On Tuesday evening, July 2nd, one of the largest and most enthusiastic public meetings ever held in the Metropolis assembled in Exeter Hall for the purpose of expressing its sympathy with JOHN ANDERSON, the fugitive slave, and of offering him a cordial welcome on his arrival in England. Mr. HARPER TWELVETREES, of Eversley House, Bromley-by-Bow, occupied the chair; and amongst the gentlemen on the platform, were the Rev. Hugh Allen, D.D.; the Rev. Jabez Burns, D.D.; the Rev. J. G. Hewlett, D.D.; the Rev. W. H. Bonner; the Rev. W. A. Blake; the Rev. G. W. McCree; the Rev. T. J. Messer; the Rev. G. Berkeley, of Jersey; the Rev. E. Mathews; the Rev. John Sidney Hall; the Rev. P. Pocock; the Rev. Thomas Jones; the Rev. T. M. Kinnaird, (a coloured Clergyman); the Rev. G. T. Horne; Henry Hanks, Esq.; E. Burr, Esq.; William Farmer, Esq.; Thomas Hattersley, Esq.; Cooke Baines, Esq.; Joseph A. Horner, Esq.; F. L. H. Collins, Esq.; Colonel Raines; T. R. Kemp, Esq.; William Craft, Esq.; Robert Rae, Esq.; A. W. Sanderson, Esq.; General Riley; and a considerable number of members of the Anti-Slavery Associations.

Upon John Anderson's appearance on the platform, leaning on the arm of Mr. Twelvetrees, he was received with loud and prolonged cheering, accompanied by waving of hats and handkerchiefs, and other demonstrations of enthusiasm, which he repeatedly acknowledged by bowing.

The proceedings having been opened by a brief but appropriate prayer, by the Rev. Dr. HEWLETT,

COOKE BAINES, ESQ., one of the Hon. Secretaries, informed the meeting that letters had been received from several influential persons, regretting their inability to attend. Amongst these were the Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury, H. B. Sheridan, Esq., M.P., T. S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P., George Thompson, Esq., the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, &c., &c. Lord Shaftesbury stated that he was unable to preside at the meeting as requested, but added, “I desire to express the warmest interest in the case of John Anderson, and will be happy to contribute to any fund that may be raised on his behalf.” Mr. Sheridan said that “he deeply sympathised with the much ill-used man, Anderson, and trusted that means would be taken to place him in a position to earn his living in this country, believing that he would show by his conduct, that a slave was capable of becoming as good a citizen as a man of another colour.” Mr. Duncombe “could not be present at the meeting on account of a promise to attend the debate in the House of Commons on the affairs of Poland, but he wished it to be understood that he warmly sympathised with the object which they were met to promote.” Mr. George Thompson was absent in the North of England, but he had expressed his willingness to do all in his power to assist John Anderson. The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon had taken a lively interest in John Anderson, and would have been present that evening if he could possibly have attended. Mr. Baines proceeded to state, that “Anderson was very desirous, as were also the members of the committee, that his wife and children, who were at present in slavery, should be in this land of freedom with him. (Cheers.) The object of the meeting that evening, therefore, was to enable him to get his wife and children over as soon as possible, and he (Mr. Baines) hoped that every man and every woman would leave the hall with a sincere determination of doing all in their power to assist him in accomplishing that object.” (Applause.)

