_ called him a "hireling." Thompson,
defending himself, declared that if he had sold his talents, as
charged, he would not be found fighting the slaves' battle but would
be sitting by the side of bloated prostitution in Washington." There
were even some clerical critics of the society and its work. _The
Church_, a denominational publication, took the ground that Canada was
not bound in any way to denounce "compulsory labor." It was quite
sufficient to welcome the slave when he came to Canada. To this _The
Globe_ replied that it was "truly melancholy to find men in the
nineteenth century teaching doctrines which are only fit for the
darkest ages."[1]

All through these earlier years of the society's history the public
meetings were continued, much use being made of men like Rev. S. R.
Ward and Rev. J. W. Loguen, who had known at first hand what slavery
meant to their race. Rev. S. R. Ward was appointed an agent of the
society in 1851 and traveled the province over, giving the facts with
regard to slavery to awaken Canadian sentiment against it and asking
aid and kindness for the fugitives then coming to the country in large
numbers. Mr. Ward was instrumental in forming branches and auxiliaries
of the society at a number of places and has left on record his own
impressions of the efforts that were put forth on behalf of the
refugees.[2]

_The Globe_, under Brown as editor, was a stout ally. Brown's personal
interest in the fugitives was marked. His private generosity to the
needy has been recorded by one of his biographers but greater service
was rendered through the columns of his paper. He was outspoken in
denunciation of anything that savored of an alliance with slavery.
Canada, he believed, should stand four square against the whole system
of human bondage. "We, too, are Americans," he declared on one
occasion. "On us, as well as on them, lies the duty of preserving the
honor of the continent. On us, as on them, rests the noble trust of
shielding free institutions."[3]

Relief work in Toronto was looked after by a Ladies' Auxiliary, this
being the general practice wherever branches were organized. The wives
of the officers of the general or parent society figured largely in
the work at Toronto. During the first year of the work in that city
more than $900 was raised by the Ladies' Auxiliary. The report for
1853-5 says: "During the past inclement winter much suffering was
alleviated and many cases of extreme hardsh