J[ohn] Sella Martin to Frederick Douglass, March 5, 1859

LETTER FROM REV. J. S. MARTIN.

ALBANY, March 5th, 1859.

FRIEND DOUGLASS:—The sea of popular thought is in a state of unusual agitation at present in this region of "big fish." The legislative sharks, with their dorsal fins of buncombe, elevated with all the precision of practice, are sailing beneath, and sporting with the helpless form of the disfranchised colored man, apparently with no other purpose than emulation with each other in making new political hash of him, that for this session's consistency and next election's anticipation they may cast their meat upon the water, in the hope of finding it after many days; for I am greatly mistaken if the bubbles of discussion shall serve any other purpose than to let off a superabundance of wind on the Personal Liberty Bill—wind to be lost in the atmosphere of political corruption of indifference as soon as the bubbles are bursted, and bubbles, you know, are short lived.

I should not fail to mention, however, that there has been a live anti-slavery whale in the midst of these sharks within a few days. Dr. Cheever spoke in the Senate Chamber on the iniquity of the slave trade, and of the Legislatures that support it. I need not say he acted the whale throughout—now moving slowly through the waves of logic—then turning gracefully and majestically to the survey of the pro-slavery whaler the object of his attack—now bearing down upon it with all the power of denunciation, spangling all the air with jewels of rhetoric and pathos, while all the smaller fry, frightened at the agitation of the sea, sunk to the bottom, or rose only as a peering turtle to see him smile upon the ruin he had wrought, as the pro-slavery whaler and crew were elevated in the air, only to fall with "hideous ruin combustion down to bottommless perdition." All said it was unequalled by any effort before made by this original, learned and eloquent man.

Among the efforts put forth by the colored men during this session, the ceaseless vigilance

of Stephen Myers should be mentioned with respect and commendation; for though I do not agree with him in political opinion, I think he is doing what no other man could do for us, and when we get our rights in this State, the efforts of Mr. Myers shall not be forgotten.

There has been, for some time back, in constant attendance on the Legislature, another of our colored friends from Brooklyn, Mr. Lewis H. Putnam, whose object is to get a legislative appropriation to assist him and others of like opinion in planting colonies of colored people from the United States in some healthy convenient location in Africa.—He told me that Virginia and Maryland had taken the lead in the matter. He has no sympathy, however, with the African Civilization movement; and though Mr. P. appears to be a man of information and judgement, his prejudices against that movement presents quite an anomaly.

Rev. Horace H. Hawkins, formerly of Chicago, has been up in this region, and has met with very good success in getting money to purchase a brother now in slavery, having got about fifty dollars for that purpose in Waterford.

I ought not to fail to impress upon our people the disgraceful fact that wile we are sleeping in soundness that should frighten the grave into activity, and moving at a pace that should make a snail laugh in derision at our clumsiness, white women, born free, dreading no fugitive slave law, are spending their own money to pay Dr. Cheever to come and make a speech in our own behalf; nay more—Miss Susan B. Anthony and Miss Lydia Mott are spending their time at the Capital to contribute by their presence and influence to the gaining of rights for us, that we seem not to care for, or if we do, are too thoughtless, extravagant and lazy to work for.

But is there any wonder connected with our indifference to the rights of franchise, when it is remembered that the highest and holiest efforts of our great colored men remain unaided and unseconded by the mass? Too long

has this been excused on the ground of ignorance. It is not ignorance; they have sense enough, when white people say Fred. Douglass is a great man, to give their assent with a great deal of self-complacency, and survey themselves with gratulation when it is hinted the Fred. is about their color. But not a dime do they sacrifice, nor will they submit to the slightest inconvenience of feeling even to keep a live a paper that represents their interests, and their only. It is well enough for colored people to have good preachers, but when it comes to taking their money under circumstances of inconvenience to support him, then they find a wonderful without-money and without-price gospel.—Shiloh, I believe, pays her pastor the best price of any colored church in the Union, and he get the exorbitant sum of sever hundred dollars per annum! Now, if we are thus careless about the things that we are more interested in, it is no wonder that we have to complain that our great men don't care any thing about us; they have more love than we have if they do.

J. SELLA MARTIN.