At 4 P.M. we left Boston by railway for Albany,—fare 5 dollars each. We rested, however, at Springfield for the night, and that in the most comfortable hotel we had met with in the States. The next day we moved on to Pittsfield, where we arrived at half-past 11. Finding that we might get off from that train, and go by another in three or four hours' time, we availed ourselves of the opportunity of calling upon the Rev. Dr. Todd, the author of "Lectures to Children," "The Student's Guide," &c. Instead of the prim, neat, little man we had always imagined him to be, we found him tall, coarse, slovenly, and unshaven; a man of 46 years of age; hair of an iron-grey, rough and uncombed; features large; cheek-bones prominent; and the straps of his trowsers unbuttoned, and flapping about his slippers. But, under this unpromising exterior, we discerned a soul of great intelligence, frankness, and brotherly kindness. Mrs. Todd has been a woman of great beauty, and, though she has brought up a large family of children, is still fresh and comely. Their eldest daughter is 19 years of age; and John, to whom the "Lectures to Children" were dedicated, is now 14 years of age. The Doctor's insane mother, for whose sake he was first led to employ his pen, has been dead for some years. His desire to visit England is very strong. He had been appointed by the churches of Massachusetts to visit those of England last year in the character of a delegate; but the means of meeting the expenses of such a delegation were not provided, and consequently the visit was not paid. It is worthy of observation that the Doctor's books have been sold in England far more extensively than in America; but from the English editions he receives no profit, and even from the American ones very little. As it may be the first time that English readers hear of John Todd asDoctorTodd, and as there is an impression that our American friends bestow their literary honours too freely and indiscriminately,—which, indeed, is true in reference to some scores of institutions,—nothing being easier than to obtain a D.D.,—I would just observe that this applies not to the New England Colleges. They are very chary of such honours, and only confer that of D.D. on ministers of long standing and high attainments. In the case of Mr. Todd it was most deservedly bestowed.
Pittsfield is but a small town, of about 5,000 inhabitants. The Governor of Massachusetts resided there, and was a deacon of a Baptist Church. Dr. Todd presides over a Congregational Church. To the principles of Congregationalism he is devoutly attached. While others regard Presbyterianism and Congregationalism as matters of mere geographical boundary, Todd could never be prevailed upon, even by the most advantageous offers, to do the same. He said he had nailed his flag to the mast, and would never abandon it. "I regard Congregationalism," said he to me, "as a sort of a working-jacket: with it on I can work with anybody, in any place, and in any way." With this great and good man we exceedingly enjoyed a homely dinner and a few hours' converse. In coming out, I observed before the door, half-covered with snow, a beautiful model of the Temple of Theseus. This was the work of the Doctor's own hands.
At 3-1/2 P.M. we left for Albany. At the station, before crossing the Hudson, we observed in large letters the ominous words "Beware of pickpockets!" On reaching the city we went to the "Delevan House," so called after Mr. Delevan, who has done so much for the advancement of temperance in America. The house is his property, but he does not conduct it. He lives there as a lodger; and I was permitted to spend the evening in conversation with him. The house is the largest temperance hotel in the world. It will accommodate about 400 guests. Those who keep it are religious people, and have a public family-worship every evening, usually conducted by the master of the house; but if a minister of any denomination be present, he is asked to officiate. A bell is rung, and all who feel disposed to unite in the worship assemble in a large room. On this occasion it was my privilege to conduct the service; and in such a place, and under such circumstances, it was to me an exercise of peculiar interest. A hymn too was sung, and well sung,—the tune being led by the master of the house, aided by his family.
The next morning, at half-past 7, we set off by railway to Utica, a distance of 94 miles, which we did not accomplish in less than 6-1/2 hours, making an average of less than 15 miles an hour, and for which we paid 2-1/2 dollars, or 10s. 6d. This journey led us through the valley of the Mohawk, and that river was for the most part our constant companion. The railway and the river seemed to be wedded to each other,—the former conforming to all the whims and windings, and turnings and twistings of the latter.
Utica is a small city, of about 14,000 inhabitants. Its progress has been but slow. The houses are painted white, and appear neat and comfortable. I was struck with the immense number of them that were erected with their gable end to the street, and with a small portico supported by two fluted columns. A large portion of the inhabitants are Welsh, who have here four or five places of worship. The Rev. James Griffiths, a man of great piety and worth, is the minister of the Welsh Independents. At his house we were most kindly entertained during our stay. On the Sabbath I preached for him twice in Welsh. The following week we were taken to Remsen, eighteen miles off, to see the Rev. Mr. Everett, whose farewell sermon on leaving Wales I had heard when quite a boy,—and the Rev. Morris Roberts, to whom I had bidden adieu in Liverpool sixteen years before. It was delightful to meet these honoured brethren in their adopted home, after the lapse of so many years. Remsen is quite a Welsh settlement; and these men both preside over Welsh churches there. Mr. Everett is the editor of a Welsh Monthly Magazine. In that periodical, as well as in his ministrations, he has been unflinching in his denunciations of slavery. This has exposed him to cruel persecutions. There are about 70,000 Welsh people in the United States who worship in their own language. At Remsen I had to deliver two addresses on the results of emancipation in the West Indies. On our return to Utica, the friend who drove us happened incidentally to mention that in that country they make the dogs churn! "The dogs churn!" I said, "Yes," said he; "and I dare say they have a churning-machine so worked at this house: let us call and see." It was a farm-house. At the door about half-a-dozen chubby little children, with fine rosy cheeks, were assembled to see the strangers. I began to speak in English to the eldest, a boy about 10 years of age; but the lad stared! He understood not a word I said.
