Letter from Elias Higbee, 20 February 1840–A

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  • Historical Introduction
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Feb. 20th., 1840
Dear Brother
I have just returned from the committee room, wherein I spoke about one half <​hour​> and a half, there were but three of the committee present, for which I am very sorry. I think they will be obliged to acknowledge the justice of our cause. They paid good— attention; and I think what was said were well recd. It was a special meeting appointed to here me by my request. The Senators and Representatives were invited to attend. & attended, and God gave me courage so that I was not intimidated by them , I thought, felt a little uneasy by times; but manifested a much better Spirit afterwards than . I told them firstly that I represented a suffering people,— who had been deprived together with myself of their rights in : who numbered something like 15 thousand souls; and not only they but many others were deprived of the rights guarenteed to us by the constitution of the ; at least the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand free born Citizens are deprived the enjoyment of citizenship in each or every State: that we had no ingress in the state of ; nor could any of us have only at the expense of our lives, and this by the order of the Executive. I then took their own declaration of the cause of our expulsion: refered them to ’s Pamphlet, which [p. 97]
Feb. 20th., 1840
Dear Brother
I have just returned from the committee room, wherein I spoke about one hour and a half, there were but three of the committee present, for which I am very sorry. I think they will be obliged to acknowledge the justice of our cause. They paid good— attention; and I think what was said were well recd. It was a special meeting appointed to here me by my request. The Senators and Representatives were invited to attend. & attended, and God gave me courage so that I was not intimidated by them , I thought, felt a little uneasy by times; but manifested a much better Spirit afterwards than . I told them firstly that I represented a suffering people,— who had been deprived together with myself of their rights in : who numbered something like 15 thousand souls; and not only they but many others were deprived of the rights guarenteed to us by the constitution of the ; at least the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand free born Citizens are deprived the enjoyment of citizenship in each or every State: that we had no ingress in the state of ; nor could any of us have only at the expense of our lives, and this by the order of the Executive. I then took their own declaration of the cause of our expulsion: refered them to ’s Pamphlet, which [p. 97]
Page 97