Letter from John Bishop Estlin, Bristol, to Samuel May, May 21st, 1846 to June 1st
Description:
Estlin acknowledges receipt of May's letters and explains the delay of the publication of one of them. He mentions seeing Edward Everett at the launching of the S.S. Great Britain. Estlin defends the attitude of the English churches towards British victories in India and comments on the English disapproval of the disunion in the United States. Estlin condemns Henry Clarke Wright's attitude toward the Sabbath and says that Frederick Douglass is in London. He discusses at length the purpose of the tract he wrote on abolition, titled, "A Brief Notice of American Slavery, and the Abolition Movement" and his efforts to interest English women in the abolition movement. Estlin quotes James Martineau on the bad effects of dissension among the abolitionists and refers to Dr. Gibson, who described Estlin as a pro-slavery partisan. Estlin specifically dates the remainder of the letter, May 28th. He tells May he will send copies of his tract on abolition and that Frederick Douglass lectured at Mr. Fox's Chapel in London. Estlin says he heard from a West Indian captain that the African Americans in the West Indies are doing very well. Estlin inquires about Miss Mary Carpenter's subscription to the "National Anti-Slavery Standard" and suggests sending the journal to J. Faulder, a Bristol Quaker. Estlin says statements of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society are not accurate.