfon of feeling. I pronounce every man a faithless
miscreant, who does not take a part for the abolition of slav-
ery. (Tremendous cheering for several minutes.) It may be
said that ofi'ence will be taken at these words. Come what
may from them, they are my words. (Renewed applause.)
The question never came regularly before us until now. We
had it introduced collaterally ; we had it mentioned by per-
sons who were friends of ours, and who were endeavoring to
maintain good relations between us and the slaveholders, but
it is only now that it comes directly before us. We might
have shrunk from the question by referring the document to a
committee ; but, I would consider such a course unworthy of
me, enjoying as I do the confidence of the virtuous, the re-
ligious, and the humane people of Ireland ; for I would be un-
fit to be what I desire to consider myself, the representative
of the virtues of the people, if I were not ready to make every
sacrifice for them, rather than to give the least sanction to
human slavery.

They say that the slaves are worse treated since the cry of the

26

Abolitionists lias been raised in their favor, as it has made
theii* masters more suspicious of them, andpiore severe against
them ; but has that any vreight vrith me ? How often was I
told, during our agitation,that " the Catholics would be emanci-
pated but for the violence of that O'Connell!" (Laughter.)
Why, one of the cleverest men in the country wrote a pamphlet
in 1827, in which he stated that the Protestants of Ireland
would have emancipated their Catholic countrymen long be-,
fore, but for me, and fellows of my kind ; and yet, two years
after, I got emancipation in spite of them. (Cheers.) But it
is clearly an insult to the understanding to speak so. When
did tyranny relax its gripe merely because it ought to do so ?
(Hear.) As long as their was no agitation, the masters en-
joyed the persecution of their slaves in quietness ; but the mo-
ment the agitation commenced, they cried out, " Oh, it is not
the slaves we are flogging, but we are flogging through his
back the anti-slavery men." (Laughter.) But the subject is
too serious for ridicule. I am afraid they will never give up
slavery until some horrible calamity befalls their country; and
I here warn them against the event, for it is utterly impossible
that slavery can continue much longer. (Hear, hear.) But,
good Heaven ! can Irishmen be found to justify, or rather to
palliate, (for no one could dare attempt to justify,) a system
which shuts out the book of human knowledge, and seeks to
reduce to the condition of a slave, 2,500,000 human beings :
which closes against them not only the light of human science,
but the rays of divine revelation, and the doctrines which the
Son of God came upon the earth to plant ! The man who will
do so belongs not to my kind. (Hear, hear.) Over the broad
Atlantic I pour forth my voice, saying, " Come out of such a
land, you Irishmen ; or, if you remain, and dare countenance
the system of slavery that is supported there, we will recog-
nize you as Irishmen no longer." (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
I say the man is not a Christian, — he cannot believe in the
binding law of the Decalogue. He may go to the chapel or
the church, and he may turn up the whites of his eyes, but he
cannot kneel as a Christian before his Creator, or he would
not dare to palliate such an infamous system. No, America !
the black spot of slavery rests upon your star-spangled banner ;
and no matter what glory you may acquire beneath it, the
hideous, damning stain of slavery rests upon you, and a just
Providence will sooner or later avenge itself for your crime.
(Loud and continued cheers.) Sir, I have spoken the senti-
ments of the Repeal Association. (Renewed cheers.) There
is not a man amonirst the hundreds of thousands that belonii;

/fv

27

to our body, or amongst the millions that will belong to it, who
does not concur in what I have stated. We may not get money
from America after this declaration; but even if we should
not, we do not want blood-stained money. (Hear, hear.) If
they make it the condition of our sympathy, or if there be im-
plied any submission to the doctrine of slavery on our part, in
receiving their remittance, let them cease sending it at once.
But there are wise and good men every where, and there are
wise and good men in America — and that document which you
have read. Sir, is a proof, among others, that there are ; and
I would wish to cultivate the friendship of such men; but the
criminals and the abettors — those who commit, and those who
countenance the crime of slavery — I regard as the enemies of
Ireland, and I desire to have no sympathy or support from
them. (Cheers.)

I have the honor to move that this document be inserted in
full upon our minutes, and that the most grateful thanks of
the •Repeal Association be given to the Anti-Slavery Society
of America, who sent it to us, and in particular, to the two
office bearers, whose names are signed to it.

At a meeting of the Loyal National Repeal Association, in
Dublin, August 8,1843, Mr. O'Connell, in the course of a
powerful Anti-Slavery speech, said : —

A disposition was evinced in America to conciliate the
opinion of that Association in favor of the horrid system of
slavery, but they refused, of course, to show any sanction to it.
(Hear, and cheers.)

