ANTI-SLAVERT SOCIETY. 329 



human soul, and all these faculties rise up against persecution 

 and oppression. Every riot, mob and disturbance of peacea- 

 ble people assembled for deliberation on slavery or anti-slavery, 

 add to the number of the friends of anti-slavery in this state. 

 Nominally we have now very few more than seventeen thou- 

 sand members of this anti-slavery society; but let one man be 

 killed by a mob, as E. P. Lovejoy was, at Alton, Illinois, for 

 belonging to this society; printing or circulating its books, 

 newspapers or pamphlets: or if another press is destroyed in 

 Ohio by a mob, because used or owned by this anti-slavery so- 

 ciety, and we know that thirty thousand new members would 

 instantly join this society in Ohio. A few more such mobs 

 following afterwards, and this state government in all its 

 branches, would be in the hands of the anti-slavery society. 

 So beware. 



We care comparatively little about the liberty of the slave, 

 but we do seriously care about preserving our own freedom; 

 and our citizens are determined to preserve it against all sorts 

 of violence, come from whence that violence may — whether 

 from domestic or foreign foes. If any man or combination of 

 men, assail any public meeting (peaceably assembled, and 

 conducting its proceedings) with missile weapons, he or they 

 who thus assail the meeting, would be tried for the offence, 

 sentenced to a dungeon and be in one, within two hours after 

 the commission of the crime. This is Ohio now, and so may 

 it remain forever, under the dominion of the laws and the 

 constitution. 



Drawing a circle around Columbus, as a centre, large 

 enough to contain one hundred thousand people within 

 the territory included in the bounds of the circle, and 

 there are within such a circle but two anti-slavery societies, 

 with less than seventy members in both of them! Why 

 are there so few members among such a population? We an- 

 swer, these societies and their members meet as often as they 

 please, where they please, stay there as long as they please, 

 and say and do, write print and publish what they please, and 

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