o « » ' . ^ CL. *- V^ *1* ■' .<•* ■ :'M/k\ \. .'f r > ^ : "W" ^^^ V\^ ^bv' v-^' •^N^. lV->- ^'■H. \v^^^v' /'"\ •.^^•° *^"^' "^ « o . "^ MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE REQUITED LABOR CONVENTION, n HELD IN PHILADELPHIA, The 17tU and IStfc of tlie Fifth month. AND BV ADJOURNMENT ON The 5th and 6th of the Ninth mouth, 1838. -*>K§BJ<<*- PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY M E R K I H E W AND G U N N , No. 7 Curler's Alley. v 1838. 3 6 5- «? o -^ MINUTES. At a Meeting of the Delegates to the Requited Labor Convention rriTtCis'asr^" ^-^^^ ^^ ''- ^^"->'^--- ^ai,, f^: m^^^A Pi''^^''^T ""^^ "^^"^^ *^ ^'^^^' by William C. Betts of Philadelphia, and on motion, William Bassett, of Lynn Massarhn setts was appointed President; William C. Betts, of Philadebhia' and Ahce Ehza Hambleton, of Chester County, Secretanesf^ '' Ihe follovvmg call for the Convention was then read: To Anti-Slavery Societies and Individuals throughout the United States. "Fellow Citizens :-Being persuaded that the final overthrow of slavery would be greatly accelerated by general abstinence from the proceeds of slave labor, and having corresponded with differed societies and mdividua s on the subject, it is agreed to hold a convention of men and women, in Philadelphia, the 17th day of the Fi th month (May) next, to form a Nationa Requited Shor Association; the object of which shall be to operate on the mind of he community, by exhibiting the relation the consumer sustains ^o he slaveholder and pursuing, ourselves, a course consistent as abolitionists; and to devise means for obtaining articles produced by fi-eemen, whereby we may be enabled with less difficultvlo refrain from partaking of goods procured through the unrequited abor of the slave and immediately to cease from encouraS and aS^^^l tyILm " "' ^'^'"'^''"^ " "'^'^^^'"^^^ ''' "-'g^'^-- " Societies, friendly to the measure, are requested to send dele gat^s; and individuals approving the object, are invited to attend and be with them as members of the Convention " The names of the delegates were then enrolled, as follows : ^ CLARKSox A. s. s. Amy Preston, Alice Eliza Hambleton, Charles Hambleton, Joseph Moore, Jeremiah Whitson, Phebe Hadley, William Jackson. ™h Hambleton, Lindley Coates, Kest Ehza Lambourn, Joseph Fulton, Deborah S. Coates, Thomas Worrel, Kachel Ann Lambourn, Isaac Moore, Lienor Brinton, Eli Hambleton. MIT^TTTES or TUT. CITY AND COUNTY A. S. S. William C. Belts, Edward M. Davis, Benjamin S. .lones, David Sellers, Peter Wright, Henry Grew, Daniel Neall, sr. Warner Justice, William Marott, James M. Jackson. LYNN (mass.) a. S. S. William Bassett, James P. Boyce. KENNETT A. S. S. John Cox, iienjamin Pyle, Mabie Pyle, Hannah Cox, B. Fussell, John Agnew, John J. Philips, Henry Brosius, Jacob Pierce, Sarah T. Harvey. WILHERFORCE A. S. S. Samuel Jones, John J. Baker, Jonathan J. Lewis, John Pugh, Thomas Adamson, .lames Hardy, George W. Lewis, Hannah P. Jones, Uacht'l Jonas, E. M. Pugh. JUNIOR A. S. S. Daniel L. Miller, jr. Joseph Parrish, jr. E. Squibb, Samuel J. Levick, Thomas Foulk, J. P. Kills, (;. D. Jones, J. H. Johnson. ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS FOR A VOCATINC; THE CAUSE OF Tl SLAVE, &C. John H. Cavender, Caleb Clothier, James Molt, Esther S. Justice, Deborah Mar.ill, Margarett C. Atlee, iiarah G. Wayne, Hannah Williams, Lucretia Mott, Lydia White, Isaac Coates, Emmor Kimber, jr. John Atkinson, jr. Mary L. Rowland, Mary Sleeper, Beulah Passmore, Lydia Kimber, Huldah Justice, OXFORD FREE PRODUCE ASSOCIA- TION. Daniel Kent, John Hambleton, Agnes Cook, Uuth Hambleton. NORTHERN LIHERTIES A. S. S. Lucas Gillingham, James Ti. Pierce, Ralph Smith, James McCrummill, William Deal, Jr. Elizabeth Gillingham, Mary P. Egan, Rebecca Hawkins, Mary B. Smith, Elizabeth Henley, Edwin GrifBn. COLERAIN A. S. S. William Brosius, W. L. Rakestraw, Martha Clendenon, Sarah Hagerty. BURLINGTON CITY A. S. S. David Oliver, John Farrish, Joseph Beldon. RUCKINlillAM FEM.\LE A. S. S. Martha Smith, Elizabeth Kly, Mary W. Magill, Mary Beans, I). Ann J. Paxon, ,£ Mary Johnson, Tracy Purry, Beulah Ann Smith. DELAWARE COUNTY A. S. S. Joseph Rhoads, sr. John Sellers, jr. Ann E. Sellers, REQUITED LABOR COXVEXTION. Anna Poole. LV.\X FEMALE A. S. S. Miriam B. Johnson, Eienor Johnson, Hannah Alley, Abigail L. Bread, Abby Kelly. KniBERTON A. S. S. John Thomas, Bartholomew Fussell, Mary Halderman, Henry Royer, Gertrude Kimber, Esther Hawley, Jesse Hawley, Mary Ann Lewis, Grace Ann Lewis, Abigail Kimber, Lydia M. Fussell, Henry Kimber, Norris INIavis. SNOAVHILL AND MOUNT ZIONA. S. S. Arthur Boyer, Isaac Clement. PHILADELPHIA CITY A. S. S. William A. Garrigues, Robert Biddle, David Sellers, Samuel Webb, Charles C. Jackson, VVilliam C. Belts, Charles Wise, Thomas Hansell, Robert McClure, Daniel Neall, jr. FRANKFORD A. S. S. S. W. Pickering, S. Williams, G. L. Gillingham, Mahlon Murphy, Isaac Whitelock, Amos Thorp, J. H. Webster, Enoch Roberts, Edwin Fulton, William Murphy, N. HiUes, John G. Lewis, Elizabeth Whitelock, Ann L. Gillingham, Naomi Murphy, Mary P. New bold, Susan Roberts, Letitia Murphy, Sarah Cowley, Mary Ann Webster, E. D. Newbold, Sarah Whitelock, Eliza Gillingham, SPRING GARDEN A. S. S. George M. Alsop, Enoch Stratton, Warner Justice, Francis Mitchell, Middleton Morris, Samuel Ross, David Coggins, Samuel D. Hastings, Daniel Longstreth, Joseph M. Truman, John Longstreth, Ebenezer S. Davis, Jacob S. Brotherton, Josiah Bond, Albert Middleton. BUCKS COUNTY A. S. S. Joshua Dungan, Richard Janney, Jonathan P. Magill, Joseph Janney, William H. Johnson, Joseph Yard ley, Martha Smith, S. Janney, Beulah Ann Smith, Mary Johnson, Harriet P. Johnson, M. W. Magill, Penquite Linton, Charles