Though born and so far brought up there, he knew nothing but Welsh! We were gratified with an inspection of the machine for churning. It was worked very much on the same principle as a treadmill, and exceedingly disliked by the poor dog. Goats are sometimes made to perform the same service. In several instances, we saw horses in like manner made to saw wood, and admired the ingenuity of our cousins in turning to account every particle of power they possess. "What is the difference," said Dr. Beecher once to a ship-captain, "between an English sailor and a Yankee one?" The answer was, "An English sailor can do a thing very well inoneway, but the Yankee can do it in half-a-dozen ways."
A Peep at the House of Representatives in Albany—"The Chair is but a Man," &c.—Sailing down the Hudson—Dr. Spring—His Morning Sermon—Afternoon Service—Gough the great Lecturer—The Tract House and Steam-presses—May-day in New York—Staten Island—Immigrants—A hurried Glance.
On the 22nd we left Utica at 11 A.M., and reached Albany at 5 P.M. At Schenectady Mr. Delevan got into the same carriage with us; and we had his company to Albany. He had caused to be put into the hand of every passenger by that train a tract on the claims of the Sabbath, a large number of which he had printed at his own expense. He spends an immense fortune in doing good, chiefly by means of the press.
In the evening I strolled out to see a little of Albany, the capital of the State of New York. I gazed with interest on Dr. Sprague's Church, and wandered until I came to a large building brilliantly lighted. It was the State House or Capitol. The legislature was then in session. I marched on, and got in without the least hinderance. There was no crowd and no stir about the doors. A simple rail divided the part allotted to the spectators from that which was used by the members. About a hundred of the latter were present. The Senate, whose hall was in another part of the same building, had been adjourned till next day. This was the House of Representatives; and they seemed to be in the midst of a very angry discussion. Their cheeks swelled with rage, or with—quids of tobacco. A spittoon, constantly used, was placed by the side of each member. They were rebelling against the speaker; and, of all mortals, I never saw one in a more unenviable position than he. All that his little hammer, his tongue, and his hands could do was of no avail. The storm raged. The words "honourable member," "unparliamentary," "order," "chair," and "in-quiry," were bandied about in all directions. One of the "honourable members," rushing out past me, said with a loud voice, "I'll go and get a segar," &c. At last the speaker—poor fellow!—in tones of humiliation and despair said, "Thechairis but aman; and, if we err, we are ready to acknowledge our error."
The next day we left by the steam-boat "Roger Williams," and sailed down the majestic Hudson to New York, a distance of 145 miles; fare one dollar each. This river has so often been described by travellers that I need not repeat the attempt.
The following day was Saturday. In the afternoon I met Dr. Spring at the Tract House. After the usual salutation, he said, "Shall we hear your voice at our place to-morrow afternoon?"—"I have no objection, sir,—what time does your service commence?" "At 4 o'clock."—"Very well." "Where shall I find you?"—"Where will you be?" "I shall be in the pulpit five minutes before the time."—"Oh!verywell,verywell."
In the morning I went to hear the Doctor. His introductory prayer was long. In it he prayed for Mexico—that it might have a "free and religious government," and that the present war might result in the overthrow there of the "man of sin;" but no reference to American slavery. The Doctor, bear in mind, is an Old School Presbyterian, and a supporter of the Colonization Society. His text was John v. 23: "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father," &c. His divisions were—
I. What honours are ascribed to the Father.
1. Appropriate names and titles. Jehovah, &c.
2. Ascription of most glorious attributes. Eternal—Immutable —Omnipotent, &c.
3. Great and glorious works. Creation—Preservation—Redemption —Atonement—Regeneration—Justification—Raising the dead—Judging the world—Destroying it—Glory of the righteous—Punishment of the wicked. (All these were supported by appropriate quotations of Scripture.)
4. Duties enjoined in reference to Him. Confidence—Worship, &c.
II. That the same honours are ascribed to the Son. (He went over each of the above particulars, showing from Scripture their application to the Son.)
III. That, therefore, the Son is properly and truly God.
1. We cannot believe the Scriptures would ascribe the same honours to Him as to the Father, if He were not equal to the Father.
2. If He be not truly God, the Scriptures tempt to idolatry.
3. If He be not truly God, the accounts which the Scriptures give of Him are self-contradictory.
4. If He be not truly God, there is no evidence from Scripture that there is a God at all.
This was a massive and compact argument for the Divinity of Christ. It occupied upwards of an hour in the delivery, and was read.
In the afternoon I took care to be in the pulpit five minutes before the time. The Doctor shortly after came, and took his seat behind me. This to me is always an annoyance,—I would almost as soon have a man with me in bed as in the pulpit;—and in this instance it was peculiarly so, as towards the close, although I had not exceeded forty minutes, I felt quite persuaded that the Doctor was pulling at my coat-tail, which led me rather abruptly to conclude. In this, however, I was mistaken; and the Doctor assured me it was what he had never done in his life, except in one instance,—and that was when the preacher, having occupied two hours with his sermon, was entering upon a third.
