Kitabı oku: «Thoughts on African Colonization», sayfa 20

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A VOICE FROM HARRISBURG

Harrisburg, Pa., October, 1831.

At a large, well informed and respectable meeting of the citizens of Harrisburg, convened at the African Wesleyan Methodist church, for the purpose of expressing their sentiments in a remonstrance against the proceedings of the American Colonization Society, Rev. Jacob D. Richardson was called to the chair, and Jacob G. Williams appointed secretary. After singing and prayer, Rev. Mr Richardson in some concise remarks, – equalled by few, and exceeded by none, – expressed the object of the meeting. The chairman called the house to order, and the following resolutions were unanimously acceded to:

Resolved, That we hold these truths to be self-evident, (and it is the boasted declaration of our independence) that all men (black and white, poor and rich) are born free and equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is the language of America, of reason, and of eternal truth.

Resolved, That we feel it to be our duty to be true to the constitution of our country, and are satisfied with the form of government under which we now live; and, moreover, that we are bound in duty and reason to protect it against foreign invasion. We always have done so, and will do so still.

Resolved, That we view the efforts of the Colonization Society as officious and uncalled for by us. We have never done any thing worthy of banishment from our friends and home: but this we would say – if the Colonization Society will use their best endeavors to get our slave brethren transported to Liberia, when we as a free body of people wish to go, we will give the colonizationists timely notice.

Resolved, That it is the firm and decided opinion of this meeting, that were there no free people of color among us, or if those who are free had remained in the degraded character of slaves, (or, as they sometimes call us, monkeys, apes and baboons,) they would never have got up the chimerical scheme for our transportation to the burning shores of Africa, with the fancied vision of elevating us, as they say, to dignity and affluence.

Resolved, That we cannot remain inactive while colonizationists are straining every nerve and racking their inventions to find out arguments to persuade our free colored brethren to migrate to an unknown land, which we can no more lay claim to than our white brethren can to England or any other foreign country.

Resolved, That we reject the inhuman and unchristian measures taken by the Colonization Society, for the illumination of the colored citizens of the United States, their appropriate home, in a land of sickness, affliction and death, when they are not willing, with few exceptions, to give us a christian education while among them. We would wish to know of the colonizationists, how, in the name of common sense and reason, do they expect to do any thing for us thousands of miles across the Atlantic, when they oppose almost every measure taken by our white friends and brethren to improve our condition here?

Resolved, That it is the united opinion of this meeting, that the enemies of our race, who are members of the Colonization Society, see that the great Author of universal existence, who 'is no respecter of persons,' who taught Balaam's ass to speak, and taught Solomon wisdom, is now enlightening the sable sons of America: hence their object to drain the country of the most enlightened part of our colored brethren, so that they may be more able to hold their slaves in bondage and ignorance.

Resolved, That we object to leaving the land of our birth, as there is sufficient land in these United States, on which a colony can be established that would be far more consonant to the wishes of the colored population generally, and would be more adapted to their constitution: neither would it involve the country in such expense as would be incurred by sending them to a howling wilderness, far away from the graves of their forefathers, unknown to us in every respect, unless by geography, which few of us understand.

Resolved, That this meeting look upon the Colonization Society as a vicious, nefarious and peace-disturbing combination, and that its leaders might as well essay to cure a wound with an argument, or set a dislocated bone by a lecture on logic, as to tell us their object is to better our condition; because its members acknowledge slavery to be a national evil, and use no means to annihilate it, but are exerting all their energies and influence to persuade the free people of color to remove to Africa, whose rights to Columbia's happy soil holds good with any other citizen in America.

Resolved, That we look upon the conduct of those clergymen who have misled their respective congregations with the preposterous idea of the necessity of transporting the free people of color to Africa, as highly deserving the just reprehension directed to the false priests and prophets by the true prophets of the Most High; yet we gratefully acknowledge the respect we entertain for those who have defended our cause – we mean our white friends.

