of Christianity, must ere long utterly fail.  And it is to me a matter of joy, as it must be to every friend of impartial liberty and free institutions, that the citizens of this republic are more and more feeling that the plague-spot of slavery, as with the increased facilities of communication its horrors and deformity become more apparent in the eyes of the world, is fixing a deep disgrace upon the character of their country, and paralyzing the beneficial influence which might otherwise flow from it as an example of a well-regulated free government.  May each American citizen who is desirous of washing away this disgrace, to whatever division of the anti-slavery host he may attach himself, ever bear in mind that the cause is of too tremendous and pressing a nature to admit of his wasting his time in censuring and impeding the progress of those who may array themselves under a somewhat different standard from his own; and that any energies thus wasted, which belong to the one great object, so far as human instrumentality is concerned, is not only deferring the day of freedom to two and a half millions of his countrymen, but inasmuch as the fall of American slavery must be the death-blow to the horrid system, wherever it exists, the result of the struggle here involves the slavery or freedom of millions in other parts of the world, as well as the continuance or suppression of that slave-trade, to the foreign branch of which alone more than one thousand victims are daily sacrificed; and in reference to which it has justly been said, ’that all that has been borne to Africa of the boasted improvements of civilized life, is a masterly skill in the contrivance, and an unhesitating daring in the commission of crimes, which the mind of the savage was too simple to devise, and his heart too gentle to execute.’  There are no doubtful indications that it is the will of Him, who has the hearts of all at His disposal, that, either in judgment or in mercy, this dreadful system shall ere long cease.  It is not for us to say why, in His inscrutable wisdom, He has thus far permitted one portion of His creatures so cruelly to oppress another; or by what instrumentality He will at length redress the wrongs of the poor, and the oppression of the needy; but should the worst fears of one of your most distinguished citizens, who in view of this subject, acknowledged that he ’trembled for his country, when he remembered that God was just,’ be finally realized, may each one of you feel that no exertions on his part have been wanting to avert the Divine displeasure, and preserve your land from those calamities which, in all ages, have rebuked the crimes of nations.

    “Your sincere friend,

    “JOSEPH STURGE.

    “Boston, Seventh Month 31st, 1841.”