England. Undoubtedly there are; but the difference between the social
evils in England and this great evil of slavery in the United States is
just here: In England, the power of the government and the power of
Christian sympathy are exerted for the removal of those evils. Look at
the committees of inquiry in Parliament, look at the amount of
information collected with regard to the suffering poor in their
reports, and see how ready the government of Great Britain is to enter
into those inquiries, and to remove those evils. Look at the benevolent
institutions of the United Kingdom, and see how active all these are in
administering relief; and then see the condition of slavery in the
United States, where the whole power of the government is used in the
contrary direction, where every influence is brought to bear to prevent
any mitigation of the evil, and where every voice that is lifted to
plead for a mitigation is drowned in vituperation and abuse from those
who are determined that the evil shall not be mitigated. This is the
difference: England repents and reforms. America refuses to repent and
reform. It is said, 'Let each country take care of itself, and let the
ladies of England attend to their own business.' Now I have always found
that those who labor at home are those who labor abroad; [Hear, hear!]
and those who say, 'Let us do the work at home,' are those who do no
work of good either at home or abroad. [Hear, hear!] It was just so when
the great missionary effort came up in the United States. They said, 'We
have a great territory here. Let us send missionaries to our own
territories. Why should we send missionaries across the ocean?' But
those who sent missionaries across the ocean were those who sent
missionaries in the United States; and those who did not send
missionaries across the ocean were those who sent missionaries nowhere.
[Hear, hear!] They who say, 'Charity begins at home,' are generally
those who have no charity; and when I see a lady whose name is signed to
this address, I am sure to find a lady who is exercising her benevolence