OUR DIFFICULTIES WITH ISRAEL LEWIS.
Being under the necessity of referring again to the difficulties existing
in the Wilberforce colony, I shall here introduce a circular, published in
New York city, which will give the reader an understanding of the real
cause of our embarrassments, and the character of our agent, Israel Lewis.
CIRCULAR
_New York, May 9th_, 1836.
The committee of colored citizens of the city of New York, as servants of
the public, sincerely regret the necessity of bringing the within subject
before the public. Their duty to God, to society, and to themselves, only
actuates them in this matter.
The fact that many individuals in different sections of the country, have
long suspected the integrity of Israel Lewis, but possessing no authentic
documentary evidence, they have been prevented from making an effort,
to counteract his too successful attempts and those of his agents, in the
collection of funds from the public, has induced us to transmit this
circular.
THEODORE S. WRIGHT,
PETER OGDEN,
THOMAS DOWNING,
GEORGE POTTS,
CHARLES B. RAY,
DAVID RUGGLES,
JOHN STANS,
WILLIAM P. JOHNSON,
WILLIAM HAMILTON,
SAMUEL E. CORNISH.
* * * * *
ISRAEL LEWIS.
_Wilberforce, U.C., March 28th, 1836._
The board of managers of the Wilberforce settlement, met and passed
unanimously the following resolutions--Present, Austin Steward, Philip
Harris, Peter Butler, William Bell, John Whitehead, Samuel Peters.
_Resolved_, 1st. That we deeply regret the manner in which our friends in
the States have been imposed upon by Israel Lewis; and that we hereby
inform them, as a board of managers or otherwise, that we have received
less than one hundred dollars of all the money borrowed and collected in
the States.
_Resolved_, 2d. That although we have not received one hundred dollars
from said Lewis, yet, when we shall have received the funds collected by
our agent, the Rev. Nathan Paul, in England, we will refund as far as our
abilities will allow and our friends may require, the money contributed
for our supposed benefit, by them in the States.
_Resolved_, 3d. That we tender our sincere thanks to our beloved friends,
Arthur Tappan and others, who have taken such deep interest in the
welfare of our little colony.
_Resolved_, 4th. That the foregoing resolutions be signed by the whole
board, and sent to the States to be published in the _New York Observer_
and other papers.
AUSTIN STEWARD, _President_,
PETER BUTLER, _Treasurer_,
JOHN HALMES, _Secretary_.
PHILIP HARRIS, }
WILLIAM BELL, }
JOHN WHITEHEAD, } _Managers._
SAMUEL PETERS, }
* * * * *
_New York, April 25th, 1836._
At a public meeting of the colored citizens of New York city, held in
Phoenix Hall, Thomas L. Jennings in the Chair, and Charles B. Ray,
Secretary, the following resolutions were passed unanimously:
_Resolved_, That the thanks of this meeting be tendered to the Rev.
Samuel E. Cornish, for the able and satisfactory report of his mission
to Upper Canada, especially to the Wilberforce settlement.
_Resolved_, That this meeting deem it their imperative duty, to announce
to the public, that in view of facts before them, Israel Lewis [1] has
abused their confidence, wasted their benevolence, and forfeited all claim
to their countenance and respect.
_Resolved_, That a committee of ten, be appointed to give publicity to the
foregoing resolutions; also, to the communication from the managers of the
Wilberforce settlement, as they may deem necessary in the case.
THOMAS L. JENNINGS, _Chairman_,
CHARLES B. RAY, _Secretary_.
[Footnote 1: It necessarily follows that the public should withhold their
money from his subordinate agents.]
It will now appear that I was not the only unfortunate individual who had
difficulty with Mr. Lewis. Mr. Arthur Tappan made known through the press,
about this time, that Israel Lewis was not a man to be fully relied upon
in his statements regarding the Wilberforce colony; and also, if money
was placed in his hands for the benefit of the sick and destitute among
the settlers, it would be doubtful whether it was faithfully applied
according to the wishes of the donors.
For this plain statement of facts, Mr. Lewis commenced a suit against Mr.
Tappan, for defamation of character; laying the damages at the round sum
of ten thousand dollars. It appeared that Lewis valued his reputation
highly now that he had elevated himself sufficiently to commence a suit
against one of the best and most respectable gentlemen in New York city;
a whole souled abolitionist withal; one who had suffered his name to be
cast out as evil, on account of his devotion to the colored man's cause--
both of the enslaved and free; one who has, moreover, seen his own
dwelling entered by an infuriated and pro-slavery mob; his expensive
furniture thrown into the street as fuel for the torch of the black man's
foe; and, amid the crackling flame which consumed it, to hear the vile
vociferations of his base persecutors, whose only accusation was his
defence of the colored man. This noble hearted, Christian philanthropist,
who took "joyfully the spoiling of his goods" for the cause of the
oppressed, was the chosen victim of Lewis' wrath and violent vituperation;
and that too, where he was well known as a most honorable, humane
gentleman; and all for naming facts which were quite generally known
already.