In the evening of the 27th of April I heard, at the Tabernacle, New York, the celebrated Gough deliver a lecture on Temperance. It was to commence at 8 o'clock; but we had to be there an hour before the time, in order to get a comfortable place. That hour was a dreary one. The scraping of throats and the spitting were horrible. It seemed as if some hundreds of guttural organs were uttering the awfully guttural sentence,"Hwch goch dorchog a chwech o berchill cochion."
At last Gough made his appearance on the platform. He is a slender young man of three or four and twenty. He told us he had spoken every night except three for the last thirty nights, and was then very weary, but thought "what a privilege it is to live and labour in the present day." He related his own past experience ofdelirium tremens,—how an iron rod in his hand became a snake,—how a many-bladed knife pierced his flesh,—how a great face on the wall grinned at and threatened him; "and yet," he added, "Iknewit was a delusion!"
A temperance man, pointing to Gough, had once observed to another, "What a miserable-looking fellow that is!" "But," replied the other, "you would not say so, if you saw how he keeps everybody in a roar of laughter at the public-house till 1 or 2 in the morning." "But Iwasmiserable," said Gough; "Iknewthat the parties who courted and flattered me reallydespisedme." He told us some humorous tales,—how he used to mortify some of them by claiming acquaintance with them in the street, and in the presence of their respectable friends. He returned scorn for scorn. "Gough," said a man once to him, "you ought to be ashamed of yourself to be always drinking in this manner." "Do I drink at your expense?"—"No." "Do I owe you anything?"—"No." "Do I ever ask you to treat me?"—"No." "Then mind your own business," &c. He introduced this to show that that mode of dealing with the drunkard was not likely to answer the purpose.
"Six years ago," said he, "a man on the borders of Connecticut, sat night after night on a stool in a low tavern to scrape an old fiddle. Had you seen him, with his old hat drawn over his eyebrows, his swollen lips, and his silly grin, you would have thought him adapted for nothing else. But he signed the pledge, and in two years became a United States senator, and thrilled the House with his eloquence."
In one place, after Gough had delivered a lecture, some ladies gathered around him, and one of them said, "I wish you would ask Joe to 'sign the pledge,"—referring to a wretched-looking young man that was sauntering near the door. Gough went up to him, spokekindlyto him, and got him to sign: the ladies were delighted, and heartily shook hands with Joe. A year after Gough met Joe quite a dandy, walking arm-in-arm with a fine young lady. "Well, Joe, did you stick to the pledge?" said Gough to him. "Yes," said Joe with an exulting smile, "and the lady has stuck to me."
For more than an hour Gough kept the vast audience enchained by his varied and charming talk.
On the 29th I went over the Tract House in New York, and was delighted to see there six steam-presses,—four of which were then at work, pouring forth in rapid succession sheet after sheet impressed with that kind of literature which in my judgment is admirably adapted to meet the wants of this growing country. They were then printing on an average 27,000 publications, including nearly 2,400 of each kind,per diem!and employing sixty women in folding and stitching. During the last year they printed 713,000 volumes, and 8,299,000 smaller publications, making a total of 217,499,000 pages, or 58,154,661 pages more than in any previous year! Of thevolumesissued, I may mention 14,000 sets of four volumes of D'Aubigné's History of the Reformation, 17,000 of Bunyan's Pilgrim, 10,000 of Baxter's Saints' Rest, 9,000 of Doddridge's Rise and Progress, 7,000 of Pike's Persuasives, 13,000 of Alleine's Alarm, and 41,000 of Baxter's Call! The two Secretaries, whose business it is to superintend the publishing department and matters relating to the raising of funds, the Rev. Wm. A. Hallock and the Rev. O. Eastman, are enterprising and plodding men. They told me they were brought up together in the same neighbourhood, and had both worked at the plough till they were 20 years of age!
The 1st of May is the great moving day in New York. Throughout the city one house seems to empty itself into another. Were it to the next door, it might be done with no great inconvenience; but it is not so. Try to walk along the causeway, and you are continually blocked up with tables, chairs, and chests of drawers. Get into an omnibus, and you are beset with fenders, pokers, pans, Dutch ovens, baskets, brushes, &c. Hire a cart, and they charge you double fare.
One day at the water-side, happening to see the steamer for Staten Island about to move off, we stepped on board, and in less than half an hour found ourselves there. The distance is 6 miles, and the island is 18 miles long, 7 miles wide, and 300 feet high. Here are a large hospital for mariners and the quarantine burying-ground. It is also studded with several genteel residences. In 1657 the Indians sold it to the Dutch for 10 shirts, 30 pairs of stockings, 10 guns, 30 bars of lead, 30 lbs. of powder, 12 coats, 2 pieces of duffil, 30 kettles, 30 hatchets, 20 hoes, and one case of knives and awls.
Several emigrant vessels were then in the bay. On our return, we saw with painful interest many of them setting their foot for the first time on the shore of the New World. They were then arriving in New York, chiefly from the United Kingdom, at the rate of one thousand a day. The sight affected me even to tears. It was like a vision of the British Empire crumbling to pieces, and the materials taken to build a new and hostile dominion.
