air professions of Mr. Darg, this
preacher chimed in with the exulting tones of the pro-slavery press, by
alluding to it in one of his public discourses as follows. After
speaking of the tendency of affliction to produce humility, he went on
to say, "As a slave, who had suffered the effects of his criminal
conduct, and been thus led to calm reflection, recently chose to go back
with this master into slavery, and endure all the evils of that
condition, notwithstanding his former experience of them, rather than
stay with those hypocritical workers of popular righteousness who had
interfered in his behalf. For my own part, I commend his choice. I had a
thousand times rather be a slave, and spend my days with slaveholders,
than to dwell in companionship with abolitionists."

The state of things among Quakers in the city of New-York may be
inferred from the fact that this minister was exceedingly popular, and
his style of preaching cordially approved by a majority of them. One of
the editors of the Anti-Slavery Standard, at that time, wrote a severe,
though by no means abusive article on the subject, headed "Rare
Specimen of a Quaker Preacher." This gave great offence, and Isaac T.
Hopper was very much blamed for it. He, and his son-in-law James S.
Gibbons, and his friend Charles Marriott, then belonged to the Executive
Committee of the Anti-Slavery Society; and it was assumed to be their
duty to have prevented the publication of the sarcastic article. Charles
Harriot was absent from the city when it was published, and Friend
Hopper did not see it till after it was in print. When they urged these
facts, and stated, moreover, that they had no right to dictate to the
editor what he should say, or what he should not say, they were told
that they ought to exculpate themselves by a public expression of their
disapprobation. But as they did not believe the editorial article
contained any mis-statement of facts, they could not conscientiously say
any thing that would satisfy the friends of the preacher. It would be
tedious to relate the difficulties that followed. There were visits from
overseers, and prolonged sessions of committees; a great deal of talking
_with_ the accused, and still more talking _about_ them. A strong
disposition was manifested to make capital against them out of the Darg
Case. Robert H. Morris, who was presiding Judge while that case was
pending, and afterward Mayor of New-York, had long known Friend Hopper,