THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES.

New Zealander, Volume XVII, Issue 1567, 24 April 1861, Page 6

THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES.

[From the “ Times,” Jan. 7-] The following correspondence has been forwarded to us for publication:— Boston, Nov. 2, 1860. Mv Lord, —A number of young men unconnected at this time with any organization, but earnestly desirous of devoting themselves to the work of eradicating slavery in the United States, respectfully invite yon to meet them in a public convention to be held in this citv on Monday, the 3rd of December next, and there address them in reply to the question, so vital to the interests and the honour of our country, and the progress of freedom in the world, —“ How can American slavery he abolished ?” It seems to them that the anniversary of the death of John Brown, who on the 2nd of December, 1859, was killed for attempting to decide this problem in the mode that he believed to be the most efficient, is an occasion peculiarly appropriate for the discussion of our duty to die race for whom he suffered, and more especially for the unfolding of practical methods for achieving the holy object he desired to attain by bis descent on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. An invitation, therefore, will be extended to the leaders and representatives of all the different antislavery bodies, and to various men of eminence who have done honour to their own souls by advocating the cause of impartial freedom. Every one thus invited is expected in his speeches or letters to confine himself exclusively to the great question of the day, for it would be a work of supererognation now to’ defend John Brown, and a useless waste of time to eulogize him. Leaving both of these duties to the coming ages, let ns seek to continue his life by striving to accomplish what he left us lo finish. An immediate or speedy answer will greatly oblige, by enabling us to make the necessary arrangements on a p'an sufficiently extensive. For the Committee, James Redvatii, Secretary.

Committee.—C. W. Eldridgc, W. D. O’Connor, R. J. Hinton, W. W. Thayer, 11. Ford Douglas. I. L. Craigen, J. Sella Martin, J. 15. Smith, Herbert Gleason, John Oliver, Edwin Coombs, J H. Stephenson. Lewis Hayden, J. W. Lc Barnes, J. 11. Fowler, A. 15. Brown, Ad. Aekcrmann, James Kedpath. To Henry, Lord Brougham. Brougham, Nov. 20. Sir,—l feel honoured by the invitation to attend the Boston Convention, and to give my opinion upon the question “How can American slavery be abolished?’’ I consider the application is made to me as conceiving me to represent the ami-slavery body in this country ; and I believe that I speak their sentiments as well as my own in expressing the widest difference of opinion with you upon the merits of those who promoted the Harper’s Ferry expedition, and upon the fate of those who suffered for their conduct, in it No one will doubt my earnest desire to see slavery extinguished ; but that desire can only he gratified by lawful means—a strict regard to tlic rights of property, or what the law declares to he properly, and a constant repugnance to the shedding of hlood. No man cun be considered a martyr unless he not only suffers, but is witness to the truth ; and he docs not bear this testimony who seeks a lawful object by illegal means. Any other course taken for the abolition of slavery can only delay the consummation wc so devoutly wish, besides exposing the community to the hazard of an insurrection perhaps less hurtful to the master than the slave. When the British emancipation was finally carried it was accomplished by steps, and five years elapsed between the commencement of the measure in 1833 and its completion in 1838. The declaration of tin? law which pronounced a slave free as soon ns he touched British ground (erroneously ascribed to the English courts under Lord Mansfield, but really made by the judges in Scotland) may seem to be inconsistent with the principle now laid down. But Imu bound to express my doubts if such a decision would have been given had Jamaica touched upon the coasts of this country. It is certain that the judges did not intend to declare that all property in slaves should instantly cease, and yet such would have been the inevitable effect of their judgment in the case supposed, which somewhat resembles that of America. In the elevation of your new President all friends of America, of its continued union, of ihe final extinction of slavery by peaceful means, and of the utter immediate extinction of the execrable slave trade - all friends of the human race must heartily rejoice. They will, in him, find a powerful ally, as his country may expect to find an able, a consistent, and an honest ruler. I have the honour lo be your faithful servant, Brougham. James Kcilpath, Esq., Boston, United States.