Lewis returned to Wilberforce, flushed and swaggering with the idea of
making his fortune in this speculation of a law-suit against Mr. Tappan;
and to remove all obstacles, he sent a man to me, to say that if I would
publish nothing, and would abandon the interests of the colonists, he
would give me a handsome sum of money. I soon gave him to understand that
he had applied to the wrong person for anything of that kind; and he then
laid a plan to accomplish by fraud and perjury, what he had failed to do
by bribery.
I have before mentioned the fact of my having taken up a note of
twenty-five dollars for Mr. Lewis, on condition that he would soon refund
the money. I did it as a favor, and kept the note in my possession, until
about a year afterward, when I sued him to recover my just due on the
note. We had then began to differ in our public business, which led to
other differences in our transaction of both public and private matters
relating to the colony. He of course gave bail for his appearance at
court, and it ran along for some time until he found he could not bribe me
to enter into his interests, and then for the first time, he declared that
I had stolen the note! And finally succeeded in getting me indicted before
the grand jury!
In this I suppose Lewis and his confederates had two objects: first, to
get rid of me; secondly, that they might have a chance to account for my
continued hostility, by saying that it arose in consequence of a private
quarrel, and not for any true interest I had in their collecting money
deceptively.
Lewis appeared so bent on my destruction, that he forgot it was in my
power to show how I came by the note. The Court of King's Bench met, but
in consequence of the cholera, was adjourned, and of course, the case
must lie over until another year.
When the time for the trial drew near, I was, in the midst of my
preparations to attend it, counseled and advised by different persons to
flee from the country, which I had labored so hard and so conscientiously
to benefit, and received in return nothing but detraction and slander. But
conscious of my innocence, I declared I would not leave; I knew I had
committed no crime; I had violated no law of the land,--and I would do
nothing to imply guilt. He who hath formed the heart, knoweth its intent
and purpose, and to Him I felt willing to commit my cause. True, the court
might convict, imprison, and transport me away from my helpless family of
five small children; if so, I was determined they should punish an
innocent man. Nevertheless, it was a dark time; I was not only saddened
and perplexed, but my spirit was grieved, and I felt like one "wounded in
the house of his friends,"--ready to cry out, "had it been an enemy I
could have borne it," but to be arraigned, for the _first_ time in my
life, as a _criminal_, by one of the very people I had spent my substance
to benefit, was extremely trying. Guiltless as I knew myself to be, still,
I was aware that many incidents had transpired, which my enemies could
and would construe to my disadvantage; moreover, Lewis had money, which he
would freely distribute to gain his point right or wrong, and to get me
out of his way.
In due time the trial came on, and I was to be tried for _theft_! Lewis
had reported all through the settlement that on a certain time I had
called at his house, and from a bundle of papers which his wife showed me,
I had purloined the note, which had caused me so much trouble. To prove
this it was necessary to get his wife to corroborate the statement. This
was not an easy matter. Mrs. Lewis, indignant and distressed by her
husband's unkindness, had left him and taken up her abode in the family of
a hospitable Englishman. After Lewis had been sent out as an agent for the
colony, finding himself possessed of sufficient funds to cut a swell, he
associated and was made a great deal of, by both ladies and gentlemen in
high stations of life; the consequence of which was, he looked now with
disdain upon his faithful, but illiterate wife, who like himself had been
born a slave, and bred on a Southern plantation; and who had with him
escaped from the cruel task-master, enduring with him the hardships and
dangers of the flying fugitive.
Now her assistance was necessary to carry forward his plans, and he
endeavored in various ways to induce her to return, but in vain. When he
sent messengers to inform her how sorry he felt for his past abuse, she
said she feared it was only some wicked plot to entice her away from the
peaceable home she had found. Lewis saw that he must devise some other
method to obtain her evidence. He therefore called on the brother of the
Englishman in whose family Mrs. Lewis was, and in a threatening manner
told him that he understood his brother was harboring his wife, and that
he intended to make him pay dear for it. The brother, to save trouble,
said he would assist him to get his wife, and that night conducted Lewis
to her residence. No better proof can be given that Mrs. Lewis possessed
the true heart of a woman, than that the moment her husband made humble
concessions, and promised to love and protect her henceforth, she forgave
him all his past infidelity and neglect, and looked with hope to a
brighter future. In return Lewis presented her with a note, telling her to
take it to a certain person and present it, and he would give her twenty
dollars on it. This would, he doubtless thought, leave her in his power.
As Mrs. Lewis could not read, the unsuspecting wife presented the paper
all in good faith. The gentleman looked at her sharply, suspiciously,--and
then asked her, if she was not aware that she was presenting him a paper
completely worthless! The poor woman was mortified and astonished; and
instead of returning to her husband, fled to Wilberforce, and called at
our house. Knowing how disastrous to me would be her false statement, and
ignorant of her state of mind, I asked her if she had come to assist Mr.