I should draw too largely upon your patience, were I to describe many objects of interest and many scenes of beauty I witnessed in New York and the neighbourhood. The Common Schools; the Croton Waterworks, capable of yielding an adequate supply for a million-and-a-half of people; Hoboken, with its sibyl's cave and elysian fields; the spot on which General Hamilton fell in a duel; the Battery and Castle Garden—a covered amphitheatre capable of accommodating 10,000 people; the Park, and the City Hall with its white marble front; Trinity Church; and its wealthy Corporation; Long Island, or Brooklyn, with its delightful cemetery, &c., &c. Suffice it to say that New York has a population of about 400,000; and that it has for that population, without an Established Church, 215 places of worship. Brooklyn has also a population of 60,000, and 30 places of worship.
The May Meetings—Dr. Bushnell's Striking Sermon—Two Anti-Slavery Meetings—A Black Demosthenes—Foreign Evangelical Society—A New Thing in the New World—The Home-Missionary Society—Progress and Prospects of the West—Church of Rome—Departure from New York—What the Author thinks of the Americans.
The American May Meetings held in New York do not last a month as in England,—a week suffices. That week is the second in the month. On the Sabbath preceding, sermons on behalf of many of the societies are preached in various churches. On the morning of the Sabbath in question we went to the Tabernacle, not knowing whom we should hear. To our surprise and pleasure, my friend Dr. Baird was the preacher. His text was, "Let thy kingdom come;" and the object for which he had to plead was the Foreign Evangelical Society, of which he was the Secretary. His sermon was exceedingly simple, and the delivery quite in an off-hand conversational style. There was no reading.
In the evening we heard Dr. Bushnell preach, on behalf of the American Home-Missionary Society, at the "Church of the Pilgrims" in Brooklyn. This is a fine costly building, named in honour of the Pilgrim Fathers, and having a fragment of the Plymouth Rock imbedded in the wall. The sermon was a very ingenious one on Judges xvii. 13: "Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest." The preacher observed that Micah lived in the time of the Judges—what might be called the "emigrant age" of Israel,—that he was introduced on the stage of history as a thief,—that he afterwards became in his own way a saint, and must have a priest. First, he consecrates his own son; but his son not being a Levite, it was difficult for so pious a man to be satisfied. Fortunately a young Levite—a strolling mendicant probably—comes that way; and he promptly engages the youth to remain and act thepadrefor him, saying, "Dwell with me, and be afatherunto me." Having thus got up a religion, the thief is content, and his mental troubles are quieted. Becoming a Romanist before Rome is founded, he says, "Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest." Religion to him consisted in a fine silver apparatus of gods, and a priest in regular succession. In this story of Micah it was seen thatemigration, or a new settlement of the social state, involves a tendency to social decline. "Our first danger," said the preacher, "is barbarism —Romanism next."
The tendency to barbarism was illustrated by historic references. The emigration headed by Abraham soon developed a mass of barbarism,—Lot giving rise to the Moabites and the Ammonites; meanwhile, Abraham throwing off upon the world in his son Ishmael another stock of barbarians—the Arabs,—a name which according to some signifiesWesterners. One generation later, and another ferocious race springs from the family of Isaac—the descendants of Esau, or the Edomites. Then coming down to the time of the Judges we find that violence prevailed, that the roads were destroyed, and that the arts had perished: there was not even a smith left in the land; and they were obliged to go down to the Philistines to get an axe or a mattock sharpened. Then the preacher came to the great American question itself. It was often supposed that in New England there had always been an upward tendency. It was not so. It had been downward until the "great revival" about the year 1740. The dangers to which society in the South and "Far West" is now exposed were powerfully described. The remedies were then pointed out.
"First of all, we must not despair." "And what next? We must get rid, if possible, of slavery." "'We must have peace.'". Also "Railways and telegraphs." "Education, too, we must favour and promote." "Above all, provide a talented and educated body of Christian teachers, and keep them pressing into the wilderness as far as emigration itself can go." The conclusion of this great sermon was so remarkable that I cannot but give it in the Doctor's own words.
"And now, Jehovah God, thou who, by long ages of watch and discipline, didst make of thy servant Abraham a people, be thou the God also of this great nation. Remember still its holy beginnings, and for the fathers' sakes still cherish and sanctify it. Fill it with thy Light and thy Potent Influence, till the glory of thy Son breaks out on the Western sea as now upon the Eastern, and these uttermost parts, given to Christ for his possession, become the bounds of a new Christian empire, whose name the believing and the good of all people shall hail as a name of hope and blessing."
On the Tuesday I attended two Anti-slavery Meetings in the Tabernacle. The one in the morning was that of Mr. Garrison's party. The chief speakers were Messrs. Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass. This party think that the constitution of the United States is so thoroughly pro-slavery that nothing can be done without breaking it up. Another party, at the head of which is Lewis Tappan, think that there are elements in the constitution which may be made to tell powerfully against slavery, and ultimately to effect its overthrow. Both parties mean well; but they unhappily cherish towards each other great bitterness of feeling. Mr. Tappan's party held their meeting in the afternoon. Among the speakers was the Rev. Mr. Patton from Hartford, son of Dr. Patton, who made a very effective speeches. The Rev. Samuel Ward also, a black man of great muscular power, and amazing command of language and of himself, astonished and delighted me. I could not but exclaim, "There speaks a black Demosthenes!" This man, strange to say, is the pastor of a Congregational church of white people in the State of New York. As a public speaker he seemed superior to Frederick Douglass. It was pleasing at those anti-slavery meetings to see how completely intermingled were the whites and the coloured.