Swain, Thomas Janney, M. B. Linton, Ann J. Passon, Ann Buckman, Sarah Beans, Trancenia Janney. WEST CHESTER A. S. S. Hannah Covington, Lucretia Fleming, I'hebe Darlington, Henrietta Simmons. EAST-FALLOWFIELD A. S. S. James Fulton, jr. Enoch Harlon, Samuel Penninaion, C. Taylor. George Baker, Susan Taylor, MINUTES OF THE Mary Liikens, jr. Sarah Naylor, Mary Ann Coates. PHIL VDKLPillA FEMALE A S. S. Mary K. Fennock, Sarah Lewis, Sarah Pierson, Elizabeth Bunting, Elizabeth Neall, Rachel Sellers, Anna Banting, Mary Corlies, Theressa Kimber, Sarah Dorsey, Margaret Randolph, Sarah Palmer, Hetty Burr, Jane Smith, A. Warrington, Snsan Haydock, Mary Needles, Sarah Parke, Sarah Shaw, Mary Townsend, Mary Gillingham, Sidney Ann 'Lewis, Lydia W. Ellis, Sarah Jackson, Sarah M.Crimke, Sarah Pugh, C. Eckstein. NAMES OF INDIVIDI'ALS ENROLL ED AVIIO WEKE NOT DELEGATES. Esther Hayes, Sarah Mc(/rummill, L. R. Lukens, John Cross, Lewis C. Guiin, Thomas E. Chapman, A. L. I'ennock, Mary H. Vickers. Alanson St. (Mair, ■ Joseph Gibbons, Joseph L. Pennock, Rebecca S. Sellers, Martha R. Ellis, Rachel B. Moore, Beulah Moore, John Jones, Susan H. Luther, Mary Spencer, Joseph Sharpless, Elizabeth Pierce, Mary L. Cox, Joseph S. Pierce, Charles Cadwallader, Alice Sellers, Elizabeth Kent, Mary Darlington, Mary Shaw, Mira Orum, Nathan Thorne, J. F. Temple, Charles C. Burleigh, Elizabeth ]\L Jacobs, Sarah A. Speakman, Jonathan Lambourn, jr. Jane Johnson, Abby Bowman, Sarah Webb, Mary Grew, Sarah G. Little, Hannah Townsend, Lydia Lukens, Sarah S. Truman, Elizabeth Shaw, Susan W. Shaw. It was, then , _ • , t u Resolved, That we proceed to form a National Requited Labor Association, and that a Committee be appointed to drall a Constitu- tion for said Association. AVhereupon the following were appointed, viz • Lewis C. Gttnn, of Philadelphia ; Henry Grew, do. ; \V illiam Bassett, Lynn, Massachusetts ; William Jackson, Cliester county, Pennsylvania ; Alice Kliza Htimbleton, do. \ ('onnnittee was appointed to prepare business for the Conven- tion, consisting of Lin.llev Coat.-s, Lancast.M" county, Pennsylvania; William H. Johnson, Bucks c.mnty, P.-nnsylvania; Alanson bt Clair, Massachus..tts; BarthoKm.ew Fuss.ll, Chester co., lennsyl- vinia- Cal.b Clutbier, Phih.d.lpliia ; James L. Pierce, Northern RECil'ITED LABOR CONVENTION. 7 Liberties ; Abby Kelly, Lynn, Massachusetts ; Sarah T. Harvey, Hannah Williams, S. 'H. Luther, and Elizabeth Southard. A Committee was also appointed to prepare and publish an Ad- dress on the duty of abstaining from the produce of slave labor, viz., Lewis C. Gunn, Charles C. Burleigh, M. L. Cox, Jona- than P. Magill, Sarah JM. Grimke, Alice Eliza Hamblcton, and Abby Kelly. On motion, the following Committee was appointed to obtain in- formation of the places from whence articles the result of remune- rated labor can be obtained, viz., William Bassett, William C. Belts, Abraham L. Pennock, John H.Cavender, James Mott, Charles Wise, Charles Cadwallader, Lydia White. The Convention adjourned to meet in the Saloon of Pennsylvania Hall, at 2 o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. The roll was called and the minutes of the morning session read and adjourned. The Business Committee made a report which was accepted, and being amended was adopted as follows : " The Committee appointed to prepare business for the Free Pro- duce Convention, respectfully report, " That they consider it highly necessary that the minds of the various members of the Convention should be deeply and solenmly impressed with the great importance of the measure in which we are about to engage, and the practical benefits to our cause which are likely to ensue from it, and inasmuch as free discussion, which is the motto of the day, is calculated to elicit the views and argu- ments which may be adduced in its support, the Committee would respectfully suggest that one hour be appropriated for this purpose, prior to our entering upon any other business. We would also propose that the Committee on the Constitution should then make their report, and the Convention enter upon its consideration and adoption ; after which the Society in its official capacity shall elect its officers, by which means it will become fully organized and ready to enter upon such duties as may devolve upon it by the Constitution. Standing Rules of the Convention. " \st. All persons, whether favorable or opposed to the objects of this Convention, shall have full liberty to discuss any resolution involving the principles it professes ; but no one, not a member, shall be permitted to vote. " 'id. No person shall speak more than twice on any question till all others who desire to speak shall have spoken. 8 MINUTES OF THE " Sd. No person shall offer any resolution, or motion, unless to amend, substitute, or adjourn, while a previous one is pendin-T." Alanson St. Clair offered the following : Fesolveil, That we will in all cases'' give a preference to the products of free labor over those of slaves ; and never, if we can liave a choice between the two, give countenance to slaveholding, by purchasing, trafficking in, or using the latter. After an animated discussion, in which Henry Grew, A. St. Clair, M. L. Cox, S. H. Luther, N. Southard, Thomas Hambloton, R. Smith, and others participated, it was laid on the tabic, and the Convention adjourned to meet at 10 o'clock to-morrow mornino-. FIFTH MONTH 18th, 1838. At a meeting of the Requited Labor Convention, held at the ruins of the Pennsylvania Hall, at 10 o'clock, A. M. (^n motion, adjourned to James Mott's, North Ninth street, at 11 o'clock. 11 o'clock. At a meeting held at James Mott's, pursuant to adjournment, A letter from Mary S. Wilson was read in the Convention; after ^vhich the following resolution was adopted : Resolved, That a committee of seven, with tho officers, be appointed a Committee of Correspondence, with power to call this Convention together, at such time and place as they shall deem suitable, viz.: '^William Bassett, President, William C. Betts, Alice Eliza Hambloton, Secretaries, Abraham L. Pennock, Thomas Hambleton, Lewis C. Gunn, Lucretia Mott, Mary Johnson, Sarah M. (jrinike, Lindley Coates, and Henry Grew. On motion, adjourned to meet at such time and place as shall be agreed upon by the aforesaid Committee. WILLL\M BASSETT, President. William C. Betts, > Alice Eliza Hamhleton, \ ^^f^retanes, RKQTTITED LABOR CONVKNTION. NINTH MONTH 5th, 1838. At an adjourned meeting of the Requited Labor Convention, asse'mbled in Sandiford Hall, pursuant to the call of the Committee of Correspondence, the President being absent, Richard Janney, of Bucks county, was called to the Chair. The Roll of the Delegates being called, there were present at the morning session, Alice Eliza Hambletoii, Rest Eliza Lambourn, Thomas Hambleton, Charles Hambleton, Eli Hambleton, William C. Belts, Edward M. Davis, Benjamin S. Jones, Henry Grew, Sarah T. Harvey, Daniel L. Miller, jr. .\. Foulk, M. W. Ma^ill, M. B. Linton, L. R. Lukens, L. C. Gunn, .Trvnathaii Lambourn, Mira Orum, Mary Shaw, Martha Smith, Mary Beans, Mary Johnson, Tacy Parry, John Sellers, jr, Sidney Ann Lewis, John H. Cavender, Esther S. Justice, Sarah G. Wayne, Lucretia Mott, jr. Lydia White, Isaac Coates, John Atkinson, jr. Mary Sleeper, John Hambleton, Joseph L. Pierce, Edwin Griffin, George M. Alsop, Francis Mitchell, Josiah Bond, Jonathan P. Magill, William H. Johnson, C. C. Burleigh, Joseph Sharpless, A. L. Pennock, K. H. Coates, Sarah Dorsey, -T. Parrish, jr. J. M. JacKson, Nathan Thorne, C. Clothier, D. Marott, James Mot% Susan Taylor, Samuel Naylor, Martha Hampton, Esther Ann Fussell, J. Clark. Oi motion of Benjamin S. Jones, all persons in attendance, who are tirorable to the objects of this Convention, are invited to take part u Its deliberations. -Theninutes of the last meeting were read and adopted. Lettt^ were read from Gerrit Smith, William Bassett, and the LoleraiiAnti-Slavery Society in this state. L- C.'unn, on behalf of the Committee on the Constitution, reported i^raft of a Preamble and Constitution, which, on motion, was accepd, and with some amendments adopted, and is as JO MINUTES OF THE PREAMBLE. Assured of the correctness of the principle, that the receiver of property, known to be unrighteously obtained, is a criminal participator in an evil deed; assured that the products of slave labor are thus obtained, and that the purchasing and using ol^ these products, on the part of the consumer, is the g'-f ^1/^!"^"'"^J^^ maintain the abominable system of oppression, without which there would exist no adequate inducement to continue it : theretore, lor the sake of outraged humanity, and for the purpose of bearing a consistent, holy, practical testimony against a great national sm, we agree to associate under the following CONSTITUTION. Art. I.— This Association shall be called the American Free Produce Association. , ,, , . ^f„ Ar.,. II —The object of this Association shall be to promote total abstinence from the products of slave labor, and devise means by which the community may be supplied with articles produced bv the labor of freemen. . Art III— All persons who approve of the objects of this Association, and contribute annually to its funds, may have their names enrolled as members. • , . r "^A^;'lV._The officers of this Society shall be a President, four Vice Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, ^ V-r;ffic^rr !^r^.:irr^xr";smu:r ^th: Sc" -L TlSy sSfl be annually elected by the members of '\l^'T~The Executive Committee shall represent the Society dunn-'its recess, shall have the control of the funds "ot otherwise app cJ)riated, and shall take such measures as they consider prope ff he promotion of the objects of this Association. Ihey sha r^ale i report to the annual mec-ting of this Society ot th.i Xeedinc^s and of the amount of money received and expen.ed by them." They shall have power to call special meetings of^he Society, to enact their own by-laws, and fill any vacancies that ay o^r In their own body. Five of them shall constitute^ a q^.n. Art. VI.— There shall be annual meetings ot this Societ neia on the third Third-day in the Tenth m<.nth, at sueh place a may be fixed by the Society at its previous annual meeting. Art. Vll.-Any association founde.1 on the same F'nci-^ ,a d contributin.^ annually to the i'n^d^, may become aux.mi-o^h^^ Society. The officers of each auxiliary society shall be ^ oltic o members of the Parent institution and, with the *Wegate si •! lu entitled to d.lih.ra,e and vote m the transaction of it^c^ Art. Vlll.— Tliis Constitution may be amended at >> REQUITED LABOR CONVEiSTlON. 11 meeting of the Society, by a vote of a majority of members present, provided the amendments proposed have been previously submitted in writing to the Executive Committee, and published three months previous to the annual meeting. Adjourned until three o'clock, this afternoon. AFTERNOON SESSION. Richard Janney being absent, William H. Johnson was called to the Chair. The minutes of the morning session were read and adopted. On motion, that part of the report of the Business Committee that relates to the election of officers was laid on the table. Lewis C. Gunn, on behalf of the committee appointed at a previous meeting, to prepare and publish an address on the duty of abstaining from the produce of slave labor reported an address, which, after some discussion, was referred back to the Committee, and the names of Lucretia Mott, Benjamin S. Jones, William C. Betts, A- L. Pennock, Richard Janney, Thomas Ham- bleton, and William H. Johnson, were added to the Committee. On motion. Resolved, That a Committee of seven be appointed to take into consideration the propriety of establishing stores for the sale, ex- clusively, of goods produced by requited labor, and report to a future sitting of this Convention a plan by which such stores can be supported. Thomas Hambleton, William C. Betts, A. L. Pen- nock, Henry Grew, Alice Eliza Hambleton, Lucretia Mott, Martha Hampton, and Daniel L. Miller, jr.. Committee. Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to prepare a memorial to Congress, asking for a repeal of duties on all goods which come in competition with slave labor produce, at least so far as to place them on an equal footing. A. L. Pennock, B. S. Jones, and C. C. Burleigh, were appointed the Committee. Resolved, That Joseph Parrish, jr., be appointed to procure a book, and have the Preamble and Constitution transcribed in it, and produce it at the morning sitting for signatures. Adjourned until ten o'clock to-morrow morning. NINTH MONTH 6th, 1838. Samuel Ross was called to the Chair. The minutes of last session were read and adopted. On motion, the resolution respecting the memorial to Congress on the subject of duties, was reconsidered, and a substitute offered, which was negatived. 12 MINUTES OF THE The following resolution was read and adopted: Resolved, That the Executive Committee be instructed to cor- respond with James Cropper, and other prominent abolitionists of Great Britain, on the subject of inducing some of the manufacturers of that country to use none but fi*ee labor cotton in their estab- lishments. The Committee on Stores offered the following report, which was referred to the Executive Committee for its consideration: '■^To the Requited Labor Association: '• The Committe appointed to take into consideration the propriety of establishing stores, &c., report, " That in their judgment it is important that the market be regu- larly furnished with goods produced by freemen, and that a store be established for that purpose under the direction of the Executive Committee, in which the friends of the cause may feel an equal interest, and that a fund be created for that purpose. " They would suggest in the following manner : That a volun- tary subscription be opened, to be continued annually at the option of the subscriber, and the Executive Committee have power to employ an agent at a salary, if it shall be found necessary, and the funds warrant it; but they shall have no power to contract debts beyond what the funds will discharge, or in any wise subjecting the Association to loss or embarrassment. "On behalf of the Commmittce. Thomas Hambleton, William C. Betts, H. Grew, Alice Eliza Hambleton, lucretia mott, Martha Hampton." The following resolution was then offered, and after a long and interesting discussion adopted: Resolved, That as slaves arc robbed of the friiits of their toil, all who partake of those fruits are participants in the robbery, and as all markets are supplied with such articles as consumers require, we earnestly recommend to all abolitionists to encourage the fur- nishing of the market with free goods, by purchasing and using such only as are of this class. Resolved, That a Committee of one member be appointed to re- ceive subscriptions from members of the Convention, to defray the expenses thereof, and alter j)aying the necessary charges, hand over the balance to the Treasurtsr, to be aj)i)ointed by the Asso- ciation. Tlie Chair appnintcil Alice Eliza Hambleton aaid Committee. Adjourned to four o'clock this aflcrucxui. REQUITED LABOR CONVENTION. AFTERNOON SESSION. 13 Pursuant to adjournment, the Convention assembled. The Committee on the places from whence free goods can be obtained, reported attention to the subject committed to them, but had not yet completed their work. They were directed to report to the Executive Committee. A letter from William Goodell, of Utica, New York, was then read. Thomas Foulke, Lucretia Mott, Martha Smith, A. L. Pennock, and Caleb Clothier, were appointed a Committee to nominate officers for the Association, who reported as follows : President. GERRIT SMITH, of Peterboro, New York. Vice Presidents. William Bassett, of Lynn, Massachusetts. Abraham L. Pennock, of Philadelphia. William H. Johnson, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Lewis Tappan, of New York. Recording Secretary. Daniel L. Miller, jr. Corresponding Secretary. Lewis C. Gunn. Treasurer. Lucretia Mott. Executive Committee. Charles C. Burleigh, Abby Kelly, Alice Eliza Hambleton, Caleb Clothier, Henry Grew, David Ellis, William C. Betts, Sidney Ann Lewis, Lydia White, Martha Hampton, John H. Cavender, Sarah Pugh. The Report was adopted, and they were accordingly appointed the officers. The Committee on the Address were directed to finish their re- port and submit it to the Executive Committee. Resolved, That the first stated meeting of this Association be held on the third Third-day in the Tenth month, 1839, in Phila- delphia. Daniel L. Miller, jr., Lewis C. Gunn, Alice Eliza Hambleton, Sarah T. Harvey, John Hambleton, Eli Hambleton, and Jonathan P. Magill, were appointed to call on absent members for their contri- butions. 