The CHAIRMAN, who was enthusiastically received, said it had become customary, he believed, for those who occupied the chair at Exeter Hall to apologise for doing so, and to express regret on account of their inability to discharge the duties of their office worthily. But, although he was as conscious of his shortcomings as any of those noblemen or gentlemen who had preceded him in the occupancy of that chair, he would not weary the meeting with vain regrets, but merely say that he accepted the invitation to preside with timidity, mingled with considerable pleasure, (Hear, hear) because he felt assured that he might rely on the kind consideration, sympathy, and forbearance of an Exeter Hall audience, assembled for a philanthropic object—not for any political or factious purpose, not for the purpose of expressing an opinion respecting the present crisis in America, nor to discuss the policy of the North or South. They had met there that night, as he understood, to do honour to their principles as philanthropists and christians—to express their earnest and unswerving belief in the great truth which spans like a rainbow the whole heavens of humanity—“God hath made of one blood all nations of men”—to assert their determination to recognise man as man all the world over, and to proclaim to the world that as Englishmen they have no sympathy with those who barbarise, oppress, and ill-treat humanity. They purposed also to render some practical assistance, as well as to give an enthusiastic welcome to a Brother— who, hunted as a fugitive, had just finished a desperate struggle for liberty, that sweetest boon of Heaven; and having narrowly escaped the baying of the bloodhounds and the tortures of death by fire, had come while still panting with his run for life, to seek an asylum in our country—in this our happy England— with its free soil, free institutions, and free speech—(Great applause) where the bruised, the burdened, and oppressed of every name and nation are beyond the reach of tyrants' arms—where colour is no crime—but where human rights are sacred, and freedom, liberty, and justice are secured to all who tread our shores. (Loud cheers.) In his few opening remarks, he did not intend to dwell upon the personal history of the pitiable and trembling fugitive before them, but would leave that duty to some of the gentlemen who had consented to take part in the Meeting. He confessed, however, to a wish that Anderson could tell the story of his life upon every hearthstone in the Kingdom, for he felt assured that every husband, wife, and child would listen with strange and tearful earnestness while he told them of the loved ones whom he had left in sorrow and bondage, with no acknowledged rights; and who, though owned by God, were yet owned and bound and scarred by man, and might be mangled and butchered at the will of their owner. (Sensation and cheers.) He trusted the meeting would allow him a few moments' licence whilst he drew their attention to the strange anomaly, that a country like America—known as a Christian country—a country which had subscribed to the immortal Declaration of Independence—a country which is boasted of as “the land of the brave and the home of the free,” should yet be steeped in the diabolical and accursed sin of slavery. The American people, he remarked, would listen with eagerness and interest to the wrongs endured by distant nations; but the ears of human sympathy were doggedly closed to the piteous cries and bitter wailings of the slave. (Cheers). The fugitive slave had no home in that great Republic, and was not even allowed to pass peaceably through the Free States to find a home in a more favoured country, where, under the sway of our own emancipating Queen, he might find equal rights and privileges, and enjoy the immunities of nationality and freedom. (Loud cheers.) Did they ask, how it was that although the soil of America had been cultivated for centuries by slaves, they should themselves be strangers and foreigners—aliens in their native land—and despisedly placed beyond the pale of both secular and religious authority? The secret was to be found in “the Bond” of the Federal Union, which was “ordained to establish justice, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity;” for there, among great swelling words of liberty, it was recorded that there was not an inch of ground within the limits of the great American Republic which was not mortgaged to Slavery! (Cries of “Shame” and Applause). That anomalous instrument clearly establishes the fact that there was not a foot of soil in that Republic which does not bear the bloody endorsement in favour of slavery, for “the Bond” provides that the slave-hunter and his blood-hounds may seize his trembling victim on the holiest spot of this “land of the free!” (Loud cheers.) No wonder then that from the judicial seat of that mighty Government came the shameful, disgraceful, wicked, and diabolical decision that “no person along whose veins coursed one drop of African blood had rights that a white man need respect.” No wonder that human souls and immortal destinies were there bartered for the meanest merchandize of earth, and that the wailings of despair were ascending to God both night and day from human beings scarred, bruised, and branded within the shades of the capital of the boasting American Republic! (“Shame!” and cheers). He could not refrain from using strong, plain, and unmistakeable language when referring to this atrocious abomination. No language, to his mind, could be too strong, too vehement, or too denunciatory, for he was sure that, as Mrs. Stowe had eloquently said, “nothing could be spoken or conceived equalling the frightful reality of scenes daily and hourly acted beneath the ægis of American law, and the shadow of the cross of Christ.” After all that might be said on the subject that evening, they would only be able to realize a dim picture of the despair that was at that moment riving thousands of hearts, shattering thousands of families, and driving a helpless and sensitive race to absolute frenzy and despair. The condition of the slave was that of the brute beast—a piece of property—a marketable commodity—his own good, his conscience, his intellect, and his