I had been invited in the evening to speak at the public meeting of the Foreign Evangelical Society, and to take tea at Dr. Baird's house. While I was there, Dr. Anderson, one of the Secretaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and Mr. Merwin, called to invite me to address the public meeting of that society on the Friday. I promised to do so, if I should not previously have left for the West Indies. The public meeting of Dr. Baird's society was held in the Dutch Reformed Church, Dr. Hutton's, a magnificent Gothic building. Dr. De Witt took the chair. The attendance was large and respectable. Dr. Baird, as Secretary, having recently returned from Europe, where he had conversed on the subject of his mission with fourteen crowned heads, read a most interesting report. The writer had then to address the meeting. After him three other gentlemen spoke. There was no collection! Strange to say, that, with all their revivals, our friends in America seem to be morbidly afraid of doing anything under the influence of excitement. Hence the addresses on occasions like this are generally stiff and studied, half-an-hour orations. This feeling prevents their turning the voluntary principle, in the support of their religious societies, to so good an account as they otherwise might. At the close of this meeting, there seemed to be a fine state of feeling for making a collection; and yet no collection was made. This society is one of great value and importance. It is designed to tell in the promotion of evangelical truth on the Catholic countries of Europe and South America. In those countries, it employs a hundred colporteurs in the sale and distribution of religious publications.
The next morning I addressed a breakfast meeting of about 400 people, in a room connected with the Tabernacle. This was a new thing in the New World. It was, moreover, an anti-slavery breakfast, under the presidency of Lewis Tappan. It was charming to see the whites and the coloured so intermingled at this social repast, and that in the very heart of the great metropolis of America.
At 10 the same morning a meeting of the American Tract Society was held at the Tabernacle. I had been engaged to speak on that occasion, but was obliged to go and see about the vessel that was to take us away.
In the evening I was pressed, at half an hour's notice, to speak at the meeting of the American Home-Missionary Society. The Rev. H.W. Beecher of Indianapolis, one of the sons of Dr. Beecher, made a powerful speech on the claims of the West and South-west. In my own address I complimented the Directors on the ground they had recently taken in reference to slavery, and proceeded to say that there was an important sense in which that society should be an anti-slavery society. This elicited the cheers of the few, which were immediately drowned in the hisses of the many. The interruption was but momentary, and I proceeded. The next morning one of the Secretaries endeavoured to persuade me that the hisses were not at myself, but at those who interrupted me with their cheers. I told him his explanation was ingenious and kind; nevertheless I thought I might justly claim the honour of having been hissed for uttering an anti-slavery sentiment at the Tabernacle in New York!
This society has an herculean task to perform; and, in consideration of it, our American friends might well be excused for some years, were it possible, from all foreign operations.
"Westward the star of empire moves."
Ohio welcomed its first permanent settlers in 1788, and now it is occupied by nearly 2,000,000 of people. Michigan obtained its first immigrants but fourteen or fifteen years ago, and now has a population of 300,000. Indiana, admitted into the Union in 1816, has since then received a population of more than half a million, and now numbers nearly a million of inhabitants. Illinois became a State in 1818. From that date its population trebled every ten years till the last census of 1840, and since then has risen from 476,000 to about 900,000. Missouri, which in 1810 had only 20,800 people, has now 600,000, having increased 50 per cent. in six years. Iowa was scarcely heard of a dozen years ago. It is now a State, and about 150,000 people call its land their home. Wisconsin was organized but twelve years ago, and has now a population of not less than 200,000. One portion of its territory, 33 miles by 30, which ten years before was an unbroken wilderness, numbered even in 1846 87,000 inhabitants; and the emigration to the "Far West" is now greater than ever. A giant is therefore growing up there, who will soon be able and disposed to rule the destinies of the United States. The Church of Rome is straining every nerve to have that giant in her own keeping, and already shouts the song of triumph. Says one of her sanguine sons, "The Church is now firmly established in this country, and persecution will but cause it to thrive. Our countrymen may grieve that it is so; but it is useless for them to kick against the decrees of the Almighty God. They have an open field and fair play for Protestantism. Here she has had free scope, has reigned without a rival, and proved what she could do, and that her best is evil; for the very good she boasts is not hers. A new day is dawning on this chosen land, and the Church is about to assume her rightful position and influence. Ours shall yet become consecrated ground.Our hills and valleys shall yet echo to the convent-bell.The cross shall be planted throughout the length and breadth of our land; and our happy sons and daughters shall drive away fear, shall drive away evil from our borders with the echoes of their matin and vesper hymns. No matter who writes, who declaims, who intrigues, who is alarmed, or what leagues are formed, THIS IS TO BE A CATHOLIC COUNTRY; and from Maine to Georgia, from the broad Atlantic to broader Pacific, the 'clean sacrifice' is to be offered daily for quick and dead." The triumph may be premature; but it conveys a timely warning.