Resolved, That this meeting appoint Mr George Chester of Harrisburg, as agent for the Liberator, and will use our utmost endeavors to get subscribers for the same.

Resolved, That we will support the Colony in Canada, the climate being healthy and the rights of our brethren secured.

Resolved, That the gratitude of this meeting, which is so sensibly felt, be fully expressed to the Editors of the Liberator and Genius of Universal Emancipation, Messrs Garrison and Lundy, whose independence of mind and correct views of the rights of man have led them so intrepidly to speak in favor of our cause.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to the Liberator for publication.

JACOB D. RICHARDSON, Chairman.

Jacob G. Williams, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM ROCHESTER

Rochester, N. Y., October, 1831.

A large number of the colored citizens of Rochester having convened themselves together, for the important object of taking into consideration the anti-republican principles of the American Colonization Society, the Rev. Mr Johnson was called to the chair, and Mr A. Lawrence was appointed secretary.

The meeting was then briefly addressed by the secretary as follows:

Countrymen and Brothers – When viewing the inhumanity and anti-christian principles of the American Colonization Society, in plotting our removal to Africa, (which is unknown to us as our native country,) it seems as though we were called upon publicly to express our feelings on the subject. We do not consider Africa to be our home, any more than the present whites do England, Scotland, or Ireland. This is the land our fathers have tilled before us; this is the land that gave us our birthright. – The meeting then

Resolved, That we never will remove to Africa; but should any of our brethren wish to emigrate, we would recommend Canada as a country far more congenial to our constitutions; – that we give our most sincere thanks to our friendly advocates Messrs Garrison and Knapp, and Mr Benjamin Lundy, who are crying unto their fellow men, night and day, to let their countrymen go free: they will be called blessed by many generations yet to come. The Colonization Society say that they cannot treat us as men while we are with them; but if we will go out of their reach, they will begin their charity. What should we think of such religion as this? Because our skin is a little darker than theirs, they say they cannot think of treating us as men. The scripture says, 'Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing' – and such they seem to be. We earnestly believe, with our generous friend Garrison, that it would not be a hard matter to exceed them in doing right. Our blessed Lord said, that we should do to all men as we would have them do to us. Now what would they think, if we should tell them that they would be better off in New Holland or in Tartary?

Resolved, That we will do all in our power to support the Liberator, printed by Mr Garrison, and all other works in our behalf.

Resolved, That the foregoing proceedings be published in the Liberator.

HENRY JOHNSON, Chairman.

A. Lawrence, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM PROVIDENCE

Providence, November 1, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of the colored people of Providence, R. I., duly appointed and publicly holden at the African church, on the 31st of October, 1831, to take into consideration the objects and motives of the American Colonization Society, Mr George C. Willis was called to the chair, and Mr Alfred Niger appointed secretary. The meeting was then addressed at some length by the chairman, stating their object in assembling together, and exposing the injustice and prejudice by which he believed the friends of African colonization were actuated. The following preamble and resolutions were read by the secretary, and unanimously adopted:

Whereas our brethren, in different parts of the United States, have thought proper to call meetings to express their disapprobation of the American Colonization Society; we, concurring fully with them in opinion, have assembled ourselves together for the purpose of uniting with them, in declaring that we believe the operations of the Society have been unchristian and anti-republican, and at variance with our best interests as a people. Therefore,

Resolved, That we will use every fair and honorable means in our power, to oppose the operations of the above mentioned Society.

Resolved, That we are truly sensible that we are in this country a degraded and ignorant people; but that our ignorance and degradation are not to be attributed to the inferiority of our natural abilities, but to the oppressive treatment we have experienced from the whites in general, and to the prejudice excited against us by the members of the Colonization Society, their aiders and abettors.

Resolved, That we view, with unfeigned astonishment, the anti-christian and inconsistent conduct of those who so strenuously advocate our removal from this our native country to the burning shores of Liberia, and who with the same breath contend against the cruelty and injustice of Georgia in her attempt to remove the Cherokee Indians west of the Mississippi.

