“Correspondence between the Hon. Sir Allen Macnab and certain Colored Inhabitants of Upper Canada,” Liberator, October 21, 1842.
To the Hon. Sir A. Macnab:
Sir,—We, the colored inhabitants of Hamilton and Vicinity, bearing a continual remembrance of your unwearied exertions for the protection and liberty of the Province generally, and of the colored people in particular, being mindful of your considerate attention, in nearing our address to the foot of the Throne of our most gracious and beloved sovereign the Queen—now address you, bidding you a hearty welcome, on your return to this town and your home. We unite in rendering thanks to the God of Providence for your safe protection and return, also for the favor with which you have been received by the powerful and great in that land of the noble and free, Having trusted to your skill for protection, and marched with confidence under your command in times of danger, and having ever found you the advocate of man in the Legislature, we hail your return with grateful hearts.
We cannot refrain however from intimating to you one circumstance which has recently occurred of an unhappy kind to us as a people, one of our number, Nelson Hacket, has been taken from Sandwich by night and given up to the injustice of Slave claimers, the correspondence and papers connected herewith, we shall be glad of an early opportunity of laying before you. Hoping that you may long be continued in the enjoyment of your health, your family, your friends and your usefulness both public and private, we pledge to you our confidence and support in every position in which these can be rendered.
Signed by 178 persons.
To which, Sir Allen returned the following reply:
To the Colored Inhabitants of Hamilton and its vicinity:
I receive, my friends, with feelings of greatest pleasure the address you were so good as to present to me on the occasion of my return to my family and friends, and I beg you will allow me to assure you of the high sense I entertain of the honor you have done me in the sentiments expressed therein, respecting my public service in this colony generally, and also towards yourselves in particular, in haring your address, in conjunction with your zealous, sincere, and excellent friend, Dr. Rolph, to the foot of the throne of our beloved sovereign.
It affords me great satisfaction to state to you, that Her Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Albert, were pleased to receive your address most graciously: and I have it in command from His Royal Highness to assure you, that Her Majesty will ever bear in mind the just claims you possess on her gracious protection and care, both as respects your well tried loyalty and devotion to her person and government, in a season of great peril and difficulty, and as freemen seeking the enjoyment of that liberty, which can only exist in a country with a constitutional like our own, which not only proclaims in theory that all men are free and equal under the law, but actually strikes the chain and the fetter from the limbs of the slave, and makes him “free indeed.”
The kind and hospitable reception I have men with from all ranks and conditions of men, in the land of my fathers, has made a deep and lasting impression on my heart; and as you rejoice with me in this, I am proud to acknowledge, that to your faithful adherence to me, at the period of our civil troubles and public invasions from a neighboring States, I am in some respects indebted for that regard with which I have been personally honored, during my absence from this country.
The case of Nelson Hacket, to which you allude, has already been known to me, and I am happy to say, has been brought under the notice of her Majesty’s government and the Imperial Parliament, where I am sure it will receive all of the attention its great importance demands. I shall, however, be most happy to peruse the papers you have prepared on the subject, and you may rely on my using every exertion in my power to procure a full measure of justice for the injured parties.
For the expression of your good wishes for the welfare of myself and family, as well as for the tender of your support and confidence, I beg you will accept my warmest thanks. I hope I may ever continue to deserve these marks of your regard and esteem, and you may rest assured that you will at all times find me ready to advocate for your cause, and maintain your rights and liberties against “the injustices of slave claimers,” and any who may seek to oppress you. In the meantime, wishing you all every happiness you can desire.
I am, your faithful friend,
And obedient servant,
- MACNAB