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  EBENEZER ELLIOTT
(1781 - 1849)

Ebenezer and Slavery

            In Sheffield's High Wincobank district stands a group of memorials which grace the top of Jenkin Road with its fine views of the River Don Valley; a panorama well known to Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer.

            There are four memorials in all: the tallest commemorates Wincobank residents killed in a Zeppelin raid in the First World War. The other memorials can be seen in the photograph below. Two of the columns commemorate Ebenezer while the third draws attention to Mary Ann Rawson, the celebrated anti-slavery campaigner who lived nearby in Wincobank Hall. Rawson was born in 1801 and was a contemporary of Elliott who moved from Rotherham to Sheffield in 1821.

          Mary Ann Rawson (1801-1887) was the daughter of the Sheffield buinessman Joseph Read (1774-1837). She was a great friend of James Montgomery, newspaper owner, hymn writer and poet. Montgomery described her as "a lady of much culture and charm." Mary and her sister for a time ran a school at Wincobank Hall. Sunday schools were of great interest to Mary as well as the anti-slavery campaign.



Memorials on Wincobank

The middle column is for Rawson, the other two for Ebenezer

            Mary Ann Rawson (NB some sources spell the second christian name with a final letter "e") was a founder of the Sheffield Female Anti-Slavery Society and was famous enough to be visited at Wincobank Hall by William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury. In 1834, she compiled a book called "The Bow in the Cloud," a collection of anti-slavery poems and articles by fifty people - one of them being James Montgomery, but significantly no contribution from the Corn Law Rhymer himself. Four years later, Rawson produced "Hymns for Anti-Slavery Meetings." Given that Rawson was a celebrity in Sheffield, it was impossible for the Rhymer not to have known her; yet strangely there are no references to her in Ebenezer's writings. The question then surfaces as to why the two prominent citizens were not in touch with each other? Differences in social class may perhaps be the reason.

            The two columns for the Poet of the Poor are inscribed with lines Elliott wrote about local scenery in his poems "The Ranter" and "Withered Wild Flowers." The poet was a keen walker & a number of his poems mention High Wincobank which in his days was a well visited beauty spot. The memorial columns erected on High Wincobank are therefore most appropriate.

            Elliott wrote a good many poems and they yield many instances of the word "slaves" but always in the sense of poor people being slaves of the rich and powerful. Slavery & its evils were not themes for the Corn Law Rhymer. Yet, anti-slavery was of great concern in Ebenezer's day: Sheffield's other famous poet, James Montgomery, was, for example, a noted campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade. Since Elliott was a zealous reformer, it is uncomfortable to see his lack of involvement in this issue. It is abundantly clear in examining Elliott's correspondence that he was very well informed on events abroad as he frequently discusses the state of trade in Europe and the New World, so we cannot conclude that he was ignorant of the slave trade.

            There is, however, one poem by Elliott that deals with slavery. It is perhaps significant that the poet only once turned to this subject and it may be significant, too, that the poem is not a successful effort. "Famine in a Slave Ship" appears below:-




They stood on the deck of the slave-freighted barque,
All hopeless, all dying, while waited the shark;
Sons, Fathers, and Mothers, who shriek'd as they press'd
The infants that pined till they died on the breast -
A crowd of sad mourners, who sigh'd to the gale,
While on all their dark faces, the darkness grew pale.

While demons beheld them, with curse and with frown,
And cursed them, from morn till the darkness came down;
And knew not compassion, but laugh'd at their pray'r,
When they called on their God, or wept loud in despair;
Till again rose the morn, and all hush'd was the wail,
And on cheeks, stark and cold, the grim darkness was pale.

Then the white heartless demons ,with curse and with frown,
Gave the dead to the deep, till the darkness came down:
But the angel who blasteth, unheard and unseen,
Bade the tyrants lie low where their victims had been:
And down dropp'd the waves, and stone-still hung the sail,
And black sank the dead, while more pale grew the pale.

Stern angel, how calmly his chosen he slew!
And soon the survivors were fearfully few;
For, wall'd o'er their heads the red firmanent stood,
And the sun saw his face in a mirror of blood;
Till they fed on each other, and drank of the sea,
And wildly cursed God in their madness of glee!

