"SIR:--We heartily welcome you to England in the name of
thousands of Englishmen who have watched with admiring sympathy
your labors for the redemption of the negro race from slavery,
and for that which is a higher object than the redemption of any
single race, the vindication of the universal principles of
humanity and justice; and who, having sympathized with you in
the struggle, now rejoice with you in the victory.
"Forty years ago, when you commenced your efforts, slavery
appeared to be rapidly advancing to complete ascendency in
America. Not only was it dominant in the Southern States, but
even in the Free States it had bowed the constituencies,
society, and, in too many instances, even the churches to its
will. Commerce, linked to it by interest, lent it her support. A
great party, compactly organized and vigorously wielded, placed
in its hands the power of the state. It bestowed political
offices and honors, and was thereby enabled to command the
apostate homage of political ambition. Other nations felt the
prevalence in your national councils of its insolent and
domineering spirit. There was a moment, most critical in the
history of America and of the world, when it seemed as though
that continent, with all its resources and all its hopes, was
about to become the heritage of the slave power.
"But Providence interposes to prevent the permanent triumph of
evil. It interposes, not visibly or by the thunderbolt, but by
inspiring and sustaining high moral effort and heroic lives.
"You commenced your crusade against slavery in isolation, in
weakness, and in obscurity. The emissaries of authority with
difficulty found the office of the _Liberator_ in a mean room,
where its editor was aided only by a negro boy, and supported by
a few insignificant persons (so the officers termed them) of all
colors. You were denounced, persecuted, and hunted down by mobs
of wealthy men alarmed for the interests of their class. You
were led out by one of these mobs, and saved from their violence
and the imminent peril of death, almost by a miracle. You were
not turned from your path of devotion to your cause, and to the
highest interests of your country, by denunciation, persecution,
or the fear of death. You have lived to stand victorious and
honored in the very stronghold of slavery; to see the flag of
the republic, now truly free, replace the flag of slavery on
Fort Sumter; and to proclaim the doctrines of the _Liberator_ in
the city, and beside the grave of Calhoun.
"Enemies of war, we most heartily wish, and doubt not that you
wish as heartily as we do, that this deliverance could have been
wrought out by peaceful means. But the fierce passions
engendered by slavery in the slaveowner, determined it
otherwise; and we feel at liberty to rejoice, since the struggle
was inevitable, that its issue has been the preservation, not
the extinction, of all that we hold most dear. We are, however,
not more thankful for the victories of freedom in the field than
for the moderation and mercy shown by the victors, which have
exalted and hallowed their cause and ours in the eyes of all
nations.
"We shall now watch with anxious hope the development, amidst
the difficulties which still beset the regeneration of the
South, of a happier order of things in the States rescued from
slavery, and the growth of free communities, in which your name,
with the names of your fellow-workers in the same cause, will be
held in grateful and lasting remembrance.
"Once more we welcome you to a country in which you will find
many sincere admirers and warm friends."
EARL RUSSELL and JOHN STUART MILL, M.P., at the close of the address,
followed with most eloquent speeches, conferring on the honored guest
the highest praise for his life-long and successful labors in the cause
of freedom. After these gentlemen had taken their seats, the Chairman
proposed that the address should be passed unanimously.
The Chairman's call was responded to by the whole assemblage lifting up
their hands; and Mr. Garrison, presenting himself in front of the
platform, was received with an enthusiastic burst of cheering, hats and
handkerchiefs being waved by nearly all present.