The next day the Anniversary of the Bible Society was held. The Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen presided. At that meeting I had been requested, to speak, but could not. Indeed, we were detained all day on board a vessel by which we expected every hour to sail for Jamaica; though, after all, we had to wait until the following day. On that day, the 14th of May, just at the time the Board of Missions were holding their public meeting, we sailed, and bade adieu to New York and all the delightful engagements of that memorable week.
But, say you, Tell us in a few words what you think of America upon the whole? I will try to do so. There is a class of things I greatly admire; and there is a class of things I greatly detest. Among the former I may mention—
1. Religious equality—the absence of a State church.
2. The workings of the voluntary principle in the abundant supply of places of worship, and in the support of religious institutions.
3. General education. With regard to their common schools, and also to their colleges, they are far in advance of us in England. The existence of universal suffrage has the effect of stimulating educational efforts to a degree which would not otherwise be attained. The more respectable and intelligent of the citizens are made to feel that, with universal suffrage, their dearest institutions are all perilled unless the mass be educated.
As education is the great question of the day, I must not omit to make a few remarks on the Primary Schools of the United States. There is nonationalsystem of education in America. Congress does not interfere in the matter, except in the "Territories" before they become "States." The States of the Union are so many distinct Republics, and, in the matter of education, as in all their internal affairs, are left entirely to take their own measures. With regard to education, no two States act precisely alike. If we glance at the States of Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio, we shall, however, discover the three great types of what in this respect generally prevails throughout the States.
MASSACHUSETTS.—Scarcely had the "Pilgrims" been half-a-dozen years in their wilderness home before they began to make what they deemed a suitable provision for the instruction of their children. They adopted the same principle in reference to education and religion—that of taxation. A general tax was not imposed; but the people in the various townships were empowered to tax themselves to a certain amount, and to manage the whole affair by means of their own "select men." But, although this law has continued for 200 years, the people have always done far more than it required. In Boston, for instance, the law demands only 3,000 dollars a year, but not less than 60,000 dollars is raised and applied! So that here we have a noble proof, not so much of the effect of government interference, as of the efficiency of the voluntary principle in providing education for the young. The people of Massachusetts, and indeed of all the New England States, are doubtless the best educated in the world. Not one in a thousand of those born here grows up unable to read and write.
The calumniated "Pilgrims" were thus early attentive to the importance of education; and their system had been in full operation for between thirty and forty years, when, in 1670, Sir William Berkley, Governor of Virginia, the stronghold of the Anglican Church, thus devoutly addressed the "Lords of Plantations in England:"—"I thank Godthere are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years; for learning has broughtdisobedience and heresy and sectsinto the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both!"
The system of Massachusetts may be regarded as a type of what prevails in the six New England States, except Connecticut, where there is a State fund of upwards of 2,000,000 dollars, yielding an annual dividend of about 120,000 dollars for school purposes.
NEW YORK.—In this State a large fund for schools has been created by the sale of public land. The proceeds of this fund are annually distributed in such a way as to secure the raising by local efforts of at least three times the amount for the same object. This fund is thus used as a gentle stimulant to local exertions. The system described will convey a notion of what exists in themiddleStates.
Ohio.—In this and the Western States every township is divided into so many sections of a mile square; and one of these sections, out of a given number, is devoted to the maintenance of schools. As a township increases in population, the reserved section advances in value. These schools are not subject to any central control, but are under the management of a committee chosen by the township.
Still education is not so general in all the States as might be wished. Miss Beecher, the daughter of Dr. Beecher, having devoted to the subject much time and talent, tells us that there are in the United States "a million adults who cannot read and write, and more than two millions of children utterly illiterate and entirely without schools!" Of the children in this condition, 130,000 are in Ohio, and 100,000 in Kentucky.
In the working of this system of education, the absence of a State Church affords advantages not enjoyed in England. Of late, however, an objection to the use of the Bible in these schools has been raised by the Roman Catholics, and the question in some States has been fiercely agitated. In the city of St. Louis the Bible has been excluded. In Cincinnati the Catholics, failing to exclude it, have established schools of their own.
This agitation is one of great interest. It leads thoughtful and devout men to ask, whether, when the State, assuming to be the instructor of its subjects, establishes schools, and puts Protestant Bibles, or any other, or none into themby law, they have not thenceforth Protestantism, Popery, or Infidelity so farby law established; and whether it is not better that the State should restrict itself to its proper function as the minister of justice, leaving secular instruction, like religious, to the spontaneous resources of the people.
To this, I think, it will come at last. The Common School economy is a remnant of the old Church-and-State system, which has not been entirely swept away. But for this impression I should feel some uneasiness, lest it should prove the germ of a new order of things leading back to State-Churchism. It appeared to me quite natural to say, "Here is a State provision for schools,—why not have a similar provision for churches? It works well for the one,—why not for the other? Is it not as important that our churches should rely, not alone on the capricious and scanty efforts of the voluntary principle, but also on the more respectable and permanent support of the State, as it is that our Common Schools should adopt this course?" To me it seemed that the arguments which recommended the one supported the other; but when I have mentioned to intelligent men the possibility, not to say probability, of the one step leading to the other, they have invariably been surprised at my apprehensions, and have assured me that nothing was more unlikely to take place.
