free seats for the poor; an arrangement which has
struck him as favorably as the similar one in Dr. Sprague's church did
Mr. T. the reverse. This preparation of free and separate seats for
the poor is, if he is rightly informed, nearly universal, in both the
Scotch and English establishments, whenever the poor have seats in
their churches. Now, if Mr. Thompson wished to begin a system of
levelling--if he meant to preach universal equality, why did he not
begin here? Why did he not try to convert Earl Grey and Lord
Melbourne, instead of going across the Atlantic in order to try his
experiments on the despised Americans? As to the civil rights of the
free blacks in America, the most erroneous notions were entertained in
both countries, but especially here. The truth was, they enjoyed
greater _civil_ rights than the peasantry of Britain herself; and
those rights were fully as well protected in their exercise. Their
right to acquire property of any kind, anywhere, without being hedged
about with exclusive privileges and ancient corporations; their right
to enjoy that property, unencumbered with poor rates, and church
rates, and tithes and tiends, and untold taxes and vexations; their
right to pursue trades, callings, or business, without regard to
monopolies, and innumerable vexatious and worrying preliminaries;
their right to be free in person--subject neither to forcible
impressment, nor to the serveilance of an innumerable police: their
right to be cared for in sickness and destitution, without questions
of domicile previously settled; their right to the speedy and cheap
administration of justice without "sale, denial or delay"--and
unattended with ruinous expenses; these, with whatever may truly be
considered civil rights, are enjoyed by the free colored people in
nearly every part of America, to a degree utterly unknown by millions
of British subjects, not only in the East and West-Indies, but in
Ireland, and even in England itself. If any rights had been denied
them, as the following of certain professions, as that of a minister
of the gospel, for example, as Virginia had lately done, he could
point their attention to the time when these laws were passed, and
show that it was not till after the era of abolition; and that would
never have been, but for its fury. It was not till after they had
learned with bell book and candle to curse the white man, and teach
sedition and murder to the slaves. The nature of _political_