previous next

[74] slavery, and actually suggesting that it was perhaps a religious duty on the part of the slave to refuse his freedom, even if it were offered to him! Nothing could be more calculated to stir up the religious sentiment of the country against the cause of which the Times has made itself the principal champion. This is another example of the manner in which the devil sometimes overreaches himself.


George Thompson to W. L. Garrison.

London, Feb. 5, 1863.
1 Since I last addressed you, I have attended meetings in the following places, viz.: Sheffield, Heywood, Dumfries, Kilmarnock, Greenock, Dumbarton, Paisley, Glasgow, Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Galashiels, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bristol, Bath, Stroud, Kingswood, and London. The mention of some of these towns will bring old scenes to your2 remembrance, when we were companions and fellow-laborers— as, thank God, we still are. . . .

Since I left Scotland, on the 22d ultimo, my meetings have been all on the American question—and such meetings! They have reminded me of those I was wont to hold in 1831, '32, and '33—densely crowded, sublimely enthusiastic, and all but unanimous. The opposition has been of the most insignificant and3 contemptible kind. Before this reaches you, you will have seen the report of the meetings above and below, and in the open air around, Exeter Hall. I was the same evening engaged in holding a meeting at Stroud, which did not conclude till midnight. Three nights ago, I held a meeting near my own residence. Thousands were excluded for want of room. These outsiders were addressed by competent persons, and the cheers raised by the multitude found their way into the meeting I was addressing, and increased the excitement of my audience. I shall rest till the 10th, and then recommence my labors, which are in great demand.

This Anti-Slavery movement is assuming gigantic proportions, and, if wisely and energetically conducted, as I trust it will be, will have a powerful, and at the same time beneficial, influence upon the counsels of your public men. It will be of vital importance in this country. It will read a salutary lesson to our public men. It will mould the decisions of our Government. It will neutralize the poison diffused by our journals. It will enlighten and stir up our ministers of religion. It will create


1 Ms. and Lib. 33.34.

2 Ante, 2.396, 397, 399; 3.172, 176.

3 Lib. 33.33, 34.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide People (automatically extracted)
Sort people alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a person to search for him/her in this document.
Lib (2)
George Thompson (1)
Stroud (1)
Stirling (1)
Sheffield (1)
Heywood (1)
William Lloyd Garrison (1)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
February 5th, 1863 AD (1)
1831 AD (1)
22nd (1)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: