The Potter journal. [volume], January 05, 1860, Image 1

About The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872

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SINGLE CGPfPS,
VOLUI9E XII.- NUMBER 17.
I THE POTTER JOURNAL,
(ILISHK 0 KVKttY TUL'RSDXY MURXIXO, BY
Thou. S. ChaMC,
whom nil Letters and Communication*-
ria j he addressed. to secure attention.
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he: eic'edinji 8 lines, per year, - - 500 j
pfcial and Editorial Notices, per line, 10 i
gftTAil transient advertