of fugitives, except for criminal offences, which would be expunged; each individual State would be able, if desirous, to enter into any mutual arrangement with any other State, according to their respective necessities.  This proposal has two advantages:  one, that it removes a bone of bitter contention ever ready to be thrown down between the North and the South; and the other, that it opens a small loophole for the oppressed to escape from the oppressor.

The next proposal I have to make, is one which, as every year makes it more difficult, merits immediate attention,—­and that is, the providing a territory of refuge.  No one for a moment can doubt that the foundation of Liberia was an act of truly philanthropic intent, reflecting credit upon all parties concerned in it; but it must, I fear, be acknowledged that it is totally unequal to the object in view.  No further evidence of this need he adduced, than the simple fact, that, for every negro sent to Liberia, nearer twenty than ten are born in the States.  Dame Partington’s effort to sweep back the incoming tide with a hair-broom promised better hopes of success; a brigade of energetic firemen would drain off Lake Superior in a much shorter space of time than Liberian colonization would remove one-third of the slave population.  The scheme is in the right direction, but as insufficient to overcome the difficulty as a popgun is to breach a fortified city; the only method of effectually enabling the system of colonization to be carried out, is—­in my humble opinion—­by setting apart some portion of the unoccupied territory of the Union as a negro colony.  In making the selection, a suitable climate should be considered, in justice to the health of the negro, as it is clear, from the fate of those who fly from persecution to Canada, that they are unable to resist cold; and proximity to the ocean is desirable, as affording a cheap conveyance for those who become manumitted:  the expense of a passage to Liberia is one great obstacle to its utility.

The quantity of land required for such a purpose would be very small; and stringent regulations as to the negro leaving the territory so granted, would effectually prevent any inconvenience to the neighbouring States.  I have before shown that the comparative number of whites and blacks—­whites 6,000,000, and blacks 3,000,000—­renders it all but, if not quite, impossible for the two races to live together free.  I have also shown that the Northern States either refuse to admit them, or pass such laws respecting them, that slavery under a good master is a paradise by comparison.  I have further shown that Liberia is, from its distance, so expensive for their removal, as to be of but little assistance, and Canada too often proves an early grave.  If, then, these difficulties present themselves with a population of 3,000,000 slaves, and if they are increasing their numbers rapidly—­which statistics fully prove to be the case—­it is clear that these difficulties must augment in a corresponding ratio, until at last they will become insurmountable.  I therefore come to the conclusion, either that territory must be set apart in America itself for the negro’s home, or that the black bar of slavery must deface the escutcheon of the Republic for ever.