Resolved, That we firmly believe, from the recent measures adopted by the freemen of the city of New Haven, in regard to the establishment of a College for our education in that place, that the principal object of the friends of African colonization is to oppose our education and consequent elevation here, as it will deprive them of one of their principal arguments for our removal.

Resolved, That as our fathers participated with the whites in their struggle for liberty and independence, and believing with the Declaration of that Independence, 'that all men are created free and equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;' and as we have committed no crime worthy of banishment – Therefore

Resolved, That we will not leave our homes, nor the graves of our fathers, and this boasted land of liberty and christian philanthropy.

Resolved, That, our unfeigned and sincere thanks be tendered to Messrs Garrison and Knapp, and to every true friend to our cause, for their unwearied and truly benevolent exertions in our behalf.

Resolved, That we will earnestly recommend the Liberator, published in Boston by the above mentioned gentlemen, to the patronage of our friends throughout the country.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and sent to Boston, with the request that they may be published in the Liberator.

GEORGE C. WILLIS, Chairman.

Alfred Niger, Secretary.

A VOICE FROM TRENTON

Trenton, November 30, 1831.

At a respectable meeting of the free people of color in Trenton, convened in the Mount Zion church, November 30, 1831, for the purpose of considering the subject of colonization on the coast of Africa – On motion, the Rev. Lewis Cork was called to the chair, and Abner H. Francis appointed secretary. The meeting was addressed by Messrs Gardener and Thompson; after which, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Resolved, Inasmuch as we, free people of color, have done all that is in our power to convince the white inhabitants of these United States, that it is our wish to live peaceably with all men; and inasmuch as our general demeanor has been that of industry and sobriety, notwithstanding there are some among us to the contrary, as well as among the whites; therefore we do most solemnly declare, that the statements made to the contrary by the Rev. Mr Crosby, in his late addresses in this city, and all statements by petitioners to legislative bodies, and by the Colonization Society, or any thing of the same nature, are a positive libel on our general character.

Resolved, Whereas we have lived peaceably and quietly in these United States, of which we are natives, and have never been the cause of any insurrectionary or tumultuous movements as a body, that we do view every measure taken by any associated bodies to remove us to other climes, anti-christian and hostile to our peace, and a violation of the laws of humanity.

Resolved, That if, in the opinion of government, our stay or liberty can no longer be granted in the States in which we live, we see nothing contrary to the constitution of these United States, or to christianity, justice, reason or humanity, in granting us a portion of the Western territory, as a state, with the same franchise as that of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or any other free State; for we challenge the Union to prove that, as free men, we have ever given the least ground for the uncharitable censures that have been cast upon us.

Resolved, That we view the American Colonization Society as the most inveterate foe both to the free and slave man of color; forasmuch as the agents thereof, and its members who have petitioned the several legislatures, have unequivocally declared its object, to wit, the extermination of the free people of color from the Union; and to effect this they have not failed to slander our character, by representing us as a vagrant race; and we do therefore disclaim all union with the said Society, and, once for all, declare that we never will remove under their patronage; neither do we consider it expedient to emigrate any where, but to remain in the land and see the salvation of God. Nevertheless, if any of our brethren should be compelled or see proper to emigrate, we would recommend to them Upper Canada or Mexico.

Resolved, That we view with the highest emotion of gratitude, the benevolence of Great Britain and that of the Canada Company, in affording an asylum in the Wilberforce settlement, in Upper Canada, for our oppressed brethren of the South, who have been or may be forced, by unconstitutional laws, to leave their rightful home and place of nativity, without any cause except that of having a dark skin.

Resolved, That this meeting approve the establishment of a college, as recommended by the Annual Convention held in Philadelphia last June, and that we give all possible aid to that institution.

Resolved, That we view the Liberator, edited by William Lloyd Garrison, as a great herald in the cause of liberty, and that we recommend to the colored citizens of Trenton the utility of subscribing to the above named paper.

Resolved, That there be a committee of three appointed to draft an address more expressive of our views on the above subject.