Lewis by swearing against me. I saw at once, that she had not yet been
informed of her husband's design.
"Swear against you, Mr. Steward!" said she. "I know nothing to swear that
would injure you; I have always known you as an honest, upright man, and
you need not fear my turning against an innocent person, for the benefit
of one I know to be guilty. Nor would I have left my place, had I known
what I now do." So all help and fear was ended in that quarter.
When at length the appointed morning arrived, I arose early, but with a
saddened heart. I looked upon my wife and helpless family, reflecting that
possibly this might be the last time we should all assemble around the
breakfast table in our hitherto quiet home, and I could scarcely refrain
from weeping. I, however, took my leave, and a lad with me, to bring back
a message of the result, if the court found sufficient cause to detain me
for trial. But when I found that I must be tried, I felt too unhappy to
make others so, and kept out of the lad's way. He returned without a
message; and I took my seat in the prisoner's box. I had just taken a
letter out of the post office, from Rochester, containing recommendations
and attestations from the first men in the city, of my good character,
which relieved my feelings somewhat: nevertheless, my heart was heavy, and
especially when, soon after I took my seat, a trap-door was opened and a
murderer was brought up and seated by my side!
Chief Justice Robinson, made his appearance in great pomp--dressed in the
English court style-then the crier, in a shrill voice, announced the
opening of the court, and finished by exclaiming, "God save the King!"
His lordship then called the attention of the jury to the law of the land;
particularly to that portion relating to their present duty; and the grand
jury presented me to the court, for feloniously taking a certain
promissory note from the house of Israel Lewis. The King's Attorney had
but one witness, and that was Lewis. He was called to the stand, permitted
to relate his story, and retire without any cross-examination on the part
of my Attorney; but that gentleman called up three respectable white men,
all of whom swore that they would not believe Israel Lewis under oath!
Then submitted the case to the jury without remark or comment, and the
jury, without leaving their seats, brought in a verdict of "NOT GUILTY."
Thus ended my first and last trial for theft! Oh, how my very soul
revolted at the thought of being thus accused; but now that I stood
justified before God and my fellow-men, I felt relieved and grateful; nor
could I feel anything but pity for Lewis, who, like Hainan, had been so
industriously engaged in erecting "a gallows fifty cubits high" for me,
but found himself dangling upon it He raved like a madman, clutched the
arm of the Judge and demanded a new trial, but he shook him off with
contempt and indignation, as though he had been a viper. In his wild fury
and reckless determination to destroy my character, he had cast a foul
stain upon his own, never to be effaced. I had felt bound to preserve my
reputation when unjustly assailed, but it had been to me a painful
necessity to throw a fellow-being into the unenviable and disgraceful
attitude in which Lewis now stood; and yet, he would not, and did not
yield the point, notwithstanding his ignominious defeat.
He very soon began to gather his forces for another attack upon me, and
followed the same direction for his accusation,--the land purchase.
The reader will recollect without further repetition, that as I could
purchase no land of the Canada Company, because of their indignation
against Lewis, I was glad to accept of the contract he had made with Mr.
Ingersoll, for lot number four in the colony; that I paid the sum
demanded, and took his assignment on the back of the contract, and as we
then were on good terms, it never occurred to me that a witness was
necessary to attest to the transaction. But after his failure to prove me
a thief; his next effort was to convict me of forgery! It will be
remembered that Lewis after selling out to me, returned the contract to
Mr. Ingersoll, and that I had lost by the means, the land, and at least
five hundred dollars' worth of improvements. Then I brought a suit against
Lewis, to recover the money I had paid him for the contract; and then it
was that he asserted and attempted to prove, that I had forged the
assignment, and therefore, had no just claim on him for the amount paid.
But in this, as in the other case, he met a defeat and made an entire
failure. I recovered all that I claimed, which, was only my just due. One
would suppose that after so many unsuccessful attempts to ruin me, he
would have left me alone,--but not so with Lewis: he had the ambition of a
Bonaparte; and doubtless had he possessed the advantages of an education,
instead of having been born and bred a slave, he might, like an Alexander
or Napoleon, have astonished the world with his deeds of daring. I am,
however, no admirer of what the world call "great men,"--one humble,
self-sacrificing Christian, like Benjamin Lundy, has far greater claim on
my respect and reverence.
Lewis, failing in his second attack, backed up as he had been in all his
wicked course, by a friend wearing the sacred garb of a minister of the
gospel, cooled off, and it became evident to all, that he was meditating
some different mode of warfare. To this concealed confederate, I must
attach great blame, on account of the influence his station and superior
learning gave him, not only over Mr. Lewis, but the colonists generally,
and which should have been exerted for the good of all, in truth and
honesty.