in Nature,” aroused the contempt of Huxley who criticized it at the meeting as unscientific and placed upon it the “stigma of public condemnation.”  The result was a fine controversy among the scientists which could only serve to emphasize the belief that slavery was indeed an issue in the American War and that the South was on the defensive.  Winding up a newspaper duel with Hunt who emerged rather badly mauled, Huxley asserted “the North is justified in any expenditure of blood or treasure which shall eradicate a system hopelessly inconsistent with the moral elevation, the political freedom, or the economical progress of the American people[1201]....”

Embarrassment caused by the “Foul Blot” issue, the impossibility to many sincere Southern friends of accepting the view-point of The Index, acted as a check upon the holding of public meetings and prevented the carrying out of that intensive public campaign launched by Spence and intended to be fostered by the Southern Independence Association.  By the end of June, 1864, there was almost a complete cessation of Southern meetings, not thereafter renewed, except spasmodically for a brief period in the fall just before the Presidential election in America[1202].  Northern meetings were continuous throughout the whole period of the war but were less frequent in 1864 than in 1863.  They were almost entirely of two types—­those held by anti-slavery societies and religious bodies and those organized for, or by, working men.  An analysis of those recorded in the files of The Liberator, and in the reports sent by Adams to Seward permits the following classification[1203]: 

YEAR.  NUMBER.  CHARACTER. 
ANTI-SLAVERY
AND RELIGIOUS WORKING-MEN.
1860 3 3 —
1861 7 7 —
1862 16 11 5
1863 82 26 56
1864 21 10 11
1865 5 4 1

Many persons took part in these meetings as presiding officers or as speakers and movers of resolutions; among them those appearing with frequency were George Thompson, Rev. Dr. Cheever, Rev. Newman Hall, John Bright, Professor Newman, Mr. Bagley, M.P., Rev. Francis Bishop, P.A.  Taylor, M.P., William Evans, Thomas Bayley Potter, F.W.  Chesson and Mason Jones.  While held in all parts of England and Scotland the great majority of meetings were held in London and in the manufacturing districts with Manchester as a centre.  From the first the old anti-slavery orator of the ’thirties, George Thompson, had been the most active speaker and was credited by all with having given new life to the moribund emancipation sentiment of Great Britain[1204].  Thompson asserted that by the end of 1863 there was a “vigilant, active and energetic” anti-slavery society in almost every great town or city[1205].  Among the working-men, John Bright was without question the