affections, were ruthlessly set aside by his master. He was spoken of, dealt with, thought of, and treated as property. He was fed and clothed with a view to increase his value as property, and deprived of everything that tends in the slightest degree to detract from such value. The slaveholder declared that even that intellect which God had given him should not be cultivated, nor his moral perceptions exercised. Deprived by law of the right of marriage, the slave was exposed to influences which he should blush to describe in their hearing (cheers); and if any of these pitiable objects found for themselves honest, upright, and virtuous companions, they lived in constant apprehension of being torn asunder by the merciless men-stealers who claimed them as their property (“Shame!” and loud applause). Another dark feature of the shameful system was, that no education was permitted to the slave—he was forbidden by the law, even to learn to read, and the gospel was thus shut out from the dark mind of the bondman. In Louisiana, if a slave-mother were found instructing her children, the law proclaimed that she might be hanged by the neck, and that a father attempting to give his son a knowledge of letters, might be punished or killed at the discretion of the Court. It ought also to be borne in mind, that the physical evils of slavery, the cruelties practised, and the modes of torture employed, were the most revolting that could be conceived. We could never hear of these villainous atrocities without shuddering, but still it was right that we should know that the bloody whip, the chain, the red-hot brand, the gag, the thumbscrew, the cat-o'nine-tails, the dungeon, and the blood-hound, were all in constant requisition to keep the slave in his condition as a slave in the slave states of America. (Shame!) The blood-hound was there regularly trained for hunting and running down slaves; and advertisements were constantly to be found in the Southern papers from persons styling themselves “Blood-hound Trainers.” Not long ago, he (the Chairman) had himself read one of those advertisements where a trainer was offering to “hunt down slaves at 15 dollars a-piece,” and recommending his hounds as “the fleetest in the neighbourhood, never known to fail.” From time to time in those papers advertisements might be seen, stating that slaves had escaped with iron collars about their necks, and some with bands of iron on their feet— others horribly marked with the lash, or branded with red-hot irons—the initials of their master's name having been burnt in the flesh, (great sensation) and as the masters themselves advertised these facts, the charge of cruelty to the slaves could not be contradicted or denied. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Was it a “libel,”—a “trumped-up charge,” —a “foul misrepresentation,”—when the slave-holder himself said what a villainous scoundrel he was—when he told us in his own advertisements what a brutal monster he had been to his slaves—when he published his own infamous acts and rascally atrocities to the world? (Cheers) No—no—whatever other allowances or exceptions the audience might be disposed, in their charitableness and kindness of heart, to make in favour of these slave-dealers, they should remember that there was no charge more capable of clear demonstration than that of the most barbarous inhumanity on the part of the slaveholders towards their slaves. (Cheers.) He did not ask them to accept that statement, on the faith of “Exeter Hall sentimentalism,” but he pointed them to the proof; and he declared without fear of contradiction, that the brutal men-stealers proved to the world that it was not regarded as discreditable or daring to set forth, by public advertisements, their soul-harrowing descriptions of brutality! (Loud and long-continued applause.) He mentioned these things that it might be known that all the horrible atrocities and dreadful results of the slave trade—the deaths from crushed affections and despair, with the awful deeds of cruelty which were constantly occurring—were all sanctioned by law, and winked at in a land professing christianity. And more than this, he said that the religion of the Southern States was, at this very time, the great supporter, the great sanctioner of these bloody doings. (Shame, shame.) And whilst America was printing tracts, distributing Bibles, sending abroad her missionaries, and expending her money in various ways for the promotion of the gospel in foreign lands, the slave remained not only forgotten and uncared for, but was trampled under foot by the very churches of the land. (Applause.) For in America, the pulpit was the great defender of the accursed evil; the ministers of religion came forward and tortured the hallowed pages of inspired wisdom to sanction the bloody deed, and they stood forth as the foremost, the strongest defenders of this “domestic institution.” Instead of preaching against all this tyranny and wrong, they had sought every means of throwing into the background whatever was contained in the Bible in opposition to slavery, and endeavoured to bring forward, prominently, that which could be tortured into the support of this slave-holding, woman-whipping, mind-darkening, soul-destroying, and atrocious system. (Cries of “Shame,” and loud cheers.) To-night they had met to denounce that system as a libel on the religion taught by the Saviour; that religion which was based upon the glorious and world-loving principle of love to God and love to man; that religion, to the divine principles of which John Anderson owed his recent escape from the jaws of death—which makes its votaries free, and constrains them to “Do unto others as they would be done by.” (Loud cheers.) And he (the Chairman) sincerely trusted the result of that meeting would be the enkindlement of a spirit of gratitude to God, that he had made them to differ, and a feeling of compassion and sympathy for those who were in bondage; together with a determination to assist their brother Anderson by such contributions as would provide for his education, assist him in maintaining his livelihood, and secure the freedom of those who were nearest and dearest to him. The Chairman resumed his seat amidst enthusiastic applause.