But, to show the jealousy with which onothergrounds the system begins to be viewed, I will close by a short quotation from a writer in theNew Englander, a respectableQuarterly, to which I have before referred. "It will, doubtless, be thought strange to say that the systems of public common-school education now existing, and sought to be established throughout our country, may yet, while Christians sleep, become one of the greatest, if notthegreatest, antagonism in the land to all evangelical instruction and piety. But how long before they will be so,—when they shall have become the mere creatures of the State, and, under the plea of no sectarianism, mere naturalism shall be the substance of all the religious, and the basis of all the secular teaching which they shall give? And let it not be forgotten that strong currents of influence, in all parts of the country, acting in no chance concert, are doing their utmost to bring about just this result."
4. I admire theirtemperance.
I confess that I felt humbled and ashamed for my own country, when, so soon as I trod on British ground, or Britishplanks, the old absurd drinking usages again saluted my eye. In all the States I met with nothing more truly ludicrous than some of these. For instance, when A.B.'s mouth happens to be well replenished with, "flesh, fish, or fowl," potatoes, pudding, or pastry, at one table, C.D., from another table far away across the room, at the top of his voice, calls out, "Mr. A.B., allow me the pleasure to take a glass of wine with you." A.B. makes a very polite bow, fills his glass in a great hurry, holds it up with his right hand, C.D. doing the same thing with his; and then A.B. and C.D., making another polite bow to each other, simultaneously swallow their glasses of wine! Were we notaccustomedto the sight, it would appear as laughable as anything travellers tell us of the manners and customs of the least enlightened nations. Surely, if this childish practice is still a rule in polite society, it is one "more honoured in the breach than the observance." In no city on the Eastern side of the Alleghany Mountains did I meet a single drunken American in the street. The few whom I did detect in that plight were manifestly recent importations from Great Britain and Ireland!
5. I also greatly admire theirsecular enterprise. They afford a fine illustration of the idea conveyed in their own indigenous phrase, "Go a-head."
Slavery—Responsibility of the North—District of Columbia—Preponderance of the Slave Power—Extermination of the Indians—President Taylor and his Blood-hounds—Conclusion.
But there is a class of things among them which men of well-regulated minds and habits cannot but detest. These, as they have come under my notice, I have pointed out. The chief of all isslavery. This stared me in the face the moment I entered the States; and it presses itself on my notice now that I have retired from the American shore. It is the beginning and the ending of all that is vile and vicious in this confederation of Republics. In England, you have been often told by American visiters that the Northern States of the Union are not at all identified with slavery, and are, in fact, no more responsible for its existence in the South than we are for the existence of a like system in the colonies of some of our European Allies. Than this representation nothing can be further from the truth. There is really no analogy whatever between the two cases. Each State, it is true, has its own distinct and independent legislature; but all the States are united in one federation, which has a thoroughly pro-slavery government. The constitution is pledged to maintain the execrable system, and the Northern States are pledged to maintain the hypocritical constitution.
That no preponderance of influence might be given to any one State over the rest, by making it the seat of the central government, a district of 10 miles square was partitioned out, partly from Virginia and partly from Maryland, for that purpose. This district, called the District of Columbia, has no government and no representation of its own, but is under the absolute control and regulation of the United Government or Congress, "exclusive jurisdiction over it in all cases whatsoever" having been given by the constitution. In this absolute government of the "ten miles square," embracing the site of Washington the capital, the Northern States, by their representatives in Congress, have their full share. Now, not merely does slavery exist in that District, but it exists there under statutes so barbarous and cruel that the neighbouring slave States have actually abolished the like within the bounds of their separate jurisdiction, leaving to thefreeStates the unenviable responsibility of enforcing laws too horrible for kidnappers. Take a specimen,—"A slave convicted of any petit treason, or murder, or wilful burning of a dwelling-house, to have the right hand cut off, to be hanged in the usual manner, the head severed from the body, the body divided into four quarters, and the head and quarters set up in the most public places of the county where such act was committed." Take another,—"Afree negromay be arrested, and put in jail for 3 months, onsuspicionof being a runaway; and if he is not able toprovehis freedom in 12 months,he is to be sold as a slaveTO PAY HIS JAIL FEES!" Are there not hundreds of free men, both black and white, who could notprovetheir freedom under such circumstances? Yet, for thiscrime, they are reduced to perpetual bondageby authority of Congress. And all this the North upholds!
Washington, the capital, thus governed, is but the great mart of the national man-trade. From the adjoining port of Alexandria, 7 miles off, the victims are shipped for the South. Listen to theGazetteof that place,—"Here you may behold fathers and brothers leaving behind them the dearest objects of affection, and moving slowly along in the mute agony of despair,—there the young mother sobbing over the infant, whose innocent smiles seem but to increase her misery. From some you will hear the burst of bitter lamentation; while from others the loud hysteric laugh breaks forth, denoting still deeper agony."
But you will be told that it is not in the power of Northern members to alter this state of things. Why not? In the House of Representatives the free States have a majority of about 50, and in the Senate they have for some years been equal. But have they tried? Have they protested? Have they voted? Have they divided the House? Theyhavevoted. How?Eighty-two Northern men, a few years ago, voted that Congress ought not to interferein any waywith slavery in the District of Columbia!
Look at some of the provisions of the Federal Government. See what "SOLEMN GUARANTEES" it gives to the accursed system of slavery, in whatever State it may be found!
