American Scenes, and Christian Slavery - Ebenezer Davies
March 14.--The day on which we arrived at Baltimore was the Sabbath. In
a public room in the National Hotel, at which we were stopping, was
hung up a nicely-framed announcement of the order of services in one of
the Presbyterian Churches. We wished, however, to find a Congregational
place of worship, and set off with that view. It was a beautiful day,
and Baltimore seemed to send forth its inhabitants by streets-full to
the various churches. In the _Old_ World I never saw anything like it,
nor elsewhere in the _New_, except perhaps at Boston. All secular
engagements seemed to be entirely suspended, and the whole city seemed
to enjoy a Sabbath! As we walked along, I asked a young man if he could
direct me to a Congregational church. He stared at me for a moment, and
then said, "Do you mean a church with pews in it?" I asked another,
"Can you tell me where I shall find a Congregational church in this
city?"--"What congregation do you mean, sir?" was the reply. They
evidently knew nothing at all about Congregationalism. The fact was, as
I afterwards understood, we had not yet come into its latitude; for in
America Presbyterianism and Congregationalism have hitherto been
matters of latitude and longitude rather than of earnest conviction and
firm adherence. We now inquired for a _Presbyterian_ church, and were
told that there was one not far from where we then stood, in which Mr.
Plummer--a very popular minister just come into the city--preached.
Following the directions given, we came to a certain church, in front
of which two or three grave men stood talking to each other. In answer
to the question, "What church is this?" one of these grave men said,
with a good broad Scotch accent, "It's a Presbyterian church." The
accent gave a double confirmation to the answer. "Is it Mr. Plummer's
church?" I continued. With the same accent, and in a tone of gentle
rebuke, I was told, "Yes, it is _Doctor_ Plummer's." We entered. The
congregation were assembling. We were left either to stand in the aisle
or to take a seat as we pleased. We preferred the latter. The building
was new, but built in the old Gothic style. The pews, the pulpit, the
front of the gallery, the organ, and the framework of the roof, which
was all exposed, were of oak, which had been made to resemble in colour
wood that has stood the test of 400 or 500 years. The windows also were
darkened. The whole affair was tremendously heavy, enough to mesmerize
any one. The congregation was large, respectable, and decorous. After a
few glances around, to see if there was a negro pew anywhere, I
observed several coloured faces peeping from a recess in the gallery,
on the left side of the organ,--there was the "Negro Pew," In due time
_Doctor_ Plummer ascended the pulpit. He was a fine tall man,
grey-haired, well dressed, with commanding aspect and a powerful voice.
I ceased to wonder at the emphasis with which the Scotchman called him
_Doctor_ Plummer. He was quite the _ideal_ of a _Doctor_. His text was
John iii. 18: "He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God." His subject was, that "man is
justly accountable to God for his belief." This truth he handled in a
masterly manner, tossing about as with a giant's arm Lord Brougham and
the Universalists. Notwithstanding my want of rest on the previous
night, the absurd heaviness of the building, and the fact that the
sermon--which occupied a full hour--was all read, I listened with
almost breathless attention, and was sorry when he had done.
And who was this Dr. Plummer? It was Dr. Plummer late of Richmond, in
Virginia. "Richmond," says Dr. Reed, "is still the great mart of
slavery; and the interests of morality and religion suffer from this
cause. Several persons of the greatest wealth, and therefore of the
greatest consideration in the town, are known slave-dealers; and their
influence, in addition to the actual traffic, is of course
unfavourable. The sale of slaves is as common, and produces as little
sensation, as that of cattle. It occurs in the main street, and before
the door of the party who is commissioned to make the sale." And what
was the conduct of this Doctor of Divinity in reference to this state
of things? He sanctioned it! He pleaded for it! He lived upon it! He
was once actually supported, either wholly or in part, by slave labour!
