OCR Text |
Show !4G APPF:l"O IX. Boanl or l\lanagers of the building made a concise s la ternen l of the pmposes for which it wa~ erccled . or this statement we here in se rt a copy. « .\ numbc1• of incli,·idu:~ls of 111l sect!!, nnd tl•nsc of no s~ct,-of :11\ p~u·ti cs, am\ those of no p!ll'l)'- heing •lcsit·ous tl!:•t th? citizen! ~f l,!,ibtlclplti:• shou_ld poss(:ss 11 room, 11 hct·cin . the JWiuciples of J,iberty, :t1HI ['.fJil rilii!J r.j Cw1l fl_1ght~ e~_m h\ be_ h•ccly d1scus~cd, am\ the cvtls_ ot sir •• vc1·y fclld cssly pn•·~r:I)' Ctl, _lt:llc cl'l·~~c•l tl11s lnll ldm_g, wine~• ~c :u·~ now about ~o llctllcatc to Lih<'t'ty a1u l t l1c H• !!;l•t~ ol 'lm1. ll u..' total cost ol tl•c \u,,\,\ •ng 11 1ll he ah?''~ 4),0-JO dollnt·s. Tlti ~ has been 1!i1·idl'd into two thousrmtl sl•m·cs of twenty dollars cnch. A tn!I.]Ot'tly ol the stockholdct ·s :ll"c mcchimics, m· working mcu, :lml (as is the Cl.lsc in almost C\'CI'Y Olhct· good wot·k,) M numbcl' at·c t;·nmks. The lmillliug is uot to be used jo1· anti-allwcry fnwposes alo11c, It will be I'Cn l_crl ft-om time to timP in such pm·tions 11s slmll ht·st suit :opplic:u•ts, fot· OIIJI prtt·pr1u not (lj an tm1n(lrfll character. ]'t is called " I 1CIIIl9yfvauia //all," iu L't•ti:t·cncc to ti >C pt·inciples or PcnllS) lvnni:t: ami oul" .\lotlo, like that of tl•c commonwealth, is " VtnTul:, I.t 111:11·rr, A Nil ]'i!IJ:p r: ,'i u•:~ct:." After the readi ng of lette rs from seve ral individuals of note, in difl'erent parts of the country, the dedicatory ad(.h·ess, an eloquent eJ l"ort of a g ifted mind, was pronounced by one of' ou r di stinguished citizens. His manly advocacy of sound principl es- even though marred, ns we cou ld not but think by some rem arks nC'a r h is conclu:: iott, whi ch we re inconsisten t wi1h the main tenor of his di~cotHse, certainly ought not to h ~ve rendered eithe r him or the place in which he s poke obnoxious to violenr.e. The exercisf's of the afternoon anJ evening-lyceum aJdresses and discussions, and the :Hivocacy of the cau::;e of temperance by one of our fellow citizens, and an eminent champion of that good cause from a sister state, and that too, a slavehuiJing state, furnished an exemplification of the principles of impartia! freedom on which the managemcll l of the !I all was to be conducted. On the next day, an appropriate dedicatory poem was recited , copiei: l of which are already in tiJC ltanJs of hundreds , and may be of hundreds more, if they choose to procure them, :tnd ascertain whether the effus ion cont:1 ins any just provocation to outrage. T he importance and rightfuln ess of free discu ssion were then ::set forth by one speaker, and an appeal in behalf of the American Aborigines was made by another. Strange, iudeed may we well think it, if eithe r of these topics s hou ld exc ite the ire of Phil atlelphians. [n the afternoon, the Lyceum again occupied the building, and in the eveni ng another chnrnpion for free tliscussion appearetl in the person of a di::stinguishctl member of our state L egisla ture , and the right of petition was nwin tail!ed by Alvan Stewa rt, of New York. On the morning of the 1Gt h, at eig ht o'cloc l{, the Stu to Society me t, appointf'd its commiltees, made arrangements for its subseque nt sessions, and at ten gave way for the commencement of a full and free discuss ion of slavery, emancipation, whether immetliate or gradual, colo ni zation , and a ll other topics conn ected with these. This discu ss ion hatl been announced on the pre vious day, anti to it had been invitetl the advocates of every poss ible variety of se ntiment on the subjects me ntioned-s laveholders , colonizationists, g radualists, immediat ists, fri ends and roes, and neutrals, and mitldle ground men, if any such there are. Could any thing more be reasonably demanded by the most strenuous tlefendet· of slavery itse lf, or of any pract ice or doct rine, which, a$ abolitionists, we oppoee? And is not the measu re finally adopted by our opponen ts, conclu sive evide nce, under th ese circumstances, that s lavery Cll n never endure the light, but mu~t perish under the scorching rays of free in~es tigation; and that the various schemes resorted to for palliating its evils, and gradually effecting its abolition, are in the same condemnation? The