The Unithd States. —Mr. Buchanan will soon be left the sole member of the Government he originally formed. Another Secretary of State has resigned. Mr. Thompson, who was what wc should call Horne Minister, one of the band of Southern partisans in the Cabinet, has gone out because, at the last moment, Mr. Buchanan seemed disposed to send some little assistance to the gallant Anderson, who guards, in Fort Sumstcr, the property of the United States and the honour of the national flag. Thus, one by one. they full off from their chief. One understands now how Mr. Buchanan came to put Ids name to the astounding Message lie published on the 4th of December. There was anarchy in the Cabinet as well as in the nation, and hence the anarchical Message. The world lias seldom seen the chief of a State abdicating before a threat of rebellion. W« shall soon want a new political glossary. America invented the term “annexation,” although she did not invent the policy. She has now given currency to the word “ secession”—a polite rendering of the honest old word “ rebellion.” As the 4lh of March approaches the peril conics nearer ami nearer. The Administration is powerless. Congress can agree upon “ no plan of adjustment,’ and on this body Mr. Buchanan in his new Message is said to throw the responsibility of the issue, weakly suggesting himself the “ restoration of the Missouri compromise,” as if, in these days, any faith could be placed in the agreement of the Southern States to any such division ; us if the Southern States, rebelling and seceding on all sides, could be got to agree. There can

be but little doubt that Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, have by this time followed the fatal rxamp.c of bouih Carolina, and the telegraph informs us that .New Orleans shows a majority of 318 for immediate session, a statement which can only refer to the election of members to the State Convention, since the Convention does not until the 23rd. Texas wi follow Louisiana, and Arkansas must do the same. Delaware is, as yet, the only Southern State which has officially made a stand for the Limon. Her Legis ature has condemned secession as a remedy for existing evils, and has refused to concur in an invitation from Mississippi to secede On the other hand, the spirit in the North is rising strongly against peaceable secession.” While Governor Banks, m Massachusetts, recommends the State to repeal the 1 ersonal Liberty Laws he is of opinion that peaceable secession is impossible , and Governor Blair in Michigan, taking hinh ground, will not recommend the icpeal of the obnoxious laws in the face of threats, but he does recommend the Legislature to assure the Federal Government that the State will support the Union with the whole of its force. The Government is thwarted by the Senate in its faint attempts to enforce the law and insist on the collection of the revenue at Charleston. The Southern Senators were banded together to resist the confirmation of the appointment of a collector by the ['resident. We may be slow to believe, though the report is not intrinsically improbable, that the South Caiolinians have fired on a transport earning reinforcements to Major Anderson, and driven her oft. But if they have done so from that incident we may date the outbreak of civil strife The war steam, rs on their way to Charleston could not submit to treatment which may be safely applied to a transport and it would be the duty of the Brooklyn to convoy the troops into the harbour, and land them at the fort. If lie Brooklyn be fired on she must in honour icttim the compliment, unless her instructions arc like those given to some of our New Zealand officers, not “ to be out after dark,” and not to come into collision with the natives. The seizure of the forts and arsenals in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, are direct and overt acts of treason, and the principle of passive obedience and non-resistance on which Mr. Buchanan acts can only be extenuated on the plea that he has no troops, a divided Administration, apd a country in anarchy to rule. We are afraid that all hope of amicable adjustment must now be entirely abandoned, and that Mr. Lincoln’s inauguration, will be the signal for civil war if, indeed, some of the States do not act before that date.— Globe.