The church of which he was the pastor was endowed with a number of
slaves. These slaves were hired out, and the proceeds were given in the
way of stipend to the _Doctor_! Nor is this all. A few years ago the
slave-holders of the South were greatly alarmed by the vigorous efforts
of the Abolitionists of the North. It was about the time that the
Charleston Post-office was plundered by a mob of several thousand
people, and all the anti-slavery publications there found were made a
bonfire of in the street; and where "the clergy of all denominations
attended in a body, lending their sanction to the proceedings, and
adding by their presence to the impressive character of the scene." On
that occasion the clergy of the city of Richmond were not less prompt
than their brethren of Charleston in responding to the "public
sentiment."' They resolved _unanimously_,--
"That we earnestly deprecate the unwarrantable and highly improper
interference of the people of any other State with the domestic
relations of master and slave.
"That the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles, in not
interfering with the question of slavery, but uniformly recognising the
relations of master and servant, and giving full and affectionate
instruction to both, is worthy the imitation of all ministers of the
Gospel.
"That we will not patronise nor receive any pamphlet or newspaper of
the Anti-slavery Societies, and that we will discountenance the
circulation of all such papers in the community.
"That the suspicions which have prevailed to a considerable extent
against ministers of the Gospel and professors of religion in the State
of Virginia, as identified with Abolitionists, are _wholly unmerited_;
believing as we do, from extensive acquaintance with our churches and
brethren, that they are unanimous in opposing the pernicious schemes of
Abolitionists."
After this, are men to be branded as "infidels," because they say the
American churches are the "bulwarks of slavery?"
But what has all this to do with our fine-looking and dignified
"_Doctor_?" I will tell you. When these resolutions were passed, he was
from home; but on his return, he lost no time in communicating to the
"Chairman of the Committee of Correspondence" his entire concurrence
with what had been done,--and here are extracts from his letter:--
"I have carefully watched this matter from its earliest existence; and
everything I have seen or heard of its character, both from its patrons
and its enemies, has confirmed me beyond repentance in the belief,
that, let the character of the Abolitionists be what it may in the
sight of the Judge of all the earth, this is the most meddlesome,
impudent, reckless, fierce, and wicked excitement I ever saw.
"If Abolitionists will set the country in a blaze, it is but right that
they should receive the _first warming at the fire_.
"Let it be proclaimed throughout the nation, that every movement made
by the fanatics (so far as it has any effect in the South) does but
rivet every fetter of the bondman, and diminish the probability of
anything being successfully undertaken for making him either fit for
freedom or likely to obtain it. We have the authority of Montesquieu,
Burke, and Coleridge, three eminent masters of the science of human
nature, that, of all men, slave-holders are the most jealous of their
liberties. One of Pennsylvania's most gifted sons has lately pronounced
the South the _cradle of liberty_.
"Lastly. Abolitionists are like infidels, wholly unaddicted to
martyrdom for opinion's sake. Let them understand that _they will be
caught_ [lynched] if they come among us, and they will take good heed
to keep out of our way. There is not one man among them who has any
more idea of shedding his blood in the cause, than he has of making war
on the Grand Turk."
So much for my splendid D.D., on whose lips I hung with such intense
interest. I did not know all this at the time, or I should have felt
very differently. As he had but recently left Richmond when I saw him,
it is not at all unlikely that those fine clothes he had on were the
fruit of the slave's unrequited toil. He has always, I believe, stood
high among his brethren, and one or two excellent tracts of his are
published by the American Tract Society.
All denominations are here alike guilty in reference to their coloured
brethren. In this very city the General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church for 1840 passed the following resolution:--
"That it is inexpedient and unjustifiable for any preacher to permit
coloured persons to give testimony against white persons in any State
where they are denied that privilege by law."
Against this iniquitous resolution the official members of two of the
coloured Methodist Episcopal Churches in Baltimore immediately
remonstrated and petitioned. The following powerful and pathetic
passages are from their address:--
"The adoption of such a resolution by our highest ecclesiastical
judicatory,--a judicatory composed of the most experienced and the
wisest brethren in the Church, the choice selection of twenty-eight
Annual Conferences,--has inflicted, we fear, an irreparable injury upon
eighty thousand souls for whom Christ died,--souls who, by this act of
your body, have been stripped of the dignity of Christians, degraded in
the scale of humanity, and treated as criminals, for no other reason
than the colour of their skin! Your resolution has, in our humble
opinion, _virtually_ declared that a mere physical peculiarity, the
handiwork of our all-wise and benevolent Creator, is _prima facie_
evidence of incompetency to tell the truth, or is an unerring
indication of unworthiness to bear testimony against a fellow-being
whose skin is denominated white. * * *
"Brethren, out of the abundance of the heart we have spoken. _Our
grievance is before you_! If you have any regard for the salvation of
the eighty thousand immortal souls committed to your care,--if you
would not _thrust_ beyond the pale of the Church _twenty-five thousand
souls in this city_, who have felt determined never to leave the Church
that has nourished and brought them up,--if you regard us as children
of one Common Father, and can upon reflection sympathize with us as
members of the body of Christ,--if you would not incur the fearful, the
tremendous responsibility of offending not only one, but many thousands
of his 'little ones,'--we conjure you to wipe from your journal the
odious resolution which is ruining our people."
