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Show 300 UNCI,E TOM'S CABIN: Oll, mother's. To him I was no more than ::1 fine dog 0r horse: to my poor heart-broken mother I was a child; :mel, t~1ough I never saw her, after the cruel sale tha.t separated us, tJll she died, yet I know she always lm·cd me dearly. I kaow it by my own heart. 'Vhcn I think of all she suffered, of my ow_n early sufferings, of the distresses and struggles of my heroiC wife, of my sister, sold in the New Orlcn.ns sbve-markct1- though I hope to have no unchristian sentiments, yet I may be cxcusetl for saying, I lmvc no wish to pass for an American or to identify myself with them. " 1 It is with the oppressed, cnsl::Lvcd African race that I cast in my lot; and, if I wished anything, I would wish myself two shades darker, rather than one lighter. "The desire and yearning of my soul is for an African 11ationality. I want a people that shall have a tangible, separate existence of its own; and where at~ I to look for _it? Not in Hayti; for in Hayti they had nothmg to start With. A stream cannot rise above its fountain. 'fhe race that • formed the character of the Ila.ytiens was a worn-out, effeminate one; and, of course, the subject race will be centuries in ~~~~~~ . " Where, then, shall I look? On tho shores of Afnca I sec a republic,- a republic formed of picked men, who, by energy and self-educating force, have, in many cases, indiv_idually raised themselves above a condition of slavery. Ila.vmg gone 'through a preparatory stage of feebleness, this republic has, at last, become an acknowledged nation on the face of the earth,- acknowledged by both France and England. There it is my wish to go, and find myself a people. "I am aware, now, that I shall have you all agJ.inst me; but, before you strike, hear me. During my sta_y in France, I have followed up, with intense interest, the history of my LIFE Al\IONO TilE LOWLY. 801 people in America. I have noted the struggle between abolitionist uncl colonizationist, und have received some impressions, as a distant spectator, which eou1J never have occurred to me as a participator. "I grant that this Liberia may have subscrvcd all sorts of purposes, by being played off, in the .hands of our oppressors, against us. Doubtless the scheme may have been used, in unjustifiable ways, as a means of retarding our emancipation. But the question to me is, Is there not a God above all man's schemes? May He not have overruled their designs, and founded for us a nation by them? "In these days, a nation is born inn. day. A nation starts, now, with all the great problems of republican lifo and civil' ization wrought out to its hand;- it has not to discover, but only ~ apply. Let us, then, all take hold together, with all our might, and sec what we can do with this new enterprise, and the whole splendid continent of Africa opens heforo us and our children. Our nation shall roll the tide of civilization and Christianity along its shores, and plant there mighty republics, that, growing with the rapidity of tropical vegetation, shall be for all coming ages. "Do you say that I am deserting my enslaved brethren? I think not. If I forget them one hour, one moment of my life, so may God forget me ! But, what can I do for them, here? Can I break their chains? No, not as an individual; but, let me go and form part of a nation, which shall have a voice in the councils of nations, and then we can speak. A nation has a right to argue, remonstrate, implore, and present the cause of its race,- which an individual has not. "If Europe ever becomes a grand council of free nations, -as I trust in God it will,- if, there, serfdom, and all unjust and oppressive social inequalities, are done away i and if they, VOL. IT. 26 |