Daniel Amos next addressed the meeting. He said he was aware
of his ignorance; but although his words might be few, and his
language broken, he as deeply sympathized with his suffering
constituents, as any of his tribe. He gave a short sketch of
his life, by which it appeared that he went at an early period
on a whaling voyage, and received some bodily injury which
incapacitated him from hard labor for a long time. He sought
his native home, and soon experienced the severity of those
laws, which, though enacted seemingly to protect the tribe,
are retarding their improvement, and oppressing their spirits.
The present difficulties were not of recent origin. He stated,
with commendable pride, that he had never been struck for
ill-behaviour, nor imprisoned for crime or debt; nor was he
ashamed to show his face again in any place he had visited;
and he had been round a large portion of the globe. The
memorial before the Legislature had been read to the tribe;
some parts had been omitted at their request; and nothing had
been sent but by their unanimous consent. After vindicating
the character of Mr. Apes, and enumerating some of the
complaints of the tribe.

He was followed by William Apes, who, in a fearless,
comprehensive and eloquent speech, endeavored to prove that,
under such laws and such Overseers, no people could rise
from their degradation. He illustrated the manner in which
extortions were made from the poor Indians, and plainly
declared that they wanted their rights as men and as freemen.
Although comparatively ignorant, yet they knew enough to
manage their own concerns more equitably and economically than