Resolved, That the following persons compose that committee – Sampson Peters, Robert Thomas, George Cole.

LEWIS CORK, Chairman.

Abner H. Francis, Secretary.

ADDRESS

We, the undersigned, in conformity to the above appointment, beg leave to present to the public, in a calm, unprejudiced manner, our decided disapprobation of the American Colonization Society and its auxiliaries, in relation to the people of color in the United States. We are well convinced, from the mass that has been written on the above subject by those who have preceded us, that it will be difficult to avoid repetition; nevertheless; we hope to touch some points which have not been fairly understood by that Society. They have supposed that our objections are to civilizing and evangelizing Africa; but we beg leave to say, that it is an error. We are well aware, that there is no surer way to effect this great object than to plant among the heathen, colonies of Christian missionaries. We wish, therefore, to be understood, that we highly approve of the evangelizing of Africa, but disapprove of the present measures of the American Colonization Society, if their motives have not been misrepresented by their agents and others, in some previous addresses in this city and elsewhere. But viewing them as we now do, we must say that, in our opinion, their false representations of our general character – their recommending our removal from our native land – their opposition to our having a part of the West appointed to us – their objections to our proposed college, and of our march to science – their false statements in relation to the health of the colony at Liberia, with a variety of other subjects of the same nature – all lead to a conclusion, that it is our greatest foe.

We would here ask the public a few questions. First – Is the gospel of Jesus Christ calculated to lead to insurrectionary measures? If so, why then send it to the heathen? Second – What gentleman, who has set his slaves free, has been murdered by them for so doing? Third – What have those States, who have washed their hands clean of the cursed stain of slavery, lost by it? Fourth – What neighborhood, where education and general information have been disseminated among the people of color, is the worse for it?

In closing our remarks, we would say, that we do think that the subjects looked to by the Colonization Society, to civilize Africa, are incompetent; for we do suppose that men selected for such an important enterprise, should be men of deed and sound piety – men of regular and industrious habits, of scientific knowledge and general experience: that such men can be obtained, we have no doubt; and if there cannot, let us first prepare some in this country.

A VOICE FROM LYME

Lyme, Ct., January 9, 1832.

At a respectable meeting of the colored citizens of this place, held pursuant to public notice – Mr Luther Wright was called to the chair, and Mr Daniel R. Condol appointed secretary.

After some animated remarks by Messrs Wright and Condol, it was

Resolved, That it is the sincere opinion of this meeting, that the American Colonization Society is one of the wildest projects ever patronised by a body of enlightened men; and further, that many of those who support it would be willing, if it were in their power, to drive us out of existence.

Resolved, That though we be last in calling a meeting, we feel no less the pernicious influence of this Society than the rest of our brethren; and that we will resist every attempt to banish us from this our native land.

Resolved, That we place unshaken reliance upon the promises of Jehovah, and believe that he will take our reproach away, and give freedom to those who are held in captivity.

Resolved, That we are not for insurrection, but for peace, freedom and equality.

Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be rendered to Messrs Garrison and Knapp, for their benevolent exertions in behalf of the oppressed descendants of Africa; and that they be requested to insert these proceedings in the Liberator.

LUTHER WRIGHT, Chairman.

Daniel R. Condol, Secretary.

A VOICE PROM LEWISTOWN

Lewistown, Pa., January 9, 1832.

At a numerous meeting held by the free people of color of the borough of Lewistown, in the African Methodist Episcopal church, Samuel Johnston was called to the chair, and Martin Johnston appointed secretary. The following resolutions were then read, and unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That we will not leave these United States, the land of our birth, for a home in Africa.

Resolved, That we will strenuously oppose the colonizing of the free people of color in Liberia.

Resolved, That we are willing to emigrate to any part of the United States which may be granted to us.

Resolved, That we will support the Liberator, a paper published in Boston, edited by William Lloyd Garrison; and also the colony in Upper Canada as an asylum for our oppressed brethren.

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare an address to be published in the Liberator.

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and forwarded to the editor of the Liberator for publication.