What hand sweeps the stars from the cheek of the night?
Who lifts up the sea in the wrath of his might?
Why, down from his glance, shrinks in horror the shark?
Why stumbles o'er mountains the blind foodless barque?
Lo, his lightning speaks out, from the growl of the gale!
And shrieking she sinks - while the darkness turns pale!

   

            The poet focuses on the horror of the scene he has composed; he is not emotionally drawn in, nor does he have a message - save perhaps that God will take vengeance against the slavers. Elliott's lack of passion is noteworthy since, in the issues that do concern him, he normally displays a savage fury. The conclusion can only be that the bard was indifferent to the anti-slavery campaign.

                        Further evidence of Elliott's attitude to slavery appears in a letter of 1838 written to Miss Frances Rolleston of Maltby Hall near Rotherham. The poet comments on issues raised by Rolleston: factory children, slavery & child chimney sweeps, and displays good knowledge of circumstances in America. He goes on to discuss free trade in Europe & Russia. In the same letter the poet makes a revealing statement to Miss Rolleston: "If you call or attend a meeting to emancipate us white slaves, do not expect to be surrounded 'by ladies splendid and polite, and all that is respectable.'" He asserts that life is much harder in fighting the Corn Laws than in campaigning against slavery and the phrase "us white slaves" suggests that Miss Rolleston should oppose problems at home rather than in America.  Elliott then adds that in the abolition movement "there would be fewer anti-slavery meetings" if they faced the hostility that he did. Rolleston, he said, would soon be warned off by "proud paupers" or by "some dunghill-sprung mongrel." In effect, Elliott dismisses Miss Rolleston's concerns: he has a more urgent agenda, namely free trade and Corn Law reform which were much more important than abolition.

              1838 was a busy year for Elliott, since he addressed the great Chartist meeting in Westminster Palace Yard and he also introduced the People's Charter to the citizens of  Sheffield. At this latter meeting, the poet was in the chair and made an observation which is significant in analysing the bard's attitude to slavery. Disappointed by the small attendance at the meeting, Elliott complained that "the respectables" had not come to the meeting because they cared for the plight of African slaves but failed to see the suffering of the poor at home. Note, here, that the poet excludes himself from respectable people!

            An interesting visitor to Sheffield in 1840 was Henry B. Stanton, an American lawyer. Stanton, who was a prominent campaigner for abolition of the slave trade, visited Elliott & had a wide ranging discussion with the Poet of the Poor. It is inconceivable that the subject of the slave trade did not feature in their discussions. Stanton reported on his meeting with Elliott to his close friend John Greenleaf Whittier; Stanton was full of enthusiasm for Elliott, for his poetry & for his dedication to reform. It is highly likely that the poet showed an intelligent interest in the abolition movement: if Elliott had been disinterested in the subject, Stanton would have given a different report to Whittier. The man with the admirable christian name was himself a major campaigner against slavery; he, too, had a positive attitude to Elliott - this again supports the view that the Corn Law Rhymer had said the right things about slavery. After all, Elliott could never bear any injustices and what could be more unjust than the slave trade? Greenleaf went on to write a poem about Elliott after the poet's death. (The text of the poem can be seen in another article on this site in a section headed "Three Major Tributes to Elliott.")

            In 1845 Elliott wrote another letter mentioning slavery. In a letter to John Watkins, his future son-in-law, Elliott remarked: "The anti-slavery people, perhaps, have done most mischief, though with good intentions." He is against them, he says, because he believes they are for monopoly rather than for free trade; he adds an amusing comment (something we don't see often from the poet): "By-and-bye you will see them running with water in a sieve to put out a fire."

            To sum up, it is clear that the Corn Law Rhymer was aware of the abolition campaign, but it was not for him, nor was it for the urban poor. Elliott saw himself as a working man and had their interests at heart. While he had contact with the well-to-do, he was not part of their circle. Most wealthy people were not interested in changing the status quo, sinces it supported their life style. They could involve themselves in the anti-slavery movement because it was remote and did not touch them personally. Elliott was occupied with more relevant reforms and felt he could leave the abolition campaign to people in more fashionable circles such as James Montgomery and Mary Ann Rawson. Free trade and Corn Law reform were much more important to the economy & the general good; to these crucial matters the Poet of the Poor would dedicate his time & his energy.


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