This address was presented to one of the Secretaries, a delegate of the
Baltimore Conference, and subsequently given by him to the Bishops. How
many of the members of Conference saw it, is unknown. One thing is
certain, _it was never read to the Conference_.
LETTER XXV.
A Sabbath at Baltimore (continued)--A Coloured Congregation--The
Thought of seeing Washington abandoned--Departure from Baltimore
--Coloured Ladies in the Luggage-Van--American Railways--Chesapeak
Bay--Susquehannah--State of Delaware, and Abolition of Slavery
--Philadelphia--Albert Barnes--Stephen Girard's Extraordinary Will.
In the afternoon of my first Sabbath at Baltimore I found, after much
inquiry, a congregation of coloured people, who were some sort of
Methodists. My wife and I were the only white people in the place. We
were treated with great politeness, and put, not in a pew apart by
ourselves, but in one of the best places they could find, in the very
midst of the congregation. A serious-looking coloured man opened the
service, with great propriety of manner and expression. He was the
regular pastor. A black man, a stranger as I understood, preached. His
text (he said) was, "Behold, I come quickly;" and they would find it in
the Book of Revelation. But chapter and verse were not given, nor had
he the Bible open in Revelation at all. I suspected that he could not
read; and that suspicion was confirmed by the amount of nonsense which
he soon uttered. At first his words were "few and far between," uttered
in a tone of voice scarcely audible. Soon, however, he worked both
himself and his audience into a tremendous phrenzy. The burden of his
song was--how John had lived to a very great age, in spite of all
attempts to put him to death; how his enemies had at last decided to
try the plan of throwing him into a "kittle of biling ile;" how God had
said to him, "Never mind, John,--if they throw thee into that kittle,
I'll go there with thee,--they shall bile me too;" how John was
therefore taken up alive; and how his persecutors, baffled in all their
efforts to despatch him, ultimately determined to throw their victim
upon a desolate island, and leave him there to live or perish as he
might. During the delivery of all this nonsense, the laughing, the
shouting, the groaning, and the jumping were positively terrific. It
was Methodism gone mad. How disgraceful, that American Christians, so
called, with all their schools and colleges, and with all their efforts
to send the Gospel to Africa, should leave these people at their very
doors thus to feed upon "husks" and "ashes!" Between 500 and 600 people
were listening to this ignorant man, giving as the pure and positive
word of God what was of very doubtful authority, intermingled with the
crudities of his own brain. I wished to stay through the service, and
perhaps at the close express my fraternal feelings; but I was so
shocked and grieved at this ranting exhibition that I felt it
unwarrantable to remain.
Leaving these unfortunate people, we peeped into two cathedral
churches,--that of the Church of England, or (as it is here called) the
Protestant Episcopal Church, and that of the Church of Rome. Both
buildings are very splendid. We had been in the former some time before
we felt quite sure that we were not in a Popish place of worship, so
papistical were its aspect and arrangements. It was evident that
Puseyism, or Popery in some form, had there its throne and its sceptre.
The avowedly Popish cathedral was crowded with worshippers; and, to the
shame of Protestantism be it spoken, black and coloured people were
_there_ seen intermingled with the whites in the performance of their
religious ceremonies! The State of Maryland, of which Baltimore is the
capital, having been first settled by a colony of Roman Catholics,
might be expected to be a stronghold of Popery. Yet, it is not so. The
adherents of that system are but a small minority of the population.