The Rev. HUGH ALLEN, D.D., on rising to move the first resolution, was received with loud cheering. He said he should have considered himself unworthy of the privileges of an Englishman, unworthy of the blessings of liberty, unworthy of the position of a British minister of the Gospel, and, indeed, unworthy of the privileges of being a man, if he had not responded to the invitation given him to be there on that occasion. (Cheers.) On a Roman stage, and in a Roman theatre, a heathen orator was represented to have uttered the following sentiment in reply to the question put to him, “Why he should interfere with the business of others?” “I am a man—whatever is interesting to any of the human race, must be of high and deep interest to me.” That sentiment had elicited thunders of applause in a Roman theatre, in heathen times, and he was quite sure he should be insulting them as well as himself by offering any other apology for standing there that night. (Cheers.) They were assembled there on the grounds of honour, on the grounds of justice, on the grounds of humanity, and on the grounds of the religion of Jesus Christ. (Cheers.) They were assembled on the grounds of honour. Had we not liberated our own slaves in the West India Islands? Had we not paid down twenty millions of money to the planters, which we had no right to do? for, in the words of the immortal Lord Brougham (whom God spare long to us), “if the money ought to have been paid to anybody it was not to the planter, who had no right to receive a single shilling, but ought rather to have been made to give compensation, but to the men and women who endured from the hands of heir masters, and by the sufferance of our country, such wrongs and such woes.” (Cheers.) Well, then, if they paid twenty millions of money to the planters who had no right to it, in order that there might not be a single excuse for not liberating the slaves in our West India Islands, were they not bound in honour to welcome and sympathise with, and give the hand of fellowship to, every movement calculated to shiver to atoms the chains of slavery and set every man free, be he black or white? (Loud applause.) Honour compelled them to do that. Did we not, as a nation, interfere with other countries as far as international laws permitted us? Was it not the policy of Great Britain to interfere by every proper means to succour and help the oppressed in every part of the world? (Hear, hear.) Had it not been the policy—was it not the policy now? And, if either the Czar of Russia, or the Emperor of Austria, were to ask what right we had to interfere with any people that were oppressed, we would tell them, that where oppression exists, the hand of England is put forward, and the heart of England sympathises with them, so as to give them the help needful to effect their full and complete emancipation. (Cheers.) If, then, our sympathies were with the oppressed of every quarter of the globe—if we sympathised with the slaves in the West India Islands to the tune of twenty millions—and that was not a bad test— surely they ought to sympathise also with the man who has struggled with and escaped from the ignoble bonds of slavery, when the only thing that awaited him was a tyrant's death, if his tyrant masters were able again to grasp him in their hands. But they were there also on the grounds of justice. It might be pleaded that this was not the law of England. What was the law of England on this subject? Why, the law of England was well expressed by the immortal Curran, when he said, at a very important period and under very important circumstances, for he uttered it in a court of justice, and the judge did not interfere to contradict him—the immortal Curran said, when speaking of the English law on this subject, “no matter where a man was born, nor what was the colour of his skin; no matter with what readiness his rights and liberties had been bartered away, no matter under what circumstances, no matter how long ago, or in what way brought about, the moment his foot touches the soil of Britain the manacles fall at his feet. (Cheers.) The moment he stands beneath the flag of England, that moment he is free, regenerated, transformed, emancipated—set free by the justice of British law, and the spirit of British freedom.” (Loud cheers.) Then, upon the ground of sheer justice, he would take his stand and say no man had a right to sell a man, be his colour what it might—no man had a right to sell, and no man had a right to buy. (Cheers.) He denied the right of any man to plunder another. (Loud cheers.) He denied the right of the captain to convey him across the seas, the right of the auctioneer to sell him, and the right of the tyrant to buy him—he denied their right from first to last. (Loud cheers.) He declared, without fear of successful contradiction, no matter how the courts of America might talk upon the subject, that it was wholesale and abominable robbery, and that it believed all with a spark of humanity to rise up to crush and put it down. (Cheers.) They were there that night on the ground of humanity. Were the slaves not men? (A voice: “They say they are not.”) Were they not men? (“Yes,” and loud applause.) Yes, they were, and that itself was argument enough. (Cheers.) If that man (pointing to Anderson) was not so well educated as those he saw before him, who was to blame? If he was not able to perform actions and earn his living as he ought, who was to blame? Who was to blame for allowing that fine form to grow up uneducated? Look at him! He is a man! And who dared to assert on the ground of humanity that he had a right to inflict any injury upon those two men (directing attention to Mr. Anderson and the Rev. Mr. Kinnaird), or any other man? (Cheers.) But there was another and far higher ground, and that was the ground of religion. He knew it was commonly asked, where was slavery put down in the Bible? Where did they read it? Give the text that puts down slavery. Ah! he would give it them in a few moments. (Loud cheers.) The spirit of the entire Bible was a spirit of freedom. It taught that every man had a responsible soul. He asserted that the entire spirit of the Bible—and the Bible taught by principles as well as by positive statements— the great principle of the Bible—the New Testament and the Old too, were entirely at variance with the principles of slavery. (Cheers.) Look at this one text, “Honour all men.” He would like to ask some of those ministers who preach in favour of slavery to discourse from that text for him. (Cheers.) “Honour all men.” He should like to ask any man who talked about the authority of the Bible, to expound that passage for him. It did not say “some” men, but “all” men—not a man of one colour, but men of every colour—not men privileged in high degree, but men privileged in a low degree. (Cheers.) “Honour all men” is the word of eternal truth, the principle of Holy Writ, the principle he himself had always preached and would preach to the day of his death. (Cheers.) He would ask that man who said he had the authority of the New Testament for slavery, to show him that authority in the life of the Apostles—could he show it in the life of primitive Christians? He had a deep feeling of horror for the judgment of the man who had the terrible and frightful audacity to stand up in a pulpit and preach in defence of slavery. (Cheers.) He was there that night on the principle of honour, on the principle of justice, on the principle of our common humanity, and, above all, on the principles of our holy religion—the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Cheers.) He was there on those principles as enumerated in the passage, “Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Not to preach a portion of the gospel as they did in some parts of America—not a few of the moral precepts only, but to preach the whole gospel to every creature. (Cheers.) Did they suppose that the moment the black man knew he had a responsible soul—when he knew that soul was immortal and responsible, as well as that of the white man—that he would be contented in slavery? Could they imagine that when the soul could escape from the prison that immured it, shake off the chains that bound it—when that soul could traverse the world and ascend to the very stars in its conceptions—such a man would sit down content in slavery? (Cheers.) He could not. One thing he knew—they were bound to help him out of slavery, they were bound to give him the right hand of fellowship; and, if one person more than another were called upon to do this, he, as a minister of religion, was so, and, therefore, he assured them he had very great pleasure in attending here and moving the first resolution:—

