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Show 148 crashing of glass mingled with th e cries of the mob, as stones were hurled against the windows, on every acces.sible side of the building. Through all this wild tumult, the speaker held on her course, undaunted and unmoved, availing he rself as !:!he went on, of the very circumstances of seeming discourageme nt by which she was s urrounded, to enforce her ap peal!:~ , and point her arguments, and bring more closely home the truths she uttered to the understanding and conscience of all who could hear her. These, notwithstanding the din and clamor which shut out her voice fro m many ea!!erly listening ears, constituted a large portion of the assembly. Short addresses were made by two or three others after she had closed; and at the usual hour the meeting was dismissed, and the people quietly dispersed. Thus far the rioters were completely defeated in their main design, of breaking up the assembly in confu sion; but it was no~ for want of violent exertions on their part. By cries of fire, by yells and screams, and a variety of appalling sounds-by making occasionally a tumultuous rush, a!:! if to brenk furiously into the saloon, they endeavored to te rrify the congregation, and effect its precipitate dis persion; but though two or three times, in the earlier part of th e d isturbance, a momentary alarm oven;:pread the house, and brought many to their feet as if tu leave, yet under the eflOrts of the friends of order, this soon subsided, and at length the steady calmness and cool composure of the speakers seemed to ha\'e diffused itself extens ively among the audience, anti tranquillized its brief agitation. Most resumed their seats, and comparatively few reti red before the di smission of the meeti11g. lVhile the assembly was re tiring, and after it had completely dispersed, the mob in a dense mass still occupied the stree ts, and discharged several volleys of stones at the windows. A number of colored pe rsons, as they came out, were brutally assaul ted, and one, at least, was severely injured. During the riotous proceedings of this evening, several cons tables, as we are credibly informed, were on the g round, but under express orders from the City Solicitor to a ttempt no arrests. How long the lawless concomse remained together, we -are unable to say; but when the meeting of Thursday morning was convened, the building was surrounded by groups of persons, whose appearance and conversation indicat~d no good intentions or peaceable desig ns. This assemblage, fluctu atu.Ig, doubtless, and changing more or less in its constituent parts as some re tired and others supplied their places, continued to hold its station through the whole day, but without attempting any outrage, or doing more than to offer occasional insults to some of those who were passing to and from the meetings within. '~'he session room was occupied at eight in the morning, by a convention wh1ch had been called to devise means for the encouragement of requited labor; and at ten the Convention of American Women assembled in the S aloon. The same Conventions met in the Saloon in the afternoon-one at two o'clock and the other at four; the session of the Iauer continuing until about sunseL. The ~vening was to have been occupied by a public meeting of th~ Wesleyan Anti-Slave ry Society of theM. E. Church of Philadelphia, at wh1ch a preacher of that denomination, distinguished for his able advocacy of ~nman rights, was expected to speak. fh.e Board of Managers of the Hall had deemed it their duty, in the rnorn.mg of this day, .to communicate to the Mayor of the city, and the Shenff of the county, mformation of the preceding evening's outrage, and of the arrangement for the coming afternoon and evening meetings as well as of those expected on the subsequent days of the week ; and to call on these officers for that protection which their official obligations required them to render. The communications to which we allude, have already been made ADDRESS 0 1' TilE I:>Xt:cUTIVt: CO,lUIITTEE. 110 public by the Board of Managers, together with the replies of the Mayor and Sheriff, the latter of whom stated that all the force he had at command consisted of th ree men, with whom of course he could do nothing, but that his pe rsonal, official, and moral inUuence s hould be exerted for the suppres· sion of disorder; while the former promised to go and make a speech 10 the mob, but said he could do nothing more. h s hould not be forgouen that this is the same man, who, last year, at a time when no mob was in existence, upon the bare apprehension that a meeting of one of the political pa rti e$, called to convene in Independence Square and express opinions unfavorable to the banks, might result in riolOus conduct which would endanger the property of those corporations, took vigorous measures of prevention; putting the police in readiness for prompt ac~ion, ami even, if we arc correctly informed, placing the military under arms, and s tationing them in such points as it was conjectured might require their presence for the maintenance of tranquillity. We mention this fac t, as an evic.leuce of what are the Mayor's own notions of his duty when the peace of the city is su pposed to be in peril. T o return to our narrative. As the clay rolled on, the indications of approaching violence became more and more alarming-the crowd around the d evoted building grew more dense and more excited; busy agents of mischief were passing from group to g roup, circulating falsehoods and calumnies against the abolition is ts, and inUaming passions which even now needed allaying i citizens of other s tates, slaveholders actual and slaveholders expectant, mingled in the mass, to leaven it yet more thoroughly with a spirit of reckless des pe ration, and increase its already over-abllndant fermentation and effervescence; while, so far as we could discern, little or nothing was done by those whose official duty was the preservation of peace, to avert the coming storm. On the contrary we have s trong reasons for bel ieving that the previous course of the Mayor had a tendency to encourage violence, and invite aggression upon the rights of a portion of his constituents. Some of these reasons will appear as we proceed. Nor is it the least painful circumstance in connection with these transactions, that men of standing and respectability, substantial merchants, and influen tial citizens, so far from expressing their deciUcd and heart-felt abhonence of the threatened outrage, and exerting their influence to calm the excitement, to maintain inviolate the rights of th eir fellow citizens, and preserve unsullied the reputation of their city, either looked on in cold indifl"erence, or, as was in many ins tances the case, expressed both in language and action their unequivocal approbation and e ncour:J.gement. A few minutes before thl~ appointed hour of the evening meeting, several persons repaired to the Hall for the purpose of attending it, but found the door closed and locked. It was soon ascertained that the Mayor had requested of the Board of Managers, the keys of the building, promis ing if they were given into his possession, that he would take upon himself the responsibility of protecting the building, which otherwise he said he could not do, and that the Managers had complied with his reque8t. Of course all idea of holding the intended meeting was abandoned. But the mob did not abandon lheir design. The Mayor, according to his mnrning promise, appeared in front of the building, and made them a speech-in which he expressed the lwpe that nothing of a disorderly nature would be done, stated that the house had been given up to him for the night, and that the re would be no meeting, that he relied on them. as !tis police, and trusted they would abide by the I awe and keep order; and then concluded by wishing them good evening |