He had taken an active part m the Anti-Slavery Society
from the moment that he was competent to discover any one
body of men acting for the extinction of slavery all over the
world ; and he stood in that Association as the representative
of the Irish people, who had themselves suffered centuries of
persecution, because they were attached to humanity, and to
what justice and reason demanded ; for if they had chosen to
be silent, and had bowed to authority — if they had acquiesced
in the dictation of their'masters and tyrants, they would have
escaped many temporary sufferings, but they would not have
acquired the glory of having adhered with religious fidelity to
their principles. Standing as their representative, he could
not act otherwise than he had done, though the liberty of Ire-
land, the repeal of the Union itself, were to abide the result.
He was bound not to look to consequences, but to justice and
humanity ; and come Avhat would, he did not hesitate to throw
heart and soul into his opposition to the system that would
treat human beings as brute beasts of the field. He spoke

28

distinctly and emphatically, for as he wanted to make an im-
pression, he used harder words than he would have done, if he
did not know that harsh words were necessary to rouse the
selfish temperament of the domineering master of slaves. And
he did make that sensation, and he was glad of it.

At a meeting of the Loyal National Repeal Association, held
in Conciliation Hall, Dublin, Sept. 29th, 1845, Mr. O'Connell,
speaking on the subject of American slavery, said:

I have been assailed for attacking the American institution,
as it is called, negro slavery. I am not ashamed of that attack- —
I do not shrink from it. I am the advocate of civil and reli-
gious liberty all over the globe, and wherever tyranny exists, I
am the foe of the tyrant; wherever oppression shows itself, I
am the foe of the oppressor; wherever slavery rears its head,
I am the enemy of the system, or the institution, call it by
what name you will. (Great cheering.) I am the friend of
liberty in every clime, class, and color: — my sympathy with
distress is not confined within the narrow bounds of my own
green island — no, it extends itself to every corner of the earth
— my heart walks abroad, and wherever the miserable is to be
succored, and the slave is to be set free, there my spirit is at
home, and I delight to dwell in its abode. (Enthusiastic cheer-
ing.) It has been asked. What business has O'Connell to in-
terfere with American slavery? Why, do not the Americans
shov us their sympathy for our struggles, and why should we
not show a sympathy in eff'orts for liberty amongst themselves?
(Cheers.) But I confess I have another strong reason for de-
siring to abolish slavery in America. In no monarchy on the
face of the earth is there such a thing as domestic slavery. It
is true, in some colonies belonging to monarchies, slaver}^ exists ;
but in no European country is there slavery at all, for the Rus-
sian serf is far diff'erent from the slave of America, and there-
fore I do not wish that any lover of liberty should be able to
draw a contrast between the democratic republic of America
and the despotic States of Europe. (Hear, hear.) I am in
favor of the democratic spirit, and I wish to relieve it from the
horrors of slavery. (Cheers.) I do not wish to visit America
with force and violence — I would be the last man in the world
to consent to it. I would not be for making war to free the
negro; at least not for the war of knife, and lash, and sword;
but I would be for the moral warfare — I would be for the arms
of argument and humanity to procure the extinction of tyranny,
and to hurl contempt and indignation on those who call them-
selves freemen, and yet keep others in slavery. I would bring
elements of that kind to bear upon the system, until the very

29

name of slavery should be regarded ^vith horror in the republic
of America. (Cheers.) * * . * *

In the year '25, when I left my profession and went over to
England, there was an auti-slavery meeting, at which I Avas
present and spoke; and afterward, when I went to Parliament,
another meeting was appointed, greater in magnitude. The
West India interest was -7 strong in the House of Commons —
the Algerine bill was carried through the House by a majority
of 19 — therefore, the emancipation bill was in the power of the
West India interest; but when they sent a respected friend of
mine (the Knight of Kerry) to me, to ask why I did not take
a certain course with regard to it, what was my answer? "I
represent the Irish people here, and I will act as the Irish
people will sanction. Come liberty, come slavery to myself, I
■will never countenance slavery, at home or abroad !" (Cheers.)
I said I came here on principle ; the Irish people sent me here
to carry out their principles; their principles are abhorrent of
slavery ; and, therefore, I will take my part at that anti-slavery
meeting; and though it should be a blgAS against Ireland, it is
a blow in favor of human liberty, and I will strike that blow.
(Cheers.) So far was I from cultivating the slavery interest,
that I adopted that course, though I regretted to lose their
votes. But I must do them the credit to say, that I did not
lose them. They acted nobly, and said they would not revenge
upon Ireland my attack upon them. (Cheers.) * * Let
them blame me — in America let me be execrated by them — let
their support be taken from Ireland — Slavery, I denounce you
wherever you are ! (Loud cheers.) Come freedom, come op-
pression to Ireland — let Ireland be as she may — I will have my
conscience clear before my God. (Continued cheers.) * * *

They were told that the speech he made in that room would
put an end to the remittances from America; and that the Ame-
ricans would not again contribute to the funds of the Associa-
tion. If they should never get one shilling from America, his
course was plain, his path was obvious. He was attached to
liberty ; he was the uncompromising hater of slavery wherever
it was to be found. (Cheers.)