“That this Meeting, recognizing the common brotherhood of mankind, and asserting the inalienable right of every man to freedom, desires to express its earnest sympathy with John Anderson; and, rejoicing at his escape from the slave-hunters, hereby gives him a hearty welcome to England.”

The conclusion of Dr. Allen's remarks was received with loud and prolonged cheering.

The Rev. JABEZ BURNS, D.D., of Paddington, seconded the resolution. He said that he was sure, after the very thorough exposition of the resolution itself which they had just heard, much more concerning it could not be said, inasmuch as his friend, Dr. Allen, had taken in the realms of justice, humanity, honour, and religion; and, therefore, the whole ground, extensive as it was with respect to their views of the subject, had already been occupied. (Cheers.) He was anxious, however, to express the very great pleasure he felt at witnessing the crowded of that evening. He was sure the friends of John Anderson had done wisely in testing the public feeling in London on this question; for the public of London, whenever properly tested on it, would always respond; and he did not care whether the Times, or the Telegraph, or anybody else engaged in literature, or on the press, tried to prevent them, there were the sound heart and common sympathy that would always come to the surface. (Loud cheers.) Then, he heartily rejoiced that his friend Mr. Twelvetrees was the Chairman of the evening. It happened that that gentleman was a master employing a great number of men, and if he had thought him (Mr. T.) capable of being a little despot in his own sphere, he would have had none of his attendance that night. (Laughter and cheers). Now, their Chairman not only sympathised with their black friends, with whom they all sympathised most heartily, but he sympathised with white people too. (Cheers.) He did not think white people ought to be oppressed any more than black, and if they had got some despot in the chair, who was in the habit of ruling with an iron hand over those he employed, at the same time that he expressed great sympathy for the blacks in America, he would not have acted with him. (Cheers.) He looked through the man. Principles did not attach themselves to colour or locality, or any period of the world history. Principles were eternal and unchangeable, suited to every place and every body, and it was just because their Chairman was a liberal master, and one who sought the welfare and happiness of those he employed, that he was glad to be present and support him that night. (Cheers.) Then again, as they were well aware, some persons had been very much alarmed at this movement, lest it should interfere (he did not know how) with the settlement of the American crisis. (Hear, hear). All he could say was, that if the public enunciation and thorough-going exposition of the principles of Liberty would interfere, let them interfere (cheers), and let American principles and institutions settle themselves, as they would very shortly. They knew there was an old proverb, and never was proverb so applicable to the present times as that, “when rogues fall out, then honest men get their own.” (Laughter and cheers.) He had great hope, being a thorough peace man, and hating all war, that God, in his good providence, would open a door of escape, and while the rogues were quarrelling, all he could say was, that the coloured people must be much more thick-headed than he had taken them to be, if they did not “cut and run.” (Loud cheers and laughter.) They knew some people were very much afraid of cotton (a laugh), now, he would much rather that all the ladies of England should clothe themselves with the production of our own forests, than that slavery should be perpetuated. (Cheers). The other day he observed in the daily papers an advertisement to the effect that a certain reverend Doctor of Divinity from America would take the chair on the 4th of July, at a public meeting in London, to commemorate the anniversary of American Independence. Now, he had taken tea with that same Doctor of Divinity in 1847, and on that occasion he was asked by the Doctor if he (the speaker), had altered his opinions on American slavery. He said to the Doctor at that time what he now said here, and what he was not afraid to say in the Slave States of America, that the foundation and base of American slavery was the professing Church of Christ. (Loud cheers.) And he then appealed to that reverend and estimable brother, and said, “Just look here; supposing every Christian minister, in every Christian pulpit, on any one Lord's Day would do their duty justly before God on the subject of slavery, it would not exist for a single hour.” (Loud applause.) And he would wish that meeting to remember that while the South was most deeply imbrued in the crimes of slavery, the States of the North had not clean hands in the matter (cheers); and it seemed to him that Providence was compelling the Northern States to take up their right position. And although there was a great deal of sentimentality assumed for the slaves in the States of the North, which was frequently expressed in such forms as, “What are we to do with them?”—“How are we to employ them?” (A voice: “Send them here”) yet he ventured to say that anything else taken in the war, they would find no difficulty in disposing of, according to the acknowledged principles of war. He did not say whether these principles were right or wrong, but he did say these sympathisers might, on the principles of humanity, make suitable provision for liberated slaves. (Hear, hear.) He thought that before the war had lasted long, they would recognise the voice of God, saying to them as was said to the despot of old, “Let the people go, and let them be free.” (Cheers.) Now, a great many persons have sympathy for the American slave. There was their good southern brother Anderson, who owed his presence here to that sympathy. (Cheers.) There was their Christian brother on the right (pointing to the Rev. Mr. Kinnaird), who would make two Yankees any day (laughter); absolutely divided, their good brother would make two of them. Stand up! (addressing Mr. Kinnaird, who immediately answered the call amidst a burst of applause from every part of the spacious building). They had now a great number of fugitive slaves coming to this country, and he fancied the church with which he was connected got a good many of them, for he observed two or three there every Sunday. It was not for the purpose of creating enthusiasm in the meeting that he said this, but there were peculiar circumstances in the history of John Anderson which had called forth a deep and intense love of liberty, for which we as a nation were so happily distinguished. Their brother had effected his escape, and in doing so had been placed in a very unhappy position himself. He was a member of a Christian Church, and a believer in Jesus Christ, and anxious that his moral nature should be developed as well as his physical. But he was pursued, and whether he then acted rightly or wrongly, his own conscience would answer—he knew what the meeting thought on that point, and he himself thought that if anybody ought to die, it should not be the poor slave, but the slave-hunter. (Cheers.) He should have liked it much better, could his friend have resembled the illustrious Irishman who, when asked how he managed to bring three persons to the police-office, characteristically replied, “I' faith, y're honour, I surrounded them.” (Laughter and cheers.) He should have been glad if his friend could have captured the slave-hunter and brought him to England. But it was not so. The slave-hunter fell, and John Anderson escaped. He reached the British territory, and took it for granted, that being surrounded by thousands of fugitive slaves who had escaped, he was all right, and when the danger of his being again taken back into slavery was talked about, the growl of the British Lion went across the Atlantic, saying to the American Eagle that it would have no liberty to pounce upon its prey in Canada. (Loud cheers). But there were numbers of time-serving people there—persons capable of truckling to anything, and it became apparent that his friend John Anderson might yet go back to the place where he did not want to go. (Laughter and cheers.) Now, in his estimation, the most honourable thing ever done by England since it received the principles of the gospel was, when the question was raised before the highest judicial authority in England, she sent her mandate to Canada, and said, “Let the fugitive slave be brought to England.” (Loud cheers.) Oh, yes! He loved his country, and he loved her the more that she had done that good thing. What! talented lawyers and hoary-headed judges sit in convention about a poor fugitive— a man who would have been sold for something like a thousand dollars in Missouri or any other slave-state— all this trouble—all this legislation—all this expense— about him! Yes, to the honour of England, this was so: and he doubted whether in the whole civilized world another country would have been found to do this, or put itself to even half the trouble. (Cheers.) He was inclined to think John Anderson need not fear the miserable slave-hunter in London—that he might go to bed without trembling, and sleep without alarm. (Applause.) As his friend Dr. Allen had said in his speech, “Is he not a man!” Aye, and an intelligent man. (Cheers.) Look at his head! As a believer in phrenology, he might say he had an excellent head—in fact, he was altogether a nice looking man. (Laughter.) In his physique there was everything to recommend him to the meeting, and as he had asked on a previous occasion, did he look like an assassin or a murderer? (“No, no,” and cheers.) He would venture to say that most men would have followed the example of his friend had they been placed in that peculiar position, which involved the necessity of killing or being killed. (Cheers.) Now, the resolution said they must sympathise with him. They did sympathise with him already if they might judge from the noisy demonstrations of the meeting. (Cheers and laughter.) But that sympathy must assume a practical form. Their friend must be maintained— placed in a respectable position in life—and his wife restored to him as soon as possible. (Cheers.) Now, he should deeply regret if this manifestation of sympathy should not thus result. In another fortnight, the news of their friend's reception would have sped across the Atlantic; and while his friends here rejoice, thousands in Canada will rejoice, and weep, and pray, and bless God together. (Loud cheers.) He would just say in conclusion, that he hoped the meeting would do the right thing. There appeared a disposition on the part of the Committee, their worthy Chairman, and all whom he had consulted, to do this; and he hoped the echo from this meeting would meet with a response throughout the country, and that all would be prepared to do the right thing, and do it in a proper manner. (Cheers.) Here is a man who has been in bonds, and we rejoice that he is free—here is a man who has been in imminent peril; we rejoice that he is safe—and we give him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, a christian reception—a cordial and hearty christian reception. (Loud cheers.) And we hope the support of this meeting will be a rebuke to all slave-holders and slavery-patronizers, on the other side of the Atlantic, whether North or South: and they may depend that however much concerned we are for the settlement of their differences, we are far more concerned for the freedom of the human species. (Loud applause, which continued for some minutes.)