Baltimore is, however, a stronghold of slavery. Here Garrison's
indignation against the system was first kindled--here Frederick
Douglas tasted some of its bitter draughts--and here Torrey died its
victim. The following are specimens of the manner in which the trade in
human flesh is carried on in this city:--
"NEGROES WANTED.--I have removed from my former residence. West
Pratt-street, to my new establishment on Camden-street, immediately in
the rear of the Railroad Depot, where I am permanently located. Persons
bringing Negroes by the cars will find it very convenient, as it is
only a few yards from where the passengers get out. Those having
Negroes for sale will find it to their advantage to call and see me, as
I am at all times paying the highest prices in cash.
"J. S. DONOVAN, Balt. Md."
"o28--6m*."
"CASH FOR FIVE HUNDRED NEGROES.--At the old establishment of Slatter's,
No. 244, Pratt-street, Baltimore, between Sharp and Howard Streets,
where the highest prices are paid, which is well known. We have large
accommodations for Negroes, and always buying. Being regular shippers
to New Orleans, persons should bring their property where no
commissions are paid, as the owners lose it. All communications
attended to promptly by addressing
"H. F. SLATTER."
"j5--6m*."
Before and since my arrival in the United States, I had thought much of
seeing Washington, and, if possible, Congress in session. But such was
the severity of the weather that we could not cross the Alleghanies
before that assembly had risen and dispersed. At Baltimore I was within
two hours' journey of the capital. Should I go and see it? No; for what
can _there_ be found to gratify the friend of freedom and of man? The
Missouri compromise, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican War, are
all associated with Washington. The capital itself is but a great
slave-mart, with its baracoons and manacles, its handcuffs and
auction-stands! Ay, and all this in full view of the national edifice,
wherein is deposited that instrument which bears on its head and front
the noble sentiment--"That all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Under the
influence of these recollections, I abandoned the idea of visiting
Washington.
At 9 o'clock on Monday morning we set off by railway for Philadelphia.
While I was taking a last glance at my trunks in the luggage-van, at
the Baltimore station, about half-a-dozen very clean and respectable
coloured ladies came up, and made for the said van as a matter of
course. It was the only accommodation that would be allowed them,
though they paid the same fare as other people! They were ladies to
whom any gentleman in England would have been proud to resign a seat.
But in the land of equality, they were consigned to the cold, dark, and
dirty regions of the luggage-van. I noticed one important difference
between the railway economy of England and that of America. In the
former, as you know, the railway is haughty, exclusive, and
aristocratic. It scorns all fellowship with common roads, and dashes
on, either under or over the houses, with arbitrary indifference. In
America, it generally condescends to pass along the public streets to
the very centre of the city, the engine being taken off or put to in
the suburbs, and its place _intra muros_, if I may so say, supplied by
horses. In leaving Baltimore, the engine was attached _before_ we got
quite out of the city; and we were going for some time along the common
road, meeting in one place a horse and cart, in another a man on
horseback, in another a pair of oxen fastened to each other, and so on.
Dangerous enough, apparently! yet railway accidents are much less
frequent in America than in England. It is, besides, an immense saving
of capital.
In our progress, we had to cross several arms of the Chesapeak Bay.
These arms were from one to two miles wide, and the railway is carried
over them upon posts driven into the ground. It seemed like crossing
the sea in a railway carriage. At Havre de Grace we had to cross the
Susquehannah River. This word Susquehannah is Indian, and means
literally, I am told, "the rolling thunder." In crossing it, however,
we heard no thunder, except that of the luggage-van over our heads, on
the top of the steamer. Here we changed carriages. We soon got sight of
the Delaware, which kept us company nearly all the way to Philadelphia.
Delaware, the smallest of all the States except Rhode Island, we
entirely crossed. A few days before, Delaware had well nigh done
herself great honour. Her House of Representatives carried, by a
majority, a vote for the abolition of slavery within her boundaries;
but the measure was lost in her Senate by a majority of one or two. The
State legislature will not meet again for two years. All parties are
confident that the measure will then be triumphantly carried through.
