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Show ' 32 He sells his meal to such as will buy. He is in no danger of being turned out of his office; for he has no master,- i::~ not Hired Man to any one. The antislavery non-political reformer is to excite the Sentiment, and give the Idea: he may tell his whole scheme all at once, if he will. But the political reformer, who, for immediate action, is to organize the sentiment and idea he finds ready for him, cannot do or propose all things at once: he must do one thing at a time, tell one thing at a time. He is to cleave slavery off from the Government; and so must put the thin part of his wedge in first, and that where it will go the easiest. If he takes a glut as thick as an antislavery platform, and puts it in anywhere, head foremost, let him strike never so hard, he will not rend off a splinter from the tough log; nay, will only waste his strength, and split the head of his own beetle ! Still, this non-political, antislavery party- averse to fighting, hostile to voters under present, if not all possible, circumstances- has been of most immense value to mankind. It has been a perpetual critic on politicians; and now it has become so powerful that every political man in the North is afraid of it; and, when he makes a speech, he asks not only, What will the Whigs or the Democrats think of it? but, What will the antislavery men say; what will the" Liberator" and the " Standard" say of it? And, when a candidate is to be presented for the office of President, the men who make the nomination go to the Quakers of Pennsylvania, and say, "Whom do you want?" They go to the non-resistants of 1\'Iassachusetts,- men that never vote or take office,- and ask if it will do to nominate this, that, or the other man. A true Church is to criticize the world by a higher standard. The non-political antislavery party is the Church of America to criticize the politics of America. It has been of immense service· it is now a areat force. ' b 6. Besides that, there is the Spirit of the Anglo-Saxon 33 tribe, which hates oppression, which loves justice and liberty, and will at last have Freedom for all. Look at its history for three hundred years,- from 1556, when the three millions of Old England were ruled by the Bloody Mary, to 1856, when the three millions of New England govern themselves ! Do you fear for the next three hundred years? That historic momentum will not be lost. 7. Then there is the Spirit of the Age we live in. Only see what has been done in a century! A hundred years ago, there were slaves in every corner of the land. There are men on this platform, whose fathers, within fourscore years have not only owned black, but red and white slaves also. See what a steady march there has been of freedom in New England, and throughout the North, -likewise on the continent of Europe! Christendom repudiates bondage. Think of British and French emancipation, of Dutch and Danish. Slavery is only at home in three places in Christendom,- Russia, Brazil, and the south of the United States. A hundred years ago, there was not a spot in all Europe where there was not slavery in one form or another, -men put up at auction. It is only ninety-eight years ago since men were kidnapped in Glasgow, Scotland, and sold into bondage for ever in the city of Brotherly Love, at Philadelphia. That thing took place in 1758. See what an odds there is ! It is plain that American slavery is to end ultimately. It cannot stand. The question before us is, Shall it ruin America before it stops ? I think it will not. The next question is, Shall it end peaceably, as the Quakers wish, and as all antislavery men wish, or shall it end in blood? On that point I shall not now give my opinion. 5 |