Charter Oak, 1839-06

              » c # « CBARTBR OAK. T
VOL. II. F R E E P R I N C I ^ E 8 ~ F R E E MEN—
June,] PUBLISHED BY THE CONNECTICUT
F R E E S P E E C H - A N D A F R E E P R E S S . HO. 9.
ANTI-SUVERY SOCIETY, HARTFORD. [1839.
THE CHARTER OAK is published on the third
Wednesday of each month, at No. 7, Asyhim ST.,
Hartford, at the following prices, to be paid in all
cases in advance:
1 copy, . . . 50 cents per annum.
S«) copies, - - • 5 dollars"
50 copies, . . . 10 dollars
100 copies, . ^ - - 17 dollars» ••
To single subscribers, who take their papers at
the Office, twenty-five cents.
All orders and communications for the OAK,
should be addressed to S . S . COWLES, Hartford.
W a s h l n f f l o i i C i t y P r l i t o n.
BY E . M. C B A N D L K R.
Thou dark and drear nnd melancholy pile!
Wboaeemest, like a guilty penitent,
To brood o'er liorrors in tliy bui<nm pent,
Until tbe sunbeams that araund thee »mlle.
And tbe glad breath of bvaven, have become
A hatred and a mockery to thy gloom-
Stem fabric! I'll ionimune with thee awhile!
And from thy hollow echoes, and the gale
That moani round thy dark cells, win back the Ule
Of thy past hiitory;—give thy stones a tongue,
' And bid them answer me, and let the sighs
That round thy wall so heavily arise,
Be vocal, and declare from wh^ce they sprung;
And by what pasiioii of intense despair—
What aching tlirob uf life-consuming care.
From tbe torn heart of anguish they were wrung.
RecepUcleof guilt! hath guilt, atane,
Suined with its falling tears thy foot-worn floor,
When the harsh echo of the closing door
Hath died upon the ear, and flinginx prone
His form upon the enrth, thy chilling gloom
BMUI^ to the wretch the sentence of his doom-
Say, bear'st thou witness to no heart-wrung groan,
Bursting fVom sinless bnsnms, whom the hand
Of tyrant pnwer hath severed from the band
Of the earth's holiest and dearest things,
And thrust amidst thy darkness; Speak! declare
If only the rude felon's curse and prayer.
Mixed with wild wail and wilder laughter, rings
Witbln those dreary walls!—or if there be
Nosplrit fainting there with agony,
That not from their own crimes, but foul oppression springs.
Ha! am I answered?—in that startling cry.
Bunting flrom some wild breast, with anguish riven.
And rising up to register in heaven
lU blighting Mieof outrnge—the reply
Was heard distinctly terrible.—It sprung
.From a sad household group, who wildly clung
TMetheir; in their frantic aguny,
Till they were torn by ravage hands apart.
Fond arms from twining arms, and heart from heart,
Never to meet again! VVhat had tUc^ done,
Thou totd of avarice and tyranny !—
That they should thus bt given o'er to thee,
Ah'I tliyin^-haiiuud ceik 1—Were sirtj a n i ^ n ,
M(>tii«r iMu iiaoe,\n punnet's iii one uiWuc^
As dreadful as the fate that through all time.
Clings to them with a grasp tliey may notshun T
Mo!—Let the tale be spoken, though it bum
The cheek with shame to breathe it; let it go
Forth on the winds, that the wide globe may know
Our vileness; and ihe rudest savage turn
And point, with tauntiug iinger, to the spot
Whereon thou stiuidest; that all men may blot
Our name with its deserved taint, npd spurn
Our vaunting laws of justice with the heel
Of low contumiily; that every |)eat
Of triumph may be answered with a shout
Of biting mockery; and our starry tiati,
Our glorious banner! may, dishonored, drag
Its proud folds in the dust, or only tlout
The gales of heaven, to be a broader mark
For scom to spit at!—Oh, thou depot dark,
Wtaera souls and human limbs are meted out,
In fiendish traffic!—No! those weeping ones
Have done no evil. But their brother's hand
Hath rudely burst the sacred household band.
And given, with heartmore flinty than tliy stones.
His victims to thy keeping, and tiiy chains,
I'ill he hath sold them! they, within whose veins
Uio<id like his own is coursing, and whose moans
Are torn from hearta as deathless as his own!