Have I traduced the Americans, when I talked of the horrors
of domestic slavery ? I happened to receive a New Orleans
paper, published in the centre of domestic slavery — it is called
the Jeffersonian liejnibtic, and I shall read an extract from it.
By that I perceive that, in connection with the institution of
slavery in New Orleans — for I find that, in America, they call
it an institution — there are public whipping places; men are
licensed to keep shambles of torture (hear, hear) ; the master

30

sends his slave to those shambles, there to get one hundred
lashes, and the man gets the hundred lashes, or whatever de-
gree of punishment his master desires. (Hear, hear.) There
are actually shambles kept there for the torture of slaves, and
there are persons who earn a livelihood — what a hideous live-
lihood!— by flogging human beings at the instance of those
who are called their masters. (Hear, hear.) Am I to blame
if I attack a system of that kind? (Hear, hear.) Male or
female, young or old, whipped at the discretion of a man whose
only limit is not actually killing the individual! (Hear, hear.)
They would thus make the slave declare whether he is guilty
of a theft or not. Are they, I ask, Christian men who endure
to see these scenes going on around them? (Hear, hear.) Re-
collect that this is not the statement of a calumniator, or a
libeler, or foreign emissary, but it is the statement published
in the darkest hole of slavery, New Orleans itself. (Hear,
hear.) — Speech before the Dublin Rejjeal Association, Septem-
ber, 1844.

ADDRESS

FROM THE MEMBERS OF THE CUFFE-LANE TEMPERANCE
SOCIETY TO THEIR BRETHREN IN AMERICA.

DuBLix, February, 1847.

To Irishmen in America ;

Countrymen: From recent information that we have re-
ceived on the subject of slavery, as it exists in the country of
your adoption, our fiearts have been warmed afresh with zeal
on behalf of freedom, and our sympathies re-kindled in favor
of the American slave, who is deprived of all his rights, and
subjected to the irresponsible will of his master.

Countrymen ! our hearts burn Avith indignation at the
thoughts of this injustice to our felloAV-creatures, who are
children of the same God as we are, and destined to a similar
glorious end.

We have heard, fellow-countrymen, with feelings of deep
sorrow, that many of you are indift\'rent to the wrongs of the
slave, and that some are to be found even in the raid<s of those
who chain, and whip, and lacerate him; and who, without pity
or remorse, forcibly separate husbands and wives, parents and

.^^/

31

children, selling tlicm at the auction-table to the highest
bidder !

By all your memories of Irishmen, by all your love of Fa-
therland, -we entreat you not to disgrace the land of your birth,
by aiding the tyrant in the land of your adoption to rivet the
chains on his victim !

What right have you to enslave the colored man? Did not
God create him in His own image as well as 3^ou? If you are
authorized to keep him in bondage, show us your license from
the Lord of earth and heaven !

God has placed an instinct within your bosoms, which tells
you that "man is created free and equal, and that all are alike
entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Countrymen! Ave appeal to you in the name of the Declara-
tion of Independence, which guarantees to every inhabitant of
the United States of America the priceless boon of liberty, but
which instrument has been basely trampled under foot, in rela-
tion to three millions of the people of that republic.

On the fourth day of July, every year, you and every citizen
of America celebrate your freedom from political servitude.
Perform this act of hypocrisy no more, until the colored man
can unite in the joyful hymn of thanksgiving.

In a word, countrymen, we call upon you to be true to the
principles of Liberty and Justice. Pursue a contrary course,
and you will disgrace your country, and impede her advance-
ment on the road of freedom.

"We need your sympathy, as you need ours, for the promotion
of the principles of Truth and Justice at home and abroad; and
neither of us can help the other, if we are false to God's light
in our own hearts.

We remain, countrymen and friends, faithfully yours,

John Spratt, D. D., President of the Society,

Chapel House, Angier St., Dublin.

James Haughton — and 881 others.

TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OE O'CONNELL.

[From the Annual Report of the Massachusetts A. S. Society, 1S47.]

The last year has been marked in the annals of Ireland,
and of the world, by the death of the great O'Conncll. This
is no place to recount his history or to pronounce his eulogy.

32

It is for others to tell his labors in behalf of the great move-
ments for the Relief of his Religion, for the Reform of Par-
liament, and for the Repeal of the Union. But to his ear-
nestness in the canse of West Indian Emancipation, his
readiness to denounce the Colonization imposture when ex-
posed to him by Mr. Garrison, his indignant contempt of
slaveholders and their apologists, and his consistent hatred of
Slavery and readiness to co-operate with the Abolitionists, we
may be permitted to pay the tribute of our admiration and
gratitude. He died at Genoa, on the 15th of May, 1847, in
the 72d year of his age, while upon a pilgrimage to the me-
tropolis of his ancient Faith, of which he was ever a zealous
votary and a duteous son. But his frame was too much shat-
tered by his toils and sufferings to permit him to reach the
Head of his Church. Few men have left behind them a more
famous name, or one that excites more opposite emotions in
the hearers' minds. No one of his times was better hated
and better loved than he. No man's character was submitted
to such opposite constructions. But when the evil and the
good that he has left behind him shall be pondered in the im-
partial balance of posterity, we believe that his services in
the cause of civil and religious liberty, his recognition of
moral power and the renunciation of violence and bloodshed
of his later years, will be found to outweigh his errors, and
that he will be recognized as among the foremost of the friends
of mankind.

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