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Show 100 T IIIRil OAY-MOHX IXO SF.SRJOS, v~ e ws os to the most impo rtant Jifllrulties in thi~; great national eviL They have said much relating to the evils and horrors of slave ry , which we do not qnestion; but the grand diOiculty is, in my op inion, that it is legalized by our national compact, and the slave is claimed as legal property. It has been said that a man, although he has a right lo his own house, has no right to set it on fire. But, s ir, I do not sec th;1t this figure is appropriate. Has the slaveholder Sf't his house on fire? or has he gone beyond his legal right? I now ask, s ir, for my own information, :md call on abolitionists, in behalf of this assembly and of the nation, to s<~y how far we have a right, legally and mo rally, to depri ve the sh!"eholder of what he has honestly inherited? Shall we reso1·t to force ? Shall we put in jeopardy the slaveholder and · the slave? S ir , let us pause and reflect whether some method cannot be suggested to liberate the slave, which will not injure the master. Let us remember that the evils of slavery are not only felt by th e slave, but also by the master; and in our sympathy for the slaves, do not let us forget the s la veholders, many of whom see and feel the horrors of slavery in traits in which we cannot. And let it never be forgotten that they are our brethren in a national point of view, and rnany of them arc brethren in Christ. Sir, I go for free discussion on all topics, and for all judicious efro rts to ameliorate and improve the condition of man in all respects. llut, s ir, shall we hazard the life of the patient by the use of violent and destructive remedies? ' Ve admire the improvements of the age, conveyance by steam· boats and locomoti ves, but God deliver us from reckless engi nee rs. Sir, let us pause, solemnly pause, before we make any attem pt which will j eopardise our union, the life of the master and that of the slave. I have looked, anxiously looked, for the speakers to show us the authority and method by which immediate emancipation can be effected. I.et us always be sure th at we are right, and then go ahead. True, one speaker has said that Congress have the right, and could, if they would , abolish slavery immediately; but he gave us uo proof of the correctness of that statement. I have oflCn wished that some gigantic mind in Congress would propose measures by which the millions of surplus funds of the nation should, instead of being retained for speculation and peculation, be devoted to the removal of slavery. Sir, I have regretted to see the spirit mani fested. in this place against colonizationists. I speak not from feelings of opposition to the abolitionists, .or of partiality to the colonizationists. I !lave no party views on this great subject, and trust that we are all a nti· sla''~ry, feel fur the oppressed, and rejoice at witnessing any lawful and proper efforts fo r th eir relief. _ As professing Christians, who pretend to worship the same God, and t? JOurney to the same place, instead of lllli ting their energies to destroy the1r common fo e, arc, through a sectari an principle, us ing effo rts to destroy one ·~mother; so, and I regret to say it, the colonizationists and abolitionists, tnstead of cooperating in the rem.oval of the curse of slavery , are levelling their artillery against each other. .Sir, let ns no~ re t~rd ou r object, by indulging in hostile feelings, nor in bemg too sa ngnme 111 om own views , but in all benevolence pursue those meas ures in which the slaveholde r and the whole nation can combine their wi~i and ab ility to liberate the slave, and thus accompl ish this very desirable obJect, :'l.nc\ preserve tlw national union. Sri: T:CII Of AI. VAX STE\\ AUT . 101 THIRD DAY-AFTERNOO N SESSION. Tms afterl)oon closed the Dedication of the H all. The subsequent meetin~s were .not under the direction of the Doanl of Managers, but of the respective bod1es to whom the Hall was rented, and for the manner in which each was conducted the body holding it is alone responsible. The con~regatio n at this meeting, as at most of the preced ing, was very large, between two and three thousand persons being present. The speaker was ALVAN STJ;WArt'f. SPEECH OF ALVAN STEWAR T, OF UT ICA, N.Y. _ A ~n:N, and .amen, have been shonteJ. from the th roats of the unthinking mlilwns of tins earth, as the mandates of tyranny were proclaimed, as the edicts of inhumanity were published to the world ; while the lamentations of the oppressed have ascended night and day, as swift witnesses before the living God . These lo~1d outcries of the injured against unavenged cruelty, have created epochs 111 the rn::~rch of ages. At diO'erent periods of the \~arid, there h:nre been ga·eat issuPs. fo~rned between right and wrong, h berty and slavery , and on the Oetermulallon of those issues have depended the stability or overthrow of empires, the rising and falling of nations. The pages of history, divine or profane, are the recorded evide nc e, arguments, and fac ts of each generation as they have been summoned to share in the creation and decision of those issues. When the issue has been ~orrectly frame~, crim e, ashamed of her own fr igh tful progeny, has called i~s~~l sehood, with her ope11 mouth, to deceive the weak and the thought· Truth has been insulted and clamored down by the roar of numbe rs, who have i1~terrupted her narrat ive or insulled her for the humility of her <lre~ s , or dende~ her for want of those high-born relations which, in the shape of Impudence, ~nterest, superstition, obstinacy, and love of power, have confederated ~o 1m peach her ~y sneering at the s implicity of her statements, by unde.rvalumg the force ol her arguments, while they have sung praises to the IH.gh~st n~tes of ~alsehood, sworn its deformity waR beauty, and the harsh gn.n~1n gs Ill th~ pnson·housc of its oppres:3ion were the symphonies of sy1;npatlllz111~ human 1ty; yea , more, they chanted praises of honor and glory · to Its de.ductiOnS, and sung anthems to its soph ist ri es , a nd cri ed amen to its conclusiOns. Honest error has often been a powerful antagonist of truth, and the only enemy whom truth assailed with compassion, and before whom truth had reaso~ to trembl~. For when ~ in cer i ty, one of the darling attr ibutes of truth ttself, varmshes error, the JUdges of the issue sometimes mistake the armor of. Ac_hi lles .for the_ mighty form which it was made to protect. rat~hat IS n ght or what IS wrong? '\Vhere arc the boundaries that sepa- Ho~v far. human a rr angement~ can change the abst ract wrong into an cxped1 ent n ght, or the abstr::wt n ght, if as~erted, into a wrong, are mighly |