poses.[U] Yet these are
the people of whom it is said, 'they are acted upon by no motives to
honorable exertions;' that they are 'scarcely reached in their
debasement by the heavenly light' (almost a denial of the power of the
Holy Ghost); that 'their freedom is licentiousness;' that 'they are a
greater nuisance than even the slaves themselves;' that they are 'the
most degraded, the most abandoned race on the earth;' that they are
'worse circumstanced than the slave population;' that they have 'no
privilege but the privilege of being more vicious and miserable than
slaves can be;' and that they are 'a thriftless race of vagabonds, whose
footsteps are the sure precursors of indigence and crime.' And these
false and infamous charges are brought against them by a Society which
professes to cherish for them the highest regard, and to be anxious to
give them respectability in the eyes of the world!

The truth is, the traducers of the free blacks have no adequate
conception of the amount of good sense, sterling piety, moral honesty,
virtuous pride of character, and domestic enjoyment, which exists among
this class. The spirited remarks of the colored citizens of New-York, in
their address to the public, (_vide_ PART II. p. 16,) in reference to
their calumniators, are exceedingly apposite: 'Their patrician
principles prevent an intercourse with men in the middle walks of life,
among whom a large portion of our people may be classed. We ask them to
visit the dwellings of the respectable part of our people, and we are
satisfied that they will discover more civilization and refinement, than
will be found among the same number of white families of an equal
standing.' A personal examination enables me to say that this challenge
is neither presumptuous nor boastful. I confess, I have been most
agreeably, nay, wonderfully disappointed, in my intercourse with them,
which is daily elevating them in my estimation. Many of their number I
proudly rank among my most familiar friends and correspondents.

With regard to the 'ragged set in Boston, crying out liberty!' every
candid resident will testify that this is a libellous representation;
that our free blacks are a quiet, orderly, well-dressed, and (as far as
they can obtain employment) industrious class of citizens; and that
their improvement is rapid and constant. Every curious observer who
visits their houses of worship, will be surprised at the general
neatness of attire and propriet