The Rev. W. H. BONNER, of the London Emancipation Committee, in supporting the resolution, said that he was glad to see the meeting appreciated the importance of this question, in which he had taken considerable interest for a long period of time. He rejoiced to see his friend Mr. Twelvetrees occupying the chair, and hoped soon to see him occupy another seat, where he would be enabled to speak on a question which he knew and understood, and took so deep an interest in. (Cheers.) He felt great pleasure in being here because he considered it an event of the highest importance—of importance to their brother in the midst of them—of importance to the race to which he belongs—of importance to this country and to America, both as regards our political and religious constitution. (Cheers.) In expressing our sympathy with our brother Anderson, we could not separate the fugitive from the institution under which he has been held—could not leave the latter out of sight. They all understood their object was not to express any sympathy with the South, which had brought all the evils from which it was now suffering on itself; nor were they there to plead for the North, for he believed the latter in its quarrel with the South was merely an illustration of the pot calling the kettle black. (Laughter and cheers.) They were met for the purpose of promoting Emancipation. He welcomed John Anderson most heartily, and thanked God he was in Exeter Hall that night—for he looked upon him in the light of a representative man. (Hear, hear.) They must regard him as the victim of a gigantic system of crime which tramples out manhood, and is an insult to God himself. (Loud cheers.) The same Almighty Being who gave the sun the power to shine, who caused the rain to fall, and holds the winds in the hollow of his hand, gave that manhood, and he who would deprive him of it aims at the gift of God himself (cheers), and questions his right to make his creatures as he thinks fit. It was a wrong to man himself, for no man can create a right in another—if he usurps or steals it, he is a thief. (Loud cheers.) Not only was it an iniquity in itself, but it denied to man all domestic and social rights and privileges, for if not owner of himself, it was impossible for him to own wife or children—in fact, this was one of the principles of American law. And what was this but subverting society, undermining social order, and producing vice of every description! (Cheers.) Therefore, every philanthropist, every friend of man, every child of God must, if he act up conscientiously to his duty, say, “Welcome to Anderson, and down with slavery.” (Loud applause.) It was sometimes urged by Americans that, as England once countenanced Slavery, and was the original means of its introduction into America, she should not denounce it. Even admitting the fact, which was, however, open to dispute, he urged, that having been guilty of sin and crime, was no reason why we should not now denounce it. If it were true that we introduced slavery into America, thanks be to God we are now free from it, and can say, “Come, follow our example.” We have felt the glory of our position, and as we never intended slavery to exist upon our soil, we are amply justified in saying, “Go thou, and do likewise.” (Cheers.) He was glad to see upon the platform that night his friend William Craft, who has succeeded, with his heroic wife, in effecting their escape over a thousand miles of country, in spite of the whole army and navy of the United States, proffered by Millard Fillmore to prevent his escape—thanks be to God, and to that eloquent orator and noble champion of the Anti-Slavery cause, George Thompson. (Great cheering.) Not only did the blame attach to the slave-trader and the slave-holder, but also to the pro-slavery voter, and behind all these, he was grieved to place the Northern pulpit. He firmly believed, that if the pulpit of the North had been true to the doctrines of Christ, slavery, would have ceased to exist long ere this. (Loud cheers.) There were preachers of all denominations holding shades of opinions on the question, but agreeing in the main pro-slavery feeling, and he did not hesitate to declare that the popular ministers of America were the bulwarks of slavery. (“Shame” and applause.) It was necessary to put our hand upon the evil—to speak kindly, but firmly, and say, “Brethren, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Loud and continued applause.)

A gentleman of the name of Matthew Feilde here came forward, and endeavoured to obtain a hearing, for the purpose of proposing an amendment to the resolution. The Chairman in vain urged the audience to hear the speaker, as they were determined not to do so. the amendment met with no seconder, and the original resolution having been put, was carried by acclamation,

The Chairman then rose, as well as John Anderson, and addressing the latter said, “JOHN ANDERSON, you have heard the rapturous voice of WELCOME from Englishmen, inducting you into the rights, privileges, and immunities of this our happy land. In the name of this vast assembly I present to you the right hand of fellowship, and congratulate you on the possession of this goodly heritage, which you now enter upon FREE AS THE AIR YOU BREATHE, so that you may really and truly say, “I thank my God that I am at last a man,” and although still trembling and panting with your recent run for life, you may now strike your foot on English soil—consecrated to liberty, freedom, and religion—a portion of which, in this bottle, I now present to you, to carry in your bosom as a certificate which shall be honoured throughout the world, that you are FREE.”

The Chairman then handed to Anderson a small bottle containing some of the free soil of England, on which was inscribed, “John Anderson's Certificate of Freedom, presented at Exeter Hall, London, July 2nd, 1861,” and then introduced him to the meeting, as “Citizen Anderson.” At this point, the whole of the vast assemblage rose, and with the utmost enthusiasm, gave forth loud and prolonged cheers, coupled with waving of hats and handkerchiefs. This highly impressive scene lasted for several minutes, and, after it had subsided,

JOHN ANDERSON, who met with an overwhelming reception, which appeared somewhat to bewilder him, said: All honour to England. All honour to Her Majesty the Queen, for my freedom. I feel very backward, the disturbance has quite upset me, and I do not know that I can make my speech out. (“Go on”— Cheers and laughter). My worthy friend has upset me so, that I don't know if I can get through. I feel very thankful for my escape, for I have been chased for a very long time, and have only got free about three weeks ago. I want to describe my narrow escape, but I don't know that I shall get through with it. I feel so disturbed by a great audience like this. I thank God I have at last broken the yoke. (Hear, hear.) I thought I had seven years ago, but I never did till now, and now I have to thank God and Great Britain for it. So I give all credit to Great Britain, and if I get no further in my speech, you must not blame me, for it is very hard for me to get on at all, I can tell you. (Cheers and laughter.) I will describe my escape. I remember my master, a man named Burton, selling me to a man named McDonald, with whom I stayed about a month and a half, and then asked if I could go and see my family. He said “No.” I left him then and went to the Missouri River, but they would not let me cross unless I had a pass. I said my master had gone out, so I could not get one, but they would not let me cross. I went back and laid about till night, and then they chased me away, and I crossed the river, and got to the house of my father-in-law. I told him I was going to Canada. He said, “I have got a pistol—will you take it with you?” I said, “No.” Then I went on to my wife's house, but a slave-catcher named Brown chased me away from there. I then ran towards Canada, and on the third day Came across a man named Diggs. He said, “Where are you going?” I said I was making my way to some farmer's house. He said, “I will go with you, you are a runaway.” I tried to escape, and he chased me for half a day. I begged of him for four hours not to follow me, and told him that if he did I should be obliged to slay him—but nothing would do but he must take me dead or alive. He came to take me, and I struck him a blow. He came again, and I struck him again on the left side, and he came no more. I thank God that I have had the fear of God in my soul, otherwise I should never have made my escape. I was very sorry to slay the man—I did not believe he was dead till they came to swear against me. A thousand dollars were offered to any one who would take me across the lines, and there are plenty of people in Canada who would do a great deal for that money. I will now state what religions my owners were. Burton was a Methodist, and McDonald was a Baptist—a member of the same church as myself. I know I tried to be a good man— but I doubt them very much indeed. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Brothers and sisters, for I know I may call you so (loud cheers), I feel very much obliged to you for your attendance to-night, and for your kindness toward me, and I offer you three cheers. (Laughter.) Three cheers, then, for Her Gracious Majesty the Queen. The speaker resumed his seat amid deafening applause.