An Imperial Skating Party.— Our Paris corres])oiideiit writes, under date of Saturday evening:— “ Last night I had the luck to he present at a grand Court skating match by torchlight. In Paris the streets were muddy; it was supposed a decided thaw had set in, the ice on the lake in the Bois de Boulonge was pronounced unsafe—it was, as 1 ascertained myself, wa'cry on the surface, and not a soul was to be seen upon ‘it. But beyond the Longchamps racecourse, and on the banks of the Seine, near M. de Rothschilds splendid villa, and just opposite Suresne, there is a meadow studded with pretty clumps of high trees, which was overflowed during the late floods, and which, although the thermometer had risen to a shade above zero, still presented a smooth coating of solid ice, there being scarcely any water underneath. At this spot the Emperor, with as much secrecy as possible, had made a rendezvous for 10 o’clock at night. The great Godilot, undertaker of public rejoicings, hung the branches of the trees with hundreds ofChinese lanterns, and serving men, as numerous as those peasants who erst walked all night long up and down the ponds about the Koval palaces to prevent the frozs Rom waking the Kings of France, promenaded the frozen meadow with lanterns fixed on their heads. Besides this constant illumination, there was an intermittent succession of Bengal fire and fizzing torches, which lighted up the scene rtf giomo A body of men in white blouses-a special ice police— formed a cordon round the field of operations, and kept oft those who were uninvited, hut the crawd of spectators, though considerable, consisted mainly of the inhabitants of St. Cloud, Suresne, and the neighbouring villages. The population of Paris knew nothing of the fete, and up to this hour neither the Moniteur nor any other journal has said a word about it. As soon as the Emperor and the Court arrived the sport commenced in very business-like style. The Empress got into a sledge, and M. Hartogs, a JGerman gentleman, whose proficiency as a skater attracted the Imperial notice two years ago, and who is now called at Court the Emperor’s '.iide-de-Camp tie glare, had the honour of pushing Her Majesty on the ice. He took her along at railroad speed, and was out of sight of shore in less than a minute. The Emperor then put on his skates, and conducted the sledge of a lady whose name I could not learn. The Countess de Morny, enveloped in velvet and white furs, essayed her prowess, but was supported by two gentlemen, who gave her a hand on each side. The Princess Ponmtowski went along very well by he'self. In a short space of time the icc was thickly studded with a host of chamberlains, generals, aides-de-camp, and even judges who had come with the Court partv to join in the fashionable amusement of the hour. The notion of coming to skate in a thaw was highly approved for the night was by no means cold. The Emperor and Empress remained on the icc till half-past 11. This afternoon, the frost in the meantime having returned with considerable intensity, the sport was resumed by the Imperial party at the same spot. M. Hartogs gave the Empress a promenade in a beautiful sledge, which was sent for by telegraph from Germany, and only arrived this morning. Afterwards Her Majesty ventured to skate, hut only with the assistance of two gentlemen. She is not at her ease upon the ice, and, considering that she comes from sunny Spain, this is not io be wondered at. The Emperor is a very good skater. He docs not attempt any tours de force, but he is perfectly master of his movements. His wont is to go along rather slowly, and lie stops frequently to contemplate the animated scene around him. Not the least etiquette is observable on the icc. No e'ear space is kept about the Emperor or Empress. They go about just like anybody else, and to-day, unlike last evening, everybody without exception was allowed to skate at the same time with them. The Emperor had nothing whatever hut his own adroitness to prevent him from being knocked over by the first tyro in the sport whose skates might run away with him. It was an interesting sight to see the master of so many legions, »he mighty potentate upon whose mysterious breath the fate of so many nations hangs, slipping about unpretentiously on the ice, no squire or even servant following him, and apparently as much on an equality with the people about him as a carter is with a ploughman on an English farmyard pond. Once a young man, who saw the Emperor skating slowly along the middle of the lake, steered a'most indiscreetly close to him and gave him the go by, with the evident intention of getting credit with the spectators for being the best skater. The Emperor then, without any apparent eft’ort, increased his speed, gracefully distanced his opponent by a few yards, and contented with his victory, resumed the steady pace which as 1 said before, he seems to effect. The frost is severe to-night, and should it continue, the rage for skating will attain extraordinary proportions. Happy the amateur who has a good pair of skates, for the manufacturers cannot make them fast enough. The hike in the Bois de Boulogne is again in capital order.” — Express. Big Waves. —When the great ocean is disturbed it forms surface waves, which are sometimes of great magnitude. In a gale, such waves have been more than once measured, and it is found that the extreme height from the top to the deepest depression of large storm waves has been nearly M) feet, their length being from •100 to GOO yards, and their rate of motion through the water about half a milt a minute. Such waves, breaking over an obstacle of any kind, or mingling strangely with the clouded atmosphere raging above, are the wildest, grandest, and most terrible phenomena of nature. When they approach land they break up into much smaller bodies of water, but these are often lifted by shoals and obstructed by rocks till they are thrown up in masses of many tons to a height of more than a hundred feet. The tidal wave is another phenomena of watery motion of a somewhat different kind, producing an alternate rise and fall of the water over all parts of the ocean every 12 hours. In addition to the true waves there are also many definite streams or currents ofwntcr conveying large portions of the sea from one latitude io another, modifying the temperature of (he adjacent laud, and producing a mixture of the waters at the surface or at some depth which cannot but be extremely conducive to the general benefit of all living beings. Storm tides, or those waves which occasionally rush without any pause along; narrow and confined seas or up funnel-shaped inlets, have occasionally proved disastrous to a fearful extent. Thus it is recorded (hat upwards of 100,000 persons perished iu the year 1232, and again in 1242, in this way, numerous complete villages and towns being washed away by a wave advancing from the North Sea over the low lands of Holland. Between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the ordinary spring tide often rises to a height of a hundred feet, sweeping away the cattle feeding on the shore. —All the Year Round. Death of Count Monxemolin. —A private despatch announces that the Count and Countess Monte - molin died at Trieste on the 14th hist, within a few hours of each other. Count Montcraolin was son of the Infant Don Carlos, who for many years asserted, arms iu hand, his claims to the throne of Spain, lie was born on the Gist of January, 1818. The Countess was a Princess of Naples, sister of the late King Ferdinand 11., and bom on ihc 29th of February, IS2O. ■—Times.