discussion of \Vedn esday morning, it is tru e, was nearly all on one, and that on the right s ide, but it was only because the champions of error shrunk from the contest-not because a fair field was not ofrered them. A second session of the State Society occupied the firs t two hours of the AlJDitESS ur TilE E XL:CUTI\'E CUl\IMI'I TEE. 147 afternoon, and the remaindor was devoted, by a very n umerous auditory, to hearing from Alvan Stewart a calm and d ispassionate address on slavery. Before proceed ing fu rthe r, it may be proper to fall back in order of tim e, and me nti on that on the 15th, a large and highly rcspcetaLle AntiSlavery Con ve ntion of American Women h ad as~emblc d in the sess ion room of the Uall, in pursuance of an adjournment from last spring; and that the oceasion had brought together many of tlte noblest minds, and of the best and purest hearts :1mong the women of om country,-minds r.a pable of grasp ing , with pre\'ai ling strength, subjccL'i of a 1nagnitude and difficulty, which masc uline vigor would deem it an honor to master,-and hearts that, while they could melt and bleed for human wo, could also dare high things for the promotion of human h appiness, and beat with calm and even pulse in the presence of dange r encountered in the path of duty. A strong desire had been expressed by many in the c ity, to hear some of these able pleade rs for the cause uf truth and humanity; and it was arranged that on the evening of the 16th, a meeting should be held, at whieh some of our devoted s is te rs, as well as some of our own sex, shoulJ speak fo r the Stl ffering and the dnmb. Notiee was accordingly given to that efl"ect, and the name of a daughter of Carol in a, too well known to need a repeti tion here, was ann ou nced among those of the expeclCd speakers. Before the appointed h our had arrived, the large Saloon, capable of conta in ing more tha n th ree thousand people , was c losely and compactly crowded, from the pl at form to the remote::;t corners of the galleries- every scat filled, every aisle tlensely thronged, every in ch of s pace apparently occupied. h is proper to state th at this meeting was not under the direction of the ·Managers of the Hall, or of the State Society. Threa ts of violence had been thrown ou t during the day, but il was hard to believe that our hitherto orderly city could be made the theatre of moboutrage, and we had repaired to the place of convocation, trus ting that these menaces were but id le breath, to which no attempt would be made to give a s ubstantial body. Even the w·ritten plucartl, which had been posted about the streets, inviting to inte rfe rence, forcible, if uecessar.IJ, and calling for an assemblage at the II all on \Ved nesday morning, to "demand the immediate dispe rsion of the Convention," was looked upon , rather as an ebullition of the mal ice, folly , and wi cked ness of a few, or perh aps a s ingle person, than as a cau!:le of alarm for our personal safety, the quiet of our meeting, or the tranquillity of th e c ity. The time fixed by the placard for an unlawful assemblage, had passed without a response to tlte incendi ary call. and our confidence in the peaceable d is pos ition of the inhabitants of Philadelph ia, and their rPspect for the reputation of their city, had up to this time remained unshaken. The exerc ises of the evening were commenced by a short add ress from 'Vm. L. Garrison, after which Maria \V. Chapman waEI introduced to the audience; but before s he co uld step forward to the desk, a loud yell from without proclaimed the presence of a diso!'derly rabble in the streets, and such was the tumult which ensued, augmented by seve ral voices within the Hall, that her brie f remarks were lost by all except a few of the thousands presen t. She was followed by our sister from the South, who , with deep solemnity of manner, and with words of we ig lit and power, gave her impressive testimony against that institution of complicated wicked ness , which, as a native of a slave state, and long a resident in the midst of slavery, she has had such full opportunities for observing, and such ample means of thoroughly understanding. The commotion without still continued, waxing louder and more turbul ent at each successive shout, and al length the |