vidence of misrepresented petitions existed to make a show
of evidence; and which nothing but the most extraordinary ignorance,
or recklessness could explain. Such are the assertions made by himself
or his coadjutors in his presence, that slaves are brought to the
district of Columbia from all the slave states for sale; that five
years is the average number, that slaves carried to the Southern
States live; that slaves without trial, or even examination, were
often executed, by tens, twenties, and even thirties; that the banner
of the United States, which floated over a slave dealing congress, in
the midst of the slave market of the entire nation, had the word
"_Liberty_" upon it (which single sentence contained three
misstatements;) that religious men weighed children in scales, and
sold them by the pound like meat;--that there were 2,000,000 of slaves
in America who never heard the name of Christ; that no white man would
ever be respected after he had been seen to shake hands with a man of
colour; all which _unnameable_ assertions are contained, along with
double as many others like them, in one single newspaper (the London
_Patriot_ of June 1, 1835;) and in a portion of the report of only two
of Mr. Thompson's meetings! Alas! for poor human nature! Having now
gone through all that his time permitted him to say, of the proof
against America, he would lay before them some counter testimony upon
several parts of this great subject. He had at one time greatly feared
that he might be obliged to ask them to believe his mere word, perhaps
in the face of other proof; but through the providence of God, he had
been put in possession of a very limited file of American newspapers,
from the contents of which he thought he should be able to make out as
strong a case for the truth, as he had proved the case against it to
be weak and rotten. There were so many denominations of Christians in
America, that he would only tire the meeting by enumerating them.
They were of every variety of name and opinion. As to many of them he
knew but little, and the present audience perhaps less. The Societies
of Friends generally did not tolerate slaveholding among their
members; neither did the Covenanters. The Congregationalists, or
Independents, had not, he believed, a dozen churches in all the Slave
States, and, of course, they should be considered as exempt from the
charge. It was, however, the less necessary to occupy ourselves in
general remark