.^nd there thou suind'st!—where Freedom's altar stone
Is darkened by tliy shadows, and tlie cry
'J'hat thrills so fearfully upon the air
With its wild tale of anguish and despair,
Blends with the peans that are swelling iiigh
I'o do lier homage!—I have sometimes felt
As I could hate my country for her guilt,—
Until, in bitter tears, the mood went by.
ported into humanity." And yet there are many that
uphold this institution, who look at themselves in no
other light, than as the friends of freedom, and as
true republicans. Among this class may be men-tioned
those who break up anti-slavery meetings by
throwing eggs, or by any other violent means; also,
those who oppose free discussion in any form. But,
let me ask, what mark of Christianity is there in
mobocracy? What mark of the statesman ? What
m^rk of the defender of equal rights ? I answer
none at all. If a man opposes free discussion upon
the subject of slavery, he (in effect) says he is in
favor of the institution. If he in any way opposes j j
we consider it a duty which we owe to our com-panions,
to our children, to cur brothers and sisters,
to our country and to God, to exert all our influence
and make every possible effort in our power to ex-terminate
this evil and to purify the church from
this the vilest sin with which she was ever stained.
Th( 'nfore. Resolved, That we, as a Society, will
abide by the following
CO.'iSTlTrTION.
ART. 1. This Society shall be called the North
Tolland Female Anti-Slavery Society.
ART. 2. The object of this Society shall be, to
the abolition of it, or the annihilation of an insfitu- i ^^^ promulgation of AiituSlavery principles,
tion which gives to one man power over another. r . " ! ' " . ' ' ' ' " ^ ' " ^ forward the glorious cause of equal
he shows h i m s e l f t o b e i n f a J o r o f a n almost, o; fcTrnT^:?
quite, absolute monarchy. ^® 't® innocent, that
How is it, then, that those who lend a helping ^^^^ l'® ««
hand to uphold the institution of slavery, can at the i „ . , , , u r
same time consider themselves as the defenders o f ' ^ . ^ f - . ^ ; Any lady may bccome a member of
liberty, or equal rights ? Here the knot is untied. I J ? ^^ subscribing her name to the consti.
For, ende asvaoyr itnhge yto, kite eips tihne b noengdraogees. aloTnhee trhigaht tws oe f athree
colored man, then, must be taken out of the bal.
ance, according to their reasoning. But is it right
to estimate a man's right to freedom and the privi.
leges of a freeman by the color of his skin ? As
well might you estimate that right by the man's
stature.
Human nature dwells in white and black the
same; and both should enjoy human rights alikfe.
N o FRIEND TO SLAVERY.
For the Charter Oak.
Fairfield County Socletr.
The monthly meeting of the Fairfield County
Anti-Slavery Society was held at Darien, on the
12th inst., James Quintard, Esq., Pres., in the chair.
Delegates were present from Greenwich, Stanwich
Society, Norwalk, Westport, and Wilton.
In the afternoon the meeting was opened with
prayer by the Rev. Mr. Biddle, after which the
audience were addressed for nearly two hours, by
the Rev. Joshua Leavitt, with evident acceptance
on the following resolutions, which were then adop.
ted unanimously.
Jtesolved, That the buying, or selling, or holding
human beings as property, is a sin against God and
man, and like all other sins, it should be immedi-ately
abandoned.
Resolved, That in our judgment, the immediate
abolition of slavery in the United States is wise,
' HTl-— _ f.
I Resolved, That with our present views, we will
I never cease to pray to the God of the oppressed,
that He will appear in their behalf, to confer upon
them their natural and inalienable rights, and ele-
ART. 4. It shall be the duty of each member to
be punctual in attending the meetings of the So-ciety
once a month, and labor six hours; and pre-sent
the result to the Treasurer of the Society.
. IRT. 5. All money which is received by the
Troasurer, shall be appropriated to the benefit of
the Anti-Slavery cause as the Society may direct.
^kRT. 6. The officers shall consist of a Presi-dent,
two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer,
ani( five Managers.
ART. 7. The Managers shall have power to
cal: a meeting of the Society when thought proper.
ART. 8. An amendment in either of the above
an'.;les of the constitution may be made by a vote
of two thirds of the Society.
OFFICERS.
President, Mary Kibbee.
Vice Presidents, Orrelia Gilbert, Caroline Sloan.
Secretary, Roxana S. Kibbee.
Treasurer, Lucinda Grover.
Managers, Paulina Sloan, Ann P. Daggett, Sally
Slater, Phebe Grover, Catharine^ellogg.
ROXANA S . KIBBEE, Secretary.
HINTS FOR ABOLITIONISTS.—Anti-Slavery news
is very cheering, to be sure ; but if some of the anti
slavery folks don't do something besides tell the
cheering news, and chuckle over it, there will soon
be Uttle anti-slavery news to tell. Every thing in
^ u l a c e , and proportion, and season.
