visit, and of the impressions produced upon his mind by our conflicting
interests and institutions. It is now republished, in the belief that
the opinions of its author will be received with candor and respect by
all classes of our citizens, and that they are calculated to make a
permanent and salutary impression, in favor of the great cause of
universal freedom.


Boston, May, 1842.





PREFACE

TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.


In visiting the United States, the objects which preferred the chief
claim to my attention were the _universal abolition of slavery_, and
_the promotion of permanent international peace_. Deeply impressed with
the conviction that the advancement of these is intimately connected
with the progress of right views among professing Christians in that
country, it was my desire not only to inform myself of the actual state
of feeling and opinion among this important class, but if possible, to
contribute my mite of encouragement and aid to those who are bearing the
burden and heat of the day, in an arduous contest, on whose issue the
alternative of a vast amount of human happiness or misery depends. This
general outline of my motives included several specific, practical