14 LETTEUS TO On motion, Resolved, That the procfM^dinfis of this mooting, togetlior with the letters addressed to the Convention, he published in as many of the papers as the Executive Committee shall deem suitable. Adjourned. William C. Betts, > ^ ^ • X XT' Ti } ijccretartes. Alice bLizA Hambleton, ^ CoLERAiN, (Lancaster County,) Eighth month 30ih, 1838. To the Kcquited Labor Convenlion : Dear Friends, — As existingr circumstances prevent a delegation from our .Society being with you, we take this method of inform'ng you that we feel deeply interested in the subject for which you are convened ; and be assured that, although not with you in person, we are with you in heart in this matter. We have considered the subject, and would give a decided preference to productions obtained from remunerated labor over those produced by the toil-worn and suffering slave, and we hope that a channel may ere long be opened, whereby free produce can be obtained with less inconve- nience than at present. Consistency requires that we should abstain at least as far as practica- ble from using slave products, for it is manifest that by their free and in- discriminate use we give encouragement and support to the iniquitous institution that we wish to destroy, are participants in the crime of "using our neighbor's service without wages,'' and thus implicate ourselves deeply in the slaveholder's guilt. May Divine Wisdom govern your deliberations, and may your efforts be productive of such happy results as will aid to break the bonds of wickedness, " undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free;" that you may merit the rich reward of approving consciences, and the blessinjrs^ of millions who are ready to perish. On behalf of the Colerain Anti-Slavery Society, William L. Kakgstraw, William Brosius, Isabella Sweenv. LvN.x, Ninth month 1st, 1838. Esteemed Friends, — I had fully intended to be with you at the ensuing meeting of the Requited Labor Convention, and regret exreedingly that it is iiiipracticable for me to do so. Having just returned from a visit to Ibe country of several weeks, with some of my family, for the benefit of iheir health, and my absence having been inevitably prolonged beyond my expectations, 1 find various engagements demanding my attention, of such a nature that, (deeply as I feel interested in the objects of our Convention,) I do not feel at liberty todisrcjiard them, and therefore feel myself debarred from joininjr my friends on this very important occasion. I would thai the importance of this movement were more fully appre- ciated, and that every friend of emancipation would avail himself of the additional influence which a faithful and consistent testimony against oppression would give him. 1 have been surprised at the little hold THE CONVENTION. 15 which this subject has taken on the minds of abolitionists ; especially at the almost total indifforence respecting it, manifest among the friends of the cause in New England. May the deliberations of this (-onvention be of such a character that they may be the means of sending forth truth in relation to our duty in this particular, and of fastening conviction on the minds of all those who have the cause of the suffering bondman at heart, that so they may la- bor with more efficiency for his deliverance. Holding the station which the Convention was pleased to confer upon me, I feef that an apology is due for my non-attendance, which you will please communicate. 1 would, further, express my grateful sense of the respect thus manifested ; and of the forbearance and indulgence exhibited towards me in the imperfect discharge of the duties devolving on me. Earnestly desiring that your deliberations may be blessed by the Al- mighty to the furtherance of His cause, I remain your friend and fellow-laborer, William Bassett. To IJ'illiam C. Bdts and Jllice Eliza Hambleton. V Secretaries of the Requited Labor Convention. Peterboro, August 19, 1838. My Dear Friend, — I feel much obliged to you for your letter, inviting me to attend the Free Produce Convention. I have delayed answering it, not only because my whole time has been claimed by a variety of interests, but because I have not been quite certain that I should not be able to attend the Convention, the importance of which can. 1 think, be hardly overrated. But it seems very improbable, now, that 1 shall be able to attend the Convention. My excellent friend, Abraham Pennock, will take these few lines. I have had considerable conversation with him on the subject of abstinence from the productions of slave-labor. I am glad to find him so greatly interested in it. In great haste, your friend and brother, Gerrit Smith. Lewis C. Gunn. Farmington, Fourth month 26th, 1838. Dear Friends, — Being appointed by the Annual Meeting of our Female Anti-Slavery Society, a delegate to the Convention to be held in Phila- delphia, on the 5th of the ensuing month, it is with regret that I am compelled to inform you that it is out of my power to answer my appoint- ment, in person ; but I desire to encourage you to hold on your way and be not weary in well doing, remembering it is they who hold out to the end for whom the blessing is reserved. Having long been strong in the belief that very much may be done by abstaining from the use of slave- labor, 1 rejoice in the hope that you will be able to form a society that will operate strongly, particularly on the minds of those abolitionists who so often tell us that it is impossible to do without the use of slave-labor. I hope your proceedings will be widely circulated, and plans be made plain for obtaining, at least with a little effort, things that are necessary, free from slave-labor. In haste I subscribe myself your friend and companion in the cause of humanity, Mary S, Wilson. 