distinction. The motive must be pure, the means appropriate, and the purpose good. And I say that woman, by the discharge of such duties, has manifested a virtue which is even above the virtues of mankind, and approaches to a superior nature. That is the principle I maintain, and which the chairman of the committee has to refute, if he applies the position he has taken to the mothers, the sisters, and the daughters of the men of my district who voted to send me here. Now I aver, further, that in the instance to which his observation refers, viz. in the act of petitioning against the annexation of Texas to this Union, the motive was pure, the means appropriate, and the purpose virtuous, in the highest degree. As an evident proof of this, I recur to the particular petition from which this debate took its rise, viz. to the first petition I presented here against the annexation—a petition consisting of three lines, and signed by 238 women of Plymouth, a principal town in my own district. Their words are

"The undersigned, women of Plymouth (Mass.), thoroughly aware of the sinfulness of slavery, and the consequent impolicy and disastrous tendency of its extension in our country, do most respectfully remonstrate, with all our souls, against the annexation of Texas to the United States, as a slave-holding territory.'

"Those are the words of their memorial. And I say that, in presenting it here, their motive was pure, and of the highest order of purity. They petitioned under a conviction that the consequence of the annexation would be the advancement of that which is sin in the sight of God, viz. slavery. I say, further, that the means were appropriate, because it is Congress who must decide on the question; and, therefore, it is proper that they should petition Congress if they wish to prevent the annexation. And I say, in the third place, that the end was virtuous, pure, and of the most exalted character, viz. to prevent the perpetuation and spread of slavery through America. I say, moreover, that I subscribe, in my own person, to every word the petition contains. I do believe slavery to be a sin before God, and that is the reason, and the only insurmountable reason, why we should refuse to annex Texas to this Union. For, although the amendment I have moved declares that neither Congress nor any other portion of this Government is of itself competent to make this annexation, yet I hold it not impossible, with the consent of the people of the United States and of the people of Texas, that a Union might properly be accomplished. It might be effected by an a

mendment of the Constitution, submitted to the approval of the people of the United States, as all other amendments are to be submitted, and by afterwards submitting the question to the decision of the people of both States.-I admit that in that way such a union might be, and may be, formed. But not with a State tolerating slavery; not with a people who have converted freemen into slaves; not so long as slavery exists in Texas. So long as that continues, I do not hold it practicable, in any form, that the two nations should ever be united. Thus far I go. I concur in every word of the petition I had the honor to present; and I hold it to be proof of pure patriotism, of sincere piety, and of every virtue that can adorn the female character.

“With regard to this principle I am willing it shall be discussed. I hope it will be discussed, not only in this House, but throughout this nation.

"I should not have detained the House so long in establishing this position,had I not felt it a duty I owed to my constituents to vindicate the characters of their wives and sisters and daughters, who were assailed by the sentiment I have opposed. *

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"And now, to close with a little anecdote, which I hope will put the House into a good humour. In consequence of the stand I have taken here, on the subject of the right of petition, a great number of petitions and memorials have been sent to me, many of which I did not present; some were sent with a sinister purpose-to make me ridiculous, or the right of petition ridiculous. Others were of a more atrocious character, and the language in which they were expressed would have, of itself, precluded their reception here. But there is one from a man whom I take to be a profound humorist, and a keen and deep satirist. His petition is, that Congress would enter into negociations with the Queen of Great Britain to prevail on her to abdicate the throne of that nation. And why? Because affairs of state do not belong to women. Now, if this petition had been sent to the honorable chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, I really do not see, with his notions, how he could have refused to present it. (A laugh.) But I declined the presentation of it because I feared that there might be a portion of the House who would not perceive in such a petition the satire which I thought was intended as a serious proposition. I do not intend to put the House to the trial of that matter, or myself in an attitude of coming under the censure of this House for treason, in offering such advice to the President; or at least as becoming the

cause of a war with England. For when the Government of one country addresses the Sovereign of another with a request to abdicate the throne, it is a pretty serious affair. In that point of view it was impossible for me to present the paper; but, in the other, I think I might have done so with great propriety and effect. And even now, as the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs appears to sympathise in feeling and sentiment with the petitioner, if he thinks it might be serviceable to present the paper, I will cheerfully communicate it to him." (A laugh.)

