Italian women join the crusade. Signor Nathan's Retrospect, Continuation of the work in Switzerland. Madame Courvoisier and the ladies of Chaux-de-Fonds. Address of the women of England to the women of Switzerland. Meeting of men at Chaux-de-Fonds, and formation of committee there. Inaugur- ation of the Abolitionist work in Germany. Appointment of M. Rollier as delegate of the Federation to the Congress of the "Inner Mission." M. Rollier's speech at Dresden. Petitions of the Inner Mission to the Landtag and Reichstag. Visit of English friends to Switzerland. Conferences held by them at Neuchâtel, Lausanne, and Geneva. M. Theodore Monod, M. Ed. de Préssensé, Madame Merie d'Aubigné, &c., take part in the Conferences. Meetings of Ladies. Formation of an Inter- cantonal committee of women. Report of M. Humbert at the Sketch of Abolitionist efforts in India, South Australia, Cape Colony, Canada, and the United States of America. Letter of William Lloyd Garrison. Abraham Lincoln on compromise. Record of latest news from France, Italy, Switzerland and Ger- many. Dr. Jeannell, M. Buffet, M. de Préssensé. Murmurs of the approaching conflict in the Italian Parliament. M. Humbert's record of public meetings in Geneva and Lausanne. Establishment of Secours in many cities by Swiss ladies. Pastor Borel in Alsace. Dr. Dorner and the Inner Mission of Germany. Petition to the Reichstag. English adherents and officers of the Federation. Appeal of the Protestant Churches of Great Britain to the Evangelical Churches of Europe. Letters of Address delivered in Rome by Signor G. Nathan. Latest news THE NEW ABOLITIONISTS. one. 66 CHAPTER I. More than we hoped, in that dark time, The cold, grey pathway of the morn. O weary hours! O night of years! What storms our darkling pathway swept, N the 25th of June, 1874, a few friends of the Abolitionist cause, the progress and history of which, within a given period, is sketched in these pages, met to confer together at York. Their conference was in many respects a remarkable It consisted of a mere handful of the most steadfast supporters of the cause, who had come, some of them, from long distances. All were filled with a deep sense of the solemnity of the purpose which had brought them together. It was a time of deep discouragement in the work. Those who were present fully recognized the powerful array of organized forces against which they had to contend; they were filled with a kind of awe in the contemplation of these forces; and the magnitude of the difficulties with which they were called to grapple was fully present to the mind of each one. At the same time every one of that group seemed animated with a deep and certain conviction that the cause would triumph. The circumstances under which this conference took place were such as to call strongly for the exercise of that faith which alone can animate reformers to contend against a sudden increase of evil at whose destruction they aim. The voice of the abolitionists had for a time: been partially stilled by the clash of parties in the general election, and in the lull which succeeded, no immediate opportunity for action presented itself; for a time even the most energetic workers were unable to see what steps for the accomplishment of this work could most effectively be taken. Under these circumstances, and having hitherto felt themselves engaged in a battle for the abolition of the State sanction of vice in Great Britain only, they suddenly became aware that a large and powerful organization on the continent was seeking to increase the efficacy of the measures employed, and for that purpose was appealing confidently to England to take the lead in organizing among all the Governments of Europe an international system which should bring the whole world within its scope. This information had been especially conveyed to the English Repeal Associations by means of a book written by Dr. Jeannell, of Bordeaux, and the principal object of the conference which met at York was to discuss the present position of the cause in relation to this new and threatening movement. Having given an abstract of the views expressed by Dr. Jeannell and those whom he represents, the Rev. Mr. Collingwood, of Sunderland, concluded a very remarkable paper read by him at this conference, with these words : "Observe the world-wide schemes of the enemy; they will not rest till the whole world is subjected to these immoral regulations; and they have hitherto got all they wanted, until they touched the sacred soil of England. From the moment when that desecration was known, opposition commenced. North, South, East, West, they CONFERENCE AT YORK. 3 have marched without let or hindrance, and they dream not yet of anything but further conquests. 'What,' we may imagine them saying, 'what are trifling checks at the Cape or in the United States, or in Bombay? what is a temporary delay in England, to a party whose plans embrace the whole wide world? there are plenty of other fields to occupy; only keep up a steady fire upon England; she is the centre of the position; carry England, and you are masters of the world.' We must not suppose that it is only the Lancet, or a Mr. Berkley Hill, or a Mr. Acton, that we have to face; behind them is a kind of International League of the Doctors, supported by the Institutions of Continental Europe. What are a few women, a few noisy agitators, a few hundred thousand petitioners, a few superannuated prejudices? And we, on our part, what forces have we with which to meet science (falsely so called), and all the allies it invokes, armies and navies, and Kings and Prime Ministers, many-voiced over all the face of the earth? What with International Medical Congresses, International Conferences, Governments looking on us with contempt and anger, newspapers stamping us out, the majority of a most influential profession smiling scorn on our protests, all kinds of figures arrayed against us, even the figures of our own insignificant minority against the voice of civilized Europe, what are we to think, to do? Shall we not be content with the verdict of May, 1873, and leave the field to the undisputed possession of supervised vice? No! a thousand times, no! "We will remember the victory over Amalek, 'the first of the nations,' by a feeble people sustained by prayer; we will think of the stripling David, how he defeated Goliath with a sling and a stone; we will mark the vanity of Sennacherib's great host,' and how it melted away before the might of God, invoked by faithful Hezekiah; and time would fail to multiply encouraging facts, which abound in modern as well as ancient times, and command those who defend God's cause never to despair. Some of us must remember how hopeless we used to think the abolition of American slavery. The constitution of the United States, the political power of the South, the apathy of the North, the attitude of the religious bodies, all made it seem the wildest of hopes. But we have seen it abolished, and we will never despair in any struggle where we are sure God is on our side. It is the blessedness of history, both sacred and profane, that when all the force is spent, and the noise of the times is over, it tells us of the power of the pure, the just, the true, and the impuissance of whatever has arrayed itself against these angels of God. As principles are rained in blood,' so they have their dark hours which daunt no true man nor woman, but drive them to God's footstool, there to receive faith and strength for fresh encounters, and new efforts. The weapons of our warfare are not simply carnal; we believe, and therefore we speak and fight; and comparatively few though we may be, we measure not our prospects of success by numbers or weight, or metal; we recall those former Heaven-blessed struggles, in which the King's soldiers were as few and as feeble as we, and we know that we shall succeed if we faint not. When Granville Sharp,' in 1772, obtained the famous decision that a slave is free as soon as he touches English territory, he did not think it one of the first steps towards the general abolition of the slave trade and of slavery everywhere; but it was so; and thus, when some noble ones among us raised a cry of horror and indignation on finding that supervised vice had presumed to desecrate our English soil, they little guessed how far their voices would reach, nor what the work was upon which they unwittingly were entering, nor what the victories which they were to achieve. But they have already been able to produce great effects in Africa, Australia, and the United States; and, though still |