16 LETTERS TO ,, - . „ „ Utica, August 29, 1838. Mr. Lewis C. Gunn: ° ' Dear &>,— It would give me pleasure to attend your Free Labor Con. vention of the 5lh of September, but it will not be in my power to do so; nor have I time to do justice to the subject in any communication of my views in respect to that measure. In the early part of our anti-slavery movement, I was among those who anticipated some action on this subject by the societies then oro-anized. The topic was introduced in the Convention in your city fur forminttribute ol the Divine cliaiacter,— or that no man can innocently sustain to his fellow man the relation it has established. You already be- lieve this proposition, and build upon it, as a fundamental doctrine, the whole superstructure of your anti-slavery creed and plan of operations. It is not our i)urpose to convince you that the slave as your brother man, has a right to your compassion and assistance! \ ou acknowledge his claim, and profess to be his fast and faithful friends. IJut we would jiropose to you a question of weitrht and serious import. Having settled your principles, in the clear light oflrulli, by fair and thorough inyestigalion, do you practically carry them out in your daily life and conduct ? To one point we would direct your allcmion. Do you, into whos.- hands this ad- ADDRESS TO ABOLITIONISTS. 23 dress has fallen, faithfully abstain from using the products of the slave's extorted and unpaid labor? If not, having read thus far, do not immediately throw aside this address with an exclamation of contempt or indifference, but read it through with candor. Before entering upon a discussion of the question, whether our use of the products of slave-labor does not involve us in the guilt of slavehokling, we ask your attention to the two following propo- sitions, viz.: The love of money is the root of the evil of slavery — and the products of slave- lab or are stolen goods. I. The love of money is the root of the evil of slavery. We say that the whole system, with all its incidents, is to be traced , to a mean and heartless avarice. Not that we suppose every indi- i vidual slaveholder is actuated by a thirst for gold ; but that slave- holders so generally hold slaves in order to make money by their labor, that, if this motive were withdrawn, the system would be abolished. If nothing were gained, it would not be long before the commercial staples would cease to be produced by slave-labor, and this would break the back-bone of the system. A comparison of the history of the cotton trade with that of .slavery would show that every improvement in the cultivation and i manufacture of cotton has infused new vigor into the system of slavery ; that the inventions of Cartwright, Whitney, and others, have diminished the proportional number of emancipations in the United States, enhanced the value of slaves, and given a degree of stability to the robbery-system which it did not before possess. Indeed, every fluctuation in the price of cotton is accompanied by a corresponding change in the value of slaves. We copy the fol- lowing statistics from the New York Herald, of November 23, 1837 ; they are extracted from a long " chronological table of the cotton trade.'''' 1836 Cotton farms in Mississippi, fronting on the i-iver, sell for «100 per acre, readily. Negro men, of prime quality, fetch from Kl, 500 to « '2,000. Uapid settle- ment of new cotton lands. Great speculations. Heavy importations of foreign cotton goods. . 1 837. Cotton trade opens in a highly prosperous condition. Fall of cotton trom 20 cents to 8 cents per lb. Ruin of cotton factors. General languor in cotton trade. One other fact growing out of the fall in the price of cotton in 1837, omitted in the above extract, we here supply : to wit, that " negro men of prime quality" would fetch not more than $400 or $500. If any further evidence is wanted that " 'I'he Christian brokers in tlie trade of blood, Buy men and sell them, steal, and kill/or gold,^' we refer the reader to John C. Calhoun's indignant allusion, last winter, to the nine hundred million dollars worth of slave pro- perty. . , It is the love of money, then, that leads to the buying and work- ing of slaves. And all the laws forbidding education, sanctioning cruelly, binding the conscience — in a word, all the details of the 24 ADDRESS TO ABOLITIONISTS. system, — flow from the buying of men and holiling them as pro- perty, to which the love of money leads. Are we not, so far, correct ? II. Articles produced by slave-labor are stolen goods, be- cause every man has an inalienable right to the fruits of his own toil. It is unnecessary to prove this to abolitionists. Even slaveholders admit it. John C. Calhoun says : " He who earns the money — who digs it out of the earth with the sweat of his brow, has a just title to it against the universe. No one has a right to touch it without his conserd, except his government, and it only to the extent of its legitimate wants ; to take more, is rob- bery.^^ This is what slaveholders do. By their own confession, then, they are robbers. It is no small aggravation of their offence, moreover, that in order to get the labor of slaves without wages, a system has been adopted which robs them of every thing else. In the language of Charles Stuart, "their bodies are stolen, their liberty, their right to their wives and children, their right to cultivate their minds, and to worship God as they please, iheir reputation, hope, all vir- tuous motives are taken away by a legalized system of most mer- ciless and consummate iniquity. Such is the expense at which articles produced by slave-labor are obtained. They are always heavy with the groans, and often wet with the blood, of the guilt- less and suffering poor." But, say some, " we admit that the slaves are stolen property ; and yet the cotton raised by their labor is not, strictly speaking, stolen, any more than the corn raised by means of a stolen horse." In reply, we say that it is stolen. In every particle of the fruit of a man's labor he has a property until paid for that labor, unless