During the last year, several Halls of State Legislatures have been granted to the abolitionists for their meetings, while the churches have remained closed against them. The aspect of these assemblages has been very remarkable, from the union of religious and political action witnessed there. But the most extraordinary spectacle of all-a spectacle perhaps unrivalled in the history of the worldwas the address of Angelina Grimke before a Committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts. Some have likened it to the appeal of Hortensia to the Roman Senate; but others have truly observed that the address of Angelina Grimke was far the nobler of the two, as she complained not as the voice of a party remonstrating against injuries done to itself, but as the advocate of a class too degraded and helpless to move or speak on its own behalf. The gentle dignity of the speaker's manner, and the power of statement and argument shown in her address, together with the righteousness of her cause, won the sympathies of as large an audience. as the State House would contain, and bore down all ridicule, prejudice, and passion. Two emotions divided the vast assemblage of hearers;-sympathy in her cause, and veneration for herself. The only fear now entertained by the abolitionists with regard to the cause in the leading State of Massachusetts, is lest it should become too flourishing, and lose something of its rectitude in its prosperity.

The history of this struggle seems to yield a few inferences which must, we think, be evident to all impartial minds; and which are as important as they are clear. One is, that this is a struggle which cannot subside till it has prevailed. If this be true, the consequence of yielding to it would be the saving of a world of guilt and woe. Another is, that other sorts of freedom, besides emancipation from slavery, will come in with it, that the aristocratic spirit in all its manifestations is being purged out of the community;-that with every black slave a white will be also freed. Another is, that republicanism is in no degree answerable for the want of freedom and of peace under which the American nation is now suffering;-that, on the contrary, the turbulence and tyranny are the immediate offspring of the old-world, feudal, European spirit which still lives in the institution assailed, and in the bosoms of the aristocracy of the country, while the bulwarks of the Constitution, the true republicans, are the "peacemen," the sufferers, the moral soldiers, who have gone out armed only with faith, hope, and charity. Another is, that the colored people have a promising morale on which to ground their civilization. Their whole conduct affords evidences of generosity, patience, and hopefulness, from which fine results of character may be anticipated, whenever this unfortunate race shall have leave to exert their unfettered energies under circumstances of average fairness.

It is a wide world that we live in, as wonderful in the diversity of its moral as of its natural features. A just survey of the whole can leave little doubt that the abolitionists of the United States are the greatest people now living and moving in it. There is beauty in the devotedness of the domestic life of every land; there is beauty in the liberality of the philosophers of the earth, in the laborious

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ness of statesmen, in the beneficence of the wealthy, in the faith and charity of the poor. All these graces flourish among this martyr company, and others with them, which it is melting to the very soul to contemplate. To appreciate them fully, one must be among them. One must hear their diversity of tongue-from the quaint Scripture Phraseology of the Pilgrims to the classical language of the scholar-to estimate their liberality. One must witness the eagerness with which each strives to bring down the storm upon his own head to save his neighbor, and to direct any transient sunshine into his friend's house rather than his own, to understand their generosity. One must see the manly father weeping over his son's blighted prospects, and the son vindicating his mother's insulted name, to appreciate their disinterestedness. One must experience something of the soul-sickness and misgiving caused by popular hatred, and of the awful pangs of an apprehended violent death, to enter fully into their heroism. Those who are living in peace afar off can form but a faint conception of what it is to have no respite, no prospect of rest, of security, of success, within any calculable time. The grave, whether it yawns beneath his feet, or lies on the far horizon, is, as they well know, their only resting-place; adversity is all around them, like the whirlwind of the desert. But, if all this can be scarcely conceived of at a distance, neither can their bright faces be seen there. Nowhere but among such, can an of countenances be beheld so little lower than the angels.' Ordinary social life is spoiled to them; but another which is far better has grown up among them. They had more life than others to begin with, as the very fact of their enterprise shows; and to them that have much shall more be given. They are living fast and loftily. The weakest of

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