TVi'r ' ^ f p ? , • w irfl •strfcmrTr ^^ttti -triH
command more attention than the hand barrows
that must carry off the dirt, and excavate the canal,
before the tall ship can come along.
his part to chtonicle events^v henithey taM place—
and somebody, they don't k n w who,,is !to carry
the work on. . •
Not so with your real «bone aii<V muscle' ftboli-tionists—
the 'working men* of'the;Bounding'shops
atid sunny hill sides! They wsftjt tftj-eatf thorough
discussions—ihey wish to dig injo fim principle^
lay foundations—mature 'plans—Scarry tm. opera-tions—
strip off 4rtful disguises—detect^neml^ hi-ambush—
give pitched battle to the grapijl a ^ t l ^ ' . ,
ry—^in a word—find out how to M^totfii^M
IT, and let those who choose to do liiHhing. pieitiH
their time and attention to the records Tif'^Wlkiw:'
been done—and ^hat is said, and what ^
ity think of it.—Friend of Man. ''
Egyptian Emancipatioii!
"Spiritof Freedom—on
Oh pause not in thy flight
Another mighty blow is about to
half ofhuman liberty. Mahometan
to abolish slavery! Mehemet Ali, the sagacious
far-sighted chieftain, whose genius and enter}:
have raised him prominently before the eyes of'.
world, and whose ambition probably looks to ti
re-establishment of the ancient Arabian empire, atiu v^*. -r
the making of himself the successor of the Caliphk •;
of Bagdad, is about to emancipate the hereditary .
bondmen of Egypt,—and break up forever the-' v • i '
slave-markets of Cairo and Alexandria—where for. ' '
two thousand years the lash has been plied, and the "x \ '.
fetter rivetted,—where lust has purchased indul- ' V ' %
gence, and pride and luxury the love of power, and ' . / ' \
brutal avarice rioted unchecked upon the miserable • 5.'
slave!—The benevolent exertions of Dr. John '
Bowring, of England, have no doubt, greatly con-tributed
to this result. During the past year he has
had several interviews with the Pasha on the sub-ject
of slavery.
From a late English paper.
EGYPT.—We have received the following from a
correspondent at Cairo, dated the 26th ult:—"The
Pasha of Egypt has declared to Colonel Campbell.
his intention to ABOLISH SLAVERY IMMEDIATELY IN
ALL THE COUNTRIES SUBJECT TO HIS AUTHORITY."
This declaration has given universal satisfaction
to the Europeans in this city. The Pasha spealts
with great exultation of the moral and political ef-.
fects of his visit to Nubia and Abyssinia."
Would that our Christian Clays and Van Burens
couM learn a lesson of humanity and justice from
the Mussulman Pasha.—Pa. Freeman.
North Tolland Female Society*
The preamble and constitution adopted at the
recent formation of this auxiliary, with the names i
* For the Charter Oak.
lilberty*
TMs is a word which most mankind cherish with I of its officers, have been forwarded to us by the
lively emotions. It is a word, which deservedly Secretary. We cheerfully insert them in the Oak,
holds a very prominent place in m ^ t of our public ^^^ request that in all cases as soon as a So-prints,
and I wish that tbe hberty of all human be- . . • j • .. • o . j
ingsrwaschemhedasrauchastheirord Ubertyis, ciety is organized in this State it may be reported
work. Reader! Are you willing to be a working
abolitionist ?
It is interesting to know what the southerners
are doing—and what the politicians are doing—
but it is more important to know, and have it fully
settled and determined, what the northern aboli.
tionists will do—what they will do at the polls—
„„.» . .1, . tu i pleasant to tread the quarterdeck and ride, than to L c U f T o Z t o ^ S t e V - enS^^ ""
Resolved, That with our present views, we will
never cease using all proper means to enlighten the'
public mind on the evils of slavery, and to hasten
its entire abolition through the world, till our object
be accomplished.
Resolved, That this nation is a great slaveholder,
and that each individual of the nation who does
not use his influence to have slavery immediately
abolished, is a partaker of the sin of slaveholding.
Resolved, That in view of the manner in which
the abolition petitions to our present State Legisla-ture
were disposed of by that body, we consider
that every abolitionist is bound to vote for such can.
didates as are favorable to abolition sentiments, and
for such only.
Resolved, That a copy of the above resolutions
be forwarded to the several newspapers in this
county for publication. The Society then adjourn,
ed to meet in Huntington on the second Wednes.
day in July.
STEPHEN G . FERRIS, Secretary.
PUBLIC HONORS—The following proceedings
took place on Monday, June 3, in the Board of Al-
It is more dermen of the city of New York.