it is performed under a contract, express or implied, by which he has relinquished his claims. The slave is under no such contract. He, therefore, who sells the produce of his toil before paying him, sells stolen property. If the case of the corn raised by means of a stolen horse be parallel, it only proves the duty of abstaining from that also. If it be not parallel, it proves nothing. If, then, the products of slave-labor are stolen goods, and not the slaveholder's property, he has no right to sell them. We are now prepared to examine the relation between the con- sumer of slave produce and the slaveliolder, and to prove that it is guilty — all guilty. Our proposition is this: By using the products of SLAVE-bABOR, KNOWINGLY, WE BE- COME partakers IN THE CRIME OF SLAVEHOLDING. If slaveholding be a crime, this proposition must be true, or aiding in the commission of a criminal act is no participation in the crime. Was not William liloyd (Jarrison correct in holding " the proposition to l)c scl/'-cridcnt, that no transfer, or inheritance, or purchase, or sale, of stolen properly, can convert it into a justpos- ADDRESS TO AHOLlTIONlSTS. 25 session, or destroy the claim of its original owner — the maxim being universally conceded to be just, that the receiver is as bad as the thief?" — Liberator, Vol. II., No. 1. If the purchaser of slave produce is not a " partaker of other men's sins," where will you find such a character ? 1. lie gives his sanction to the plunder of the slave. This, at first view, seems self-evident. But some deny it, and assert that the mere act of purchasing the goods of the slaveholder is no more an approval of the injustice by which those goods were obtained, than of any other crime of which the seller may be guilty. Nay, that, with the greatest abhorrence of his injustice, the purchase of its products may be made for the very purpose of counteracting it. No man, it is said, understands the act of purchasing a bale of cotton, as admitting the morality of refusing pay to the people who hoed and picked it, any more than that it was raised, ginned, and pressed in the most economical way. This reasoning contains a manifest fallacy. It is no better than most palpable and clumsy sophistry. The veriest child knows ; that the stolen properly has not the same connexion with the thief's I other crimes as with his act of theft ; and that bad morality in the mode of procuring goods is a somewhat stronger objection to re- ceiving them, than bad economy in their production. That devoted friend of the suffering, Thomas Shipley, was wont to illustrate this subject by supposing that slavery had never ex- isted in this country, and that a company should how? be formed to prosecute some branch of agriculture or manufactures by means of coerced and unrequited toil. Who that has either conscience or humanity would patronise that company by buying the goods it would throw into the market? Were the use of slave-labor to be now originated, we should all reject its fruits. Can its long con- tinuance alter its moral character, or change our duty ? As to purchasing the products of injustice for the very purpose of counteracling that injustice, we have only to say, that we are not of the number of those who believe that the "end sanctifies the means," and that " we should do evil that good may come," We, therefore, re-affirm that our use of the products of slave-labor is a practical sanction of the robbery. First. So far as that single act is concerned, it manifests a will- ingness, on the part of the consumer, that the rightful owner shall remain deprived of the property which has been stolen from him. In fact, if the original thief begins the injury to the rightful owner, the purchaser continues it. This seems to us a truth so plain, that argument would be wasted alike in attempting to prove or to dis- prove it. The inference then seems fair — at least a natural one for the robber to draw — that his offence is not thought a very atro- cious one. Instead of meeting the eye of stern rebuke, and hear- ing the voice of condemnation, reproving his wicked act, he is, by 4 26 ADDRESS TO ABOLITIONISTS. the purchase of the stolen property, treated as an honest man, en- gaged in a rightful business ; for Secondlt/. Our buying goods of a person implies our belief in Ills right to sell them. Especially is this the case where the seller claims a right to the goods and to the disposal of them. If he has not that right, no one has a right to buy. By buying the products of the slave's labor, then, abolitionists practically admit either that their charge of robbery against the slaveholder is false, or that they are partakers of other men's sins. 2. Nor is this all. The purchasers of slave produce ?iot only sanctions crime when committed, but directly tempts to its com- mission. We have already shown that the slaveholder's object is to make money. Without pay, he will no more raise cotton for Its, than his overseer will manage his plantation for him. As the salary is the temptation which induces the overseer to follow that degrading employment, so the profit which we pay the slaveholder, on his rice, cotton, and sugar, is Jiis temptation to enslave. You say, if there were no market for slaves the slave- trade would cease? Is it not as true that, if there were no market for slave produce, slavery would cease? The slave-buying planter is the tempter of the Guinea merchant. Is not the man who buys the fruits of the slave's labor the tempter of the slave- holder and the slave-buyer? The following extracts are so much to the point that we cannot forbear introducing them here. The first is from the pen of William Lloyd Garrison, and was published in the Liberator for April 23, 