258 



LAST YEARS IN ENGLAND. [Char VI. 



seceded to found a Slavocracy. But the Morill tariff, which 

 caused much suffering, and the temporizing policy of the 

 United States Government, led to a change of feeling. Philip 

 wrote in April : " In view of the retrogression in America, the 

 changes in Russia, Austria, and Italy are very encouraging." 

 No doubt the position of the Washington Government was 

 embarrassing. The President felt it his paramount duty to pre- 

 serve the Union : he not only wished to place no difficulty 

 in the way, should the seceding States return; but was very 

 anxious to maintain the loyalty of the border Slave States. Mr. 

 F. Douglass had good reason to complain, in his newspaper, 

 that the Republican Government was a bulwark of slavery : — 

 "The Secretary of State [Mr. Seward], himself long distinguished 

 for his Anti-slavery sentiments, strangely forbade all allusion to 

 slavery in the communications of our Ministers to foreign 

 countries. Our generals in the field freely offered the aid of 

 the loyal army to the Slave States in putting down their slaves, 

 should they avail themselves of the opportunity afforded'by the 

 rebellion to rise and assert their liberty. With a fierce alacrity, 

 which extorted a cry of ' Shame ! \ from Christendom, our loyal 

 army officers acted the degraded part of blood-hounds to ferret 

 out and return trembling slaves (who had sought their protec- 

 tion) to infuriated rebel masters, to be whipped and otherwise 

 tortured to death, etc." On the other hand, the Abolitionists 

 were engaging in the war with enthusiasm ; and, conscious of 

 their own love of freedom, were indignant at the coolness of 

 their old allies in England, who formed their opinion from the 

 action of the United States Government. Those who began by 

 " stroking "the slave power (p. 239) found at length that it was 

 necessary to strike it a decisive blow, and the next year (1862) 

 witnessed a succession of those measures of freedom, which 

 finally culminated in the Amendment of the Constitution in 

 1865. Meanwhile Philip wrote to his friend Dr. Stimpson 

 (July 6) : " You must not expect us to have any sympathy 

 with your governing body, who gave themselves out to England 

 as an Anti-slavery party ; and yet, as soon as empty seats give 

 them the power, knock down our trade with Tariff, just to 