"Aldeiman Purdy offered a resolution that,
whereas it had always been the habit of Democrat-ic
representatives of the people, to show honor upon
every proper occasion to much distinguished indi-viduals,
who had rendered important services to
their country; and whereas. Col. Richard M. John,
son. Vice President of the United States, on the
occasion of his recent visit to this city, had not been
treated with the respect usually accorded to persons
what they will do in their churches—what tliey will of his elevated station : that a committee of thrr-c
do in their conventions and meetings. Reader! | from each Board be appointed to invite him to visit
Do you love early news ? Would you know, a j this city again, and to receive him in a manner be.
year before hand, what the southerners, the politi. j coming that illustrious advocate of civil and religious
cians, &c., &c., will do, next year ? Find out freedom."
what the abolitionists are doing noic, at the North ? I When Col. Johnson was here, on the occasion
Help them do it. Determine what shall be done, I above referred to, he took much pains to express to
how it shall be done, and when it shall be done, at: some of the gentlemen of color his deep interest in
the North, and you may know well enough what the question of their rights and prospects, as all he
will be done, a year or two hence, at the South. ' should leave behind him at death (his two daugh-
If you want your abolition news fresh, help I ters) were identififd in destiny with them. He
make it! In this way, some abolitionists have: also declared that each of his own slaves held a
their anti.slavery news before it is printed—yes, deed of emancipation, and would never serve any
before the events take place, by foreseeing them in but himself. He introduced his colored visitors u>
their causes. The more you study principles, and many of the public characters that called at his
help produce effects, the less occasion you will have | lodgings; and expressed many sentiments highly
for minute, and never-ending details of mere news, honorable to his heart.
You will not read news, then, for mere amusement, j Nor is this interest in the cause of abolition a
Your minds will be better occupied. You will only i thing of recent origin in the breast of Col. Johnson,
want news enough to let you know by sight as I So long ago as the agitation of the Missouri ques.
well as by faith, that your works are coming after tion, although he was in favor of the admission of
by every Christian, philanthropist and statesman.
But alas t how many there are, who would wish to
be thought worthy to bear some one or all of these
names, yea, and who would fain be considered as
defenders of liberty and equal rights; I say, how
many there are-tf this character, who are in reality
the upholders and defenders of an institution of bon-dage,
the most degrading and cruel the world ever
witnessed. I mean American Slavery,—that insti-tution
which makes one man subject to the will of
another—an institution which takes from a human
being, created after God's own image, every mark of
the man, and makes him a mere machine ; in point
nf privilege, a beast—an institution which, in the
words of the Rev. Horace Bushnell, puts man into
nothing more nor less than tbe cattle state, im-directly
to us, so that our list of the auxiliaries of
the Connecticut Anti.Slavery Society may be com-plete.
PREAMBLE.
Whereas, in consideration of the evils of Ameri-can
Slavery, we, the females of this vicinity, believe
it our duty to express our opinion upon this as well
as any other evil, and inasmuch as it is our duty to
discountenance intemperance and every evil which
is counter to the will of God, and inasmuch as
slavery as existing in the United States is a compli.
cated villainy, the vilest and most heinous in the
sight of God of any evil now existing upon the face
of the earth, inconsistent with, and unsupported by,
the word of God, the laws of humanity and reason.
you;—news enough to certify you that the lynch
pins of old father Time's chariot have not fallen
out, and let the wheels run off in a tangent. There
it such a thing as gossip—mere telling and hear,
ingsome new thing. There are gossips beside the
Athenians and the frequenters of beer and barber's
siiops. There is political gossipping—and gossip,
ping ecclesiastical. Abolitionism, too, has its gos.
sips—its elip.8hod, morning-gown saunterers, who
think an anti.slavery editor has nothing to do but to
eater news for their amusement—to relieve the te.
dium of their ennui—to supply them with an agree.
Missouri, he took occasion to express his sentiments
in favor of the abolition cause, and of individual
and associated action to promote it. In a speech
delivered in the U. S. Senate, Feb. 1, 1820. and
published in the National Intelligencer of April 29,
1820, he says,
The enertries of the Christian world are now
combined in the diffusion of evangelical light, and
the principles it inculcates are every day relaxing
the bonds of slavery. Providence, all.wise and in.
scrutable in its ways, is gradually effecting the ulti.
mate object of our wishes, which your ill.timed op.
able dish of small talk, along with their coffee and position is calculated only to retard. Individual
tea to furnish them with a pleasant relaxation! exertion, acting in concert, can alone prepare the
from their commercial or professional cares. It j way. Encourage Sunday Schools, multiply Bible
never comes into their heads that an abolition edi- Societies, increase missionary exertions, ANIMATE
tor should spend any portion of his strength, or oc. TO DEEDS OF BENEVOLENCE ABOLITION SOCIETIES.
' • H i
•
cupy any space in his columns, in attempting to
produce any results ! Ob no! They consider it
and perfect the system of Colonization,—then trust
tb« kind providence of God for the result, and yun