Miss Harriet Martineau.- This distinguished English authoress has for some time past been travelling in the United States, and has received from all, the attentions which her literary attentions which her literacy attainments and amiable manners entitle her too. The public press has paid her all due attention- noticing her productions favorably- her movements to and fro through the country- and her presence at divers places on memorable occasions. But Miss Martineau, according to the city press, has committed a great indiscretion, and forfeited her hold on public favor. Recently she attended a female Anti-Slavery Meeting at Salem. Being called upon by her friends she made a few remarks, of which the following is a copy as reported in the Boston Liberator:-

'I have been requested by a friend present to say something- if only a work- to express my sympathy in the objects of this meeting. I had supposed that my presence here would be understood as showing my sympathy with you. But as I am requested to speak, I will say what I have said through the whole South, in every family where I have been, that I consider slavery as inconsistent with the Law of GOD, and as incompatible with the course of his Providence. I should certainly say no less at the North than at the South concerning this utter abomination- and I now declare that in your principles, I fully agree.'

We see nothing in the above which ought to affect the popularity of the lady. She has but taken the liberty to express her opinions freely on the subject of slavery- a liberty which Americans should be the last to cavil at. We commend Miss Martineau for her frankness.
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) was an English author who came to the United States in 1834 for a two year study. She published Society in America (1837) after she returned to England. The book was mainly a critique of America's failure to live up to its democratic principles. Martineau was especially concerned about the treatment of women and called one chapter The Political Non-existence of Women. She claimed that women were treated like slaves, since they were "given indulgence rather than justice". This sentiment was later echoed by the American suffragette Lucy Stone. This article states that Martineau seems to have fallen out of favor because she expressed her anti-slavery opinions. The author of the article cannot see why this should be the case and commends her on her views. The Greenfield Gazette and Franklin Herald was the newspaper in Greenfield, Massachusetts, from June 26, 1827 to June 27, 1837. It changed its name to the Gazette & Mercury.

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