At this point of the meeting, a collection was made On behalf of the objects of the meeting as stated above.

The Rev. T. M. KINNAIRD, a coloured clergyman, then rose and said, there was some few facts which he was desirous of making publicly known. It had been generally assumed by the slave population of America, who had been tutored to that effect by their masters and others, that sooner or later Canada would be connected with the States, and that hence, all the slaves who had escaped would again be reduced to bondage. The language which had been used at this meeting—the knowledge of which would, depend upon it, reach the fugitive slaves in Canada, ere long would totally destroy that impression. (Cheers.) Again, there had been some doubts as to whether the laws of Great Britain afforded absolute and undeniable protection to the slaves in Canada, and he was glad that the result in the case of John Anderson had most triumphantly and satisfactorily settled that question. (Cheers.) With regard to the conduct of John Anderson, he himself was no murderer —his heart was too big for that—but he should be forgetting his duty if he did not boldly and unhesitatingly state that he would, if similarly placed, have uphold his God-given right. (Cheers.) In Canada, there were numbers of persons with pro-slavery feelings, who would willingly have sold Anderson to his enemies, but the voice and the power of the great British nation went forth, the fiat of the Queen fell as a flash of lightning upon Toronto, and the fugitive was saved. (Cheers.) He appealed to them earnestly to help John Anderson. Had any of his brothers in the meeting a wife and little ones yet dwelling amongst the horrors, exposed to the cruelties and degrading influences of slavery, would they not desire with their whole heart to be enabled to release them from such a state, and be joined together in social happiness and bliss? He urged them therefore strongly to assist brother Anderson in such a high and holy aim. (Cheers.) He then adverted to an article which had recently appeared in the columns of a morning journal which he described as having so strong a pro-slavery leaning, that he could not but believe at first that it formed a portion of the contents of a Southern newspaper, rather than of a leading English journal. The writer of that article had professed to be ignorant of the existence of such a place as Hamilton, Canada West, but if he would pay the speaker a short visit, his geographical knowledge of that quarter should be improved. (Cheers and laughter.) He was rejoiced that this great meeting had given his brother Anderson his certificate of freedom, and hailed him as a man; and he trusted and believed that he would do honour to those who had thus honoured him. (Loud cheers.) He begged to move the following resolution:—

“That this Meeting, deeply sympathising with those coloured persons who have in Canada sought the protection of the British Crown, and who are amongst the most loyal subjects of Her Majesty, pledges itself to use every endeavour to maintain their rights and liberties inviolate.”

The Rev. J. G. HEWLETT, D.D., in seconding the resolution, said that the occurrences of that evening brought vividly to his remembrance the days of his youth, when Emancipation was the great question of the day, and he rejoiced in the present occasion specially, because we were now recognising a great and glorious principle which we had previously announced. (Hear, hear.) He could not avoid referring for a moment to the plausible and fallacious argument sometimes used by the advocates of slavery, in which they adverted to the kind treatment and excellent education of the slaves, and he had been shocked to hear comparisons instituted between their condition and that of the working classes of this country, to the disadvantage of the latter. He thought the best refutation of such an argument was to be found in the condition of brother Anderson, and he would recommend all such as advanced that argument to take the place of the slave for awhile and test the accuracy of their statements and deductions. (Cheers and laughter.) He had been exceedingly pleased to find that none of the speakers had entered upon the question as a political one, and that the meeting had had the good sense to repudiate a proposed amendment, the terms of which would have implicated them in a hostile attitude to the Government of the United States. (Hear, hear.) He must say, that as he had seen John Anderson, and had been deeply interested, he should have liked to have seen also in England a veritable slave-catcher. (Cheers.) It might have been useful for the purpose of determining whether he more closely resembled man or the gorilla. (Laughter.) One other remark he desired to make, and that was how wonderfully Providence appeared to work with reference to their cause. Just as when the eloquent, silvery-voiced Wilberforce had brought before the House the evils of slavery in our West Indian possessions, in which he was ably followed by Sir T. F. Buxton, when their efforts appeared almost unavailing the missionary Smith was imprisoned in Demerara for his denunciation of slavery, and a chapel in Barbadoes was burnt to the ground which drew the attention of the House to the subject, and led to discussions which resulted in abolition—while Smith in his prison cell was oppressed with gloomy thoughts, God was working out his will—so with John Anderson, in the time of his struggle—in the hour of battle—he knew not that God was making him the humble instrument of proclaiming the advent of freedom to the coloured population of America. (Loud cheers.) He did trust that a liberal sympathy would be exercised with regard to Anderson which would bring about the restoration of his family, and that their prayers might also rise to Heaven that he might be preserved from all temptation, and become an honoured subject and citizen of Great Britain. The speaker concluded by seconding the resolution amidst loud cheers.

Mr. WILLIAM CRAFT, the author of the celebrated book, “A Run of a Thousand Miles for Freedom,” in supporting the resolution, said that as one who had been a slave, and had had the good fortune to escape from that horrible condition, he most heartily sympathised with his brother Anderson. (Cheers.) He was absent in the North of Scotland on business when intelligence of the proposed meeting reached him, but he felt it his duty to give up every engagement in order to be present. They were often told by the advocates of slavery that slaves were well treated, and if freed, would not be able to take care of themselves. If they were all freed that very night, no doubt there would be many amongst them, who would be unable to provide for their subsistence, like many who were living in this enlightened city; but he totally denied the general truth of the statement. (Hear, hear.) As to whether they desired freedom, he would appeal to 45,000 emancipated slaves in Canada, as well as to numerous coloured friends on that platform. These 45,000 men had, with only God's north star as a guide, baffled the bloodhounds of their pursuers, lay in pestilential swamps, and swam or floated over mighty rivers to reach the Canadian shore, and had earned and deserved their freedom! (Cheers.) All honour to the Queen—honour to the British nation for their noble refusal to deliver up one of their number. (Loud cheers.) Though no blood-shedder, he firmly believed that every Englishman—every man—would have acted as Anderson had acted under the like circumstances. Referring to the religious education afforded to slaves in the Southern states, he gave a sketch of a sermon of one of the instructors most popular with the planters, and characterised it as blasphemy—blasphemy to attribute the sanction of the debasing institution to that great and beneficent Being who sent his plagues into Egypt in order to free the Israelites from their bondage, who, by the hand of his servant Moses, led them out, dividing the waters, and causing them to fall back and overwhelm the Egyptians in their pursuit—for God and his attributes were immutable and eternal. (Loud cheers.) He thought great credit was due to the Committee for the organisation of this meeting, and he seconded the resolution with unfeigned pleasure. The resolution was then put and carried nem con.