In America, however, the abolition of slavery in any State does not
always mean freedom to the slaves. Too often it is a mere
transportation of them to the Southern States. Had Delaware passed a
law that all slaves should he free at the expiration of five years, or
that all children born after a certain period should he free, the
owners of slaves would have had an obvious interest in disposing of
their human property to the Southern traders _before_ that period
arrived. Mothers, too, would have been hastened Southward to give birth
to their offspring; so that the "peculiar institution" might lose none
of its prey. Measures for the abolition of slavery in any part of
America do not arise from sympathy with the negro, and from a wish to
improve his condition and promote his happiness, but from aversion to
his presence, or perhaps from a conviction that the system of slavery
is expensive and impolitic. Those who feel kindly towards their
coloured brother, and act towards him under the impulse of pure and
lofty philanthropy, are, I am sorry to say, very few indeed.
These views may appear severe and uncharitable towards the American
people, but they are confirmed by M. de Tocqueville. "When a Northern
State declared that the son of the slave should be born free," observes
that impartial writer, "the slave lost a large portion of his market
value, since his posterity was no longer included in the bargain, and
the owner had then a strong interest in transporting him to the South.
Thus the same law prevents the slaves of the South from coming to the
Northern States, and drives those of the North to the South. The want
of free hands is felt in a State in proportion as the number of slaves
decreases. But, in proportion as labour is performed by free hands,
slave labour becomes less productive; and the slave is then a useless
or an onerous possession, whom it is important to export to those
Southern States where the same competition is not to be feared. _Thus
the abolition of slavery does not set the slave free: it merely
transfers him from one master to another, and from the North to the
South_." M. de Tocqueville adds, in a note, "The States in which
slavery is abolished usually do what they can to render their territory
disagreeable to the negroes as a place of residence; and as a kind of
emulation exists between the different States in this respect, the
unhappy blacks can only choose the least of the evils which beset
them." This is perfectly true.
Crossing the Schuilkyl, we arrived about 3 o'clock P. M. in
Philadelphia, "the city of brotherly love," having performed the
journey of 97 miles in six hours, a rate of only 16 miles an hour!
In Philadelphia were many men and things that I wished to see. First
and foremost, in my professional curiosity, was Albert Barnes; but
being anxious to push on to New York that night, I had but an hour and
a half to stay. Of a sight of the famous author of the "Notes," I was
therefore compelled to deny myself. My regret was diminished, when I
learned from an English minister of high standing, who, under the
influence of the best feelings, and with an excellent introduction, had
called upon the Commentator, that he received him with a degree of
indifference bordering on rudeness.
In Philadelphia there is no Congregational Church. A few years ago John
Todd, the well-known author of "The Student's Guide," attempted to
raise one. He was but little countenanced, however, by Albert Barnes
and the Presbyterians, and failed.
In passing through this city, I had a distant glimpse of a most
remarkable institution. M. Girard, an old bachelor, a native of France,
who had accumulated immense wealth, died a few years ago, leaving by
will the enormous sum of two millions of dollars, or upwards of four
hundred thousand pounds sterling, to erect and endow a college for the
accommodation and education of three hundred orphan boys. The ground on
which it was to be built, consisting of no less than 45 acres, he
ordered to be enclosed with a high solid wall, capped with marble, and
lined upon the top with long iron spikes. He also inserted in his will
the following extraordinary clause: "I enjoin and require that no
ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatever, shall ever
hold or exercise any station or duty whatever in said college; nor
shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a
visitor, within the premises appropriated to the purpose of said
college." An attempt was made before the Supreme Court of the United
States to set aside this will, and Daniel Webster, the great New
England barrister, delivered a powerful "plea" against it; but the
attempt was overruled. For some years the building has been slowly
proceeding, and is not yet ready for occupation. Had I had time, I
could not, being a minister, have entered the premises. To me, and to
all like me, "_Procul, procul, este, profani_" is chiselled on every
stone!--a singular monument of the priest-hating propensities of the
old French Revolutionists.
LETTER XXVI.
Departure from Philadelphia--A Communicative Yankee--Trenton--The
Mansion of Joseph Bonaparte--Scenes of Brainerd's Labours One Hundred
Years ago--First Impressions of New York--150, Nassau-street--Private
Lodgings--Literary Society--American Lodging-houses--A Lecture on
Astronomy--The "Negro Pew" in Dr. Patton's Church.