1831. " The abettors of crime are as giiilty as the perpetrators. The assertions which have been made are true — that the consumers of the productions of slave-labor contribute to a lund for supporting slavery, with all its abominations — that tliey are the Alpha and the Omega of ihebusiness— that the slave-dealer, the slave-holder, and the slave-driver, are virtually the agents of the consumer, for by holding out the temptation, he is the original cause, the first mover in the horrid ])rocess — that we are called upon to refuse those articles of luxury, whicli are obtained at an absolute and lavish waste of the blood of our fellow men — and that a meixhant, who loads his vessel with the|)roceeds of slavery, does nearly as much at helping forward the slave- tiade, as he that loads his vessel in Africa with slaves ; they are boUi twisting the same rope at difterent ends. " A few interrogations will suffice to illustrate this business. " If a merchant patronise a pirate, w l.o has |ilundcred vessels on the high seas, and pay him liberally for so doing, is he not himself a pirate in principle ? Is it true that 'the receiver is as bad as the thief r' Is not the man who bi-ibes his companion to stab a third person to the heart, the greater criminal of the two, though he shed no blood ? " 'there can be no difficulty here. Every body will answer in the affirmative. These are self-evident truths. Now for the application. " Why are the slaves held in bondage.'' Certainly not to fulfil any prophecy ; — not on the ground of benevolence ; — not bt cause their liberation w ould be dangerous: — nf) such thing ; — bitt btcnuse they are projilable to their owners. Who are the prin- cipal consumers of the products of slave-labor f 'I'he free states. They fui-nish a good market for the South. What is this, but putting an immense bribe into the hands of the slaveholders to kidnap, steal, and opjjress i" Were it not lor our patron- :iH<-, they "onid be compelled to libi late ibtirslaves. The prophecy of Mr. Itandolph will then be liiirilled: the >!a\^rs to do the same thing? Once more. For what puri.V)se are we told that difficulties at- tend the maintenance of our doctrine, and that ingenious objec- tions, hard to be disposed of, can be brought against it? If all this may be true, and yet the doctrine may be right and sound, then it is not disproved by the statement of these facts, and the argu- ment against it, grounded on them, is without force. But if the doctrine cannot be correct, concerning which such facts may be truly alleged, then that of our opponents, who maintain that it is right to use slave produce, must be unsound and untrue. For they cannot deny that very strong arguments, and extremely difficult to be answered, can be arrayed against their doctrine, and against the claims to consistency' of that man who at the same moment condemns slavery as a sin, and holds out the principal inducement to its commission. If the objection has any weight against us, then, it has at least as much against its authors. Let them, before urging it, wail till they have fairly proved that a voluntary partici- pation in the fruits of unrequited toil, is free from liability to serious objections grounded on the principles of moral rectitude. E. Wright's admission, (A. S. Quarterly Magazine, Vol. I. p. 36 ADDRESS TO ABOLITIONISTS. 398,) that we should be unwilling to use the products extorted from the toil of our near relatives, were they in slavery, and that " we should feel it a duty to abstain even at some inconvenience," if we had any chance of thereby exerting a moral influence in their favor, appears to us to confirm the doctrine of this address. Unless partaking tlie fniils of their unpaid labor sanctions its exac- tions, why should we be unwilling to use them ^ Why " not feel like sweetening our tea with sugar bought at the price of a bro- ther's blood," unless to do so would make us partners in the wirong inflicted on our brother ? But " have we not all one Father?" Are we not all, — bond and free, — brethren of one great family ? We are not aware that any other objections to our views have been offered, except such as have been already anticipated and met in the preceding pages, or such as are too frivolous to deserve a serious answer. We do not expect to remove all doubt from every mind, or so to solve every conceivable difficulty, and reply to every ingenious cavil, as to satisfy the captious, and convince the wilful and predetermined skeptic. Enough has been said to call attention to the subject presented, and to stimulate honest minds to inquiry and reflection. To you, friends of the slave, pledged champions of the rights of man, we now submit the question, whether you will elevate your standard of principle and action to the summit level of a pure morality, or lower it to that of a worldly policy, a supple, circumstance-moulded expediency; whe- ther your practice shall be sucli as will steel the slaveholder against your arguments and appeals, and worse than neutralize your in- fluence on his mind ; — or whether it shall exhibit such a preference of right to convenience, of tke interests of humanity to personal comfort, as will extort his admiratioiV, and be worthy of his imita- tion. To your own consciences.'in the sight of the motive-read- ing eye, we leave the decision. In behalf of the Committee appointed by tlie Requited Labor Convention, to prepare an address on the duty of abstaining from slave produce. Lewis C. Gunn. H 33 8"^ i Jc^** '?>^ '^ '*-^^^*' ai^^"^^^ °'*^^C^** '?^'^ '^ "' ^o ' . . » * .0* '^^ v,,*^ /Jfe-. S.J'^ '>Va-'. ^^ .* '^d ^a>c,'' vV- 0^ ,-" ^■ .4 0^ r^mJ^'^: -o^. ►Q^ J'^ '6* ,o HECKMAN BINDERY INC. /^^ APR 89 N. MANCHESTER, 5^2^ INDIANA 46962