The Rev. EDWARD MATHEWS (introduced by the Chairman as the prototype of “Father Dickson” in Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's tale of “Dred,”) entered upon a recital of his personal experience in the Southern States, showing that in consequence of his abolitionist views, he was ten successive times thrown into a pond of water in the depth of winter, and that it was a matter of consideration at one time whether he should be hanged on a neighbouring tree or not. He felt some little doubt as to whether the safety of the fugitive slaves in Canada was yet properly guaranteed. In moving a resolution for the appointment of a Committee, he remarked on the good effects such a step was likely to produce. He believed it would give fresh vitality to the Anti-Slavery cause (hear, hear,) and, while rejoicing that their worthy Chairman had taken the responsibility of presiding, expressed a hope that the time was not far distant when he would be enabled to exercise a vote and influence on the question in the House of Commons. (Loud cheers.)

The Rev. T. J. MESSER, in seconding the resolution, remarked that perhaps he was one of the oldest advocates of the abolition of slavery in all its withering and Protean forms on that platform. For more than forty years had he laboured in the cause. It was his belief that slavery in all its debasing forms, with all its sin and crime must soon pass away. The grass might grow upon his grave ere the dawn of that day, but he had a firm conviction that all forms, all pressures past of slavery, were doomed to a speedy extinction. (Cheers.) From some height in the city of sunlight and of song, he should behold the the last fetter struck from the last slave! Having toiled to bring about the utter extinction of Colonial bondage and having lived to see the glorious day when all the slaves of the ebon islands of the West sang “Hosannah” because they were free, he believed that he yet should live to see—should he say it—Transatlantic bondage crushed out for ever and ever, and then, from an emancipated people, as though touched by Ithuriel's spear, a jubilant song should rise right up from earth to the throne of the Most High in Heaven. (Loud and long-continued cheering.)

The Rev. P. POCOCK, B.A., felt assured that at that late hour he should but study the desires of those present by being exceedingly brief. One thing struck him as rather peculiar, and that was the absence of any positive evidence of the death of John Anderson's opponent. There was only, it appeared, one individual who gave evidence on the point, and he was distant some three miles from the spot where the meeting took place. (Cheers and laughter.) Aware, as they were, of the devices and schemes to which the slave-holders had resorted, it just occurred to him that this point was deserving of attention. After quoting several passages of Scripture, and showing that these were diametrically opposed to the principles and practices of slavery, Mr. Pocock concluded by supporting the resolution.

The resolution, which was as follows, was then put from the chair, and carried unanimously—

“That the following gentlemen constitute a Committee to raise a fund on behalf of John Anderson—

Harper Twelvetrees, Chairman; The Honourable Arthur Kinnaird, M.P., Treasurer; the Rev. Hugh Allen, D.D.; the Rev. Jabez Burns, D.D.; the Rev. J. G. Hewlett, D.D.; the Rev. W. H. Bonner; the Rev. Thomas Jones; the Rev. Edward Mathews; Ebenezer Burr, Esq.; F. W. Chesson, Esq.; Mr. William Craft; Denis McDonnell, Esq.; William Farmer, Esq.; Alfred Gliddon, Esq.; Mr. G. T. Horn; John Noble, Esq.; Alfred W. Sanderson, Esq.; H. B. Sheridan, Esq., M.P.; George Thompson, Esq. Cooke Baines, Esq., Joseph A. Horner, Esq., Hon. Secretaries. With power to add to their number.”

A vote of thanks to the Chairman for his kindness in presiding, and his efficient discharge of the duties, having been proposed by Mr. Benjamin Jackson (a coloured gentleman), and seconded by Thomas Hattersley, Esq., and Mr. Twelvetrees having suitably responded in a few expressive sentences, the immense audience, constituting the most influential and enthusiastic Anti-Slavery meeting ever held in Exeter Hall, dispersed.

“Gentlemen,—I enclose you the ticket for the second-class cabin for Mr. John Anderson for the African steam ship Armenian leaving Liverpool for Cape Palmas, on the 24th inst. I hope this ticket will procure for Mr. Armenian a comfortable passage to Liberia, where, on his arrival, I trust he will find friends to receive him kindly, and to do all in their power to promote his welfare. I send also some notes of introduction to gentlemen, who will, I hope, prove useful to him. I regret that I shall be so engaged on the 22nd—being engaged in preparing for the African mail,—that it will not be in my power to be present at the social meeting, to take leave of Mr. Anderson on the eve of his departure for Africa. l should have been glad to attend upon that occasion, for possibly I might have said a few words to Mr. Anderson to encourage him to go to Liberia in expectation that, if he should be blessed with good health, he will be sure to succeed, and become a useful citizen of the Republic, provided he exercise good sense, good conduct, and good industry. There is not a more eligible country in the world than Liberia for the negro—particularly an American negro,—where he will find his compatriots in power, and his own language, laws, religion, manners, and all the institutions he has left behind in full force. There is the greatest abundance of natural wealth in Liberia; and only capital and skilled labour are required to develope it. I have no doubt Mr. Anderson will be a most useful immigrant, and, I trust, he will be a successful one. Wishing Mr. Anderson health and prosperity,