Art. I., sect. 2, says, "Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to serve for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed,three-fifths of all other persons"—that is to say,slaves, for once called "persons!" Here is a positive premium on slave-holding. This constitutes an aristocracy of the most monstrous character, and introduces into the social fabric an element as absurd as it is perilous. Talk of the aristocracy of England, and the undue influence of landed proprietors! You have nothing half so unjust and vicious as this. Suppose the Southern States have two millions and a half of slaves: for that amount of property they have one million and a half of additional votes; while in the free States there is no property representation whatever. Or look at the question in another aspect. Two citizens have each a capital of 5,000_l._ to invest. The one invests in shipping or commerce in New York, and at the time of the election, countsone; the other invests in slaves in South Carolina, obtaining for the sum mentioned a whole gang of 100 human beings of both sexes and of all ages, and at the time of the election he countssixty-one,—swamping with his 100 slaves the votes of sixty-one respectable merchants in a free State! This it is which has constituted an aristocracy of about 200,000 slaveholders in the South, the ruling power in the United States. It has made the preservation and extension of slavery the vital and moving principle of the national policy. So that ever since 1830 slavery, slave-holding, slave-breeding, and slave-trading have enjoyed the special and fostering care of the Federal Government. As to thequid pro quo—the taxation that was to be connected with the representation of "three-fifths of all other persons," that has been almost entirely evaded. "There has not been," says a New England Reviewer, "if we mistake not, but in one instance, and then in a very light degree, an assessment of direct taxation."
Art. I., sect. 8, says, "Congress shall have power"—among other things—"to suppressinsurrections." And Art. IV., sect. 4, says, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government; and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), againstdomestic violence."
These clauses pledge the whole force of the United States' army, and navy too, if needs be, to the maintenance of slavery in any or in all the States and Districts in which it may exist. But for this, the system could not stand a single day. Let the North say to the South, "We will not interfere with your 'peculiar institution,' but we will not defend it; if you cannot keep your slaves in subjection, you must expect no aid from us." Let them only say this, anddonothing, and the whole fabric of slavery would instantly crumble and fall. The edifice is rotten, and is propped up only by the buttresses of the North. The South retains the slave, because the free States furnish the sentinels.
Again, Art. IV., sect. 2, says, "No person held to service or labour in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour; but shall bedelivered upon claim of the party to whom such service or labour may be due."
This clause pledges the North, not only to refuse an asylum to the fugitive slave, but also to deliver him up to his unrighteous and cruel task-master,—a deed which the law of God expressly condemns, and which the best impulses of our nature repudiate with loathing and contempt. The article before us constitutes all the free States of the Union a slave-hunting ground for the Southern aristocracy. Talk of the game laws of England! Here is a game law infinitely more unjust and oppressive. A free country this! A noble government! Hail Columbia!
See how this slave-holding aristocracy have always managed to oppress the North, and to secure to themselves the lion's share of the good things of government.
THE PRESIDENCY.—Out of the 16 presidential elections since the origin of the Confederation, 13 have been in favour of slave-holders, and only 3 in favour of Northern men. By holding the Presidency, slavery rules the cabinet, the diplomacy, the army, and the navy of the Union. The power that controls the Presidency controls the nation. No Northern President has ever been re-elected.
THE VICE-PRESIDENCY.—The individual who holds this office isex-officioPresident of the Senate, and, as such, has a casting vote in all questions before that body. During the last 20 years, with one exception, this functionary has always been a slave-holder.
THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE.—This is second only in importance to the Presidency. It is the duty of this officer to direct correspondence with foreign courts, instruct the foreign ministers, negotiate treaties, &c. Of the 16 who have hitherto filled that office, 10 have been from the slave States, and 6 from the free.
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—This officer has the appointment of all committees, and exerts an immense influence on the legislation of the country. During 31 of the 34 years from 1811 to 1845 the Speakers were all slave-holders.
The slave power, having thus the whole machinery of government under its control, can at any time bring all the resources of the nation to bear upon the preservation and extension of the "peculiar institution." While Florida, for instance, belonged to Spain, it furnished an asylum for runaway slaves from the neighbouring States. It must therefore be purchased by the Union, and five millions of dollars were paid for it. Still the native Indians, those children of the forest, afforded a shelter to fugitives from slavery. They must therefore be either exterminated or exiled. A war was waged against them. They were driven from the homes of their fathers, and the negroes among them hunted and shot like wild beasts. At the urgent recommendation of Zachary Taylor—the person who in March next will doubtless mount the presidential chair—blood-hounds were purchased as AUXILIARIES to the army, at a cost of five thousand dollars; and blood-hounds and soldiers and officers marched together under the "star-spangled banner" in pursuit of the panting fugitives from Southern oppression. In this expedition they captured 460 negroes, each one at the cost of the lives of two white men, and at a further expense of at least eighty thousand dollars per head. The whole outlay of the war wasforty millions of dollars, most of which was drawn from the pockets of Northern people.
The Annexation of Texas and the Mexican War—all for the perpetuation and extension of slavery—are fresh in your remembrance.
And here I quit the land of "The Bond and the Free."
"Nineveh, Babylon, and ancient RomeSpeak to the present times, and times to come:They cry aloud in every careless ear,'Stop, while you may; suspend your mad career;Oh! learn from our example and our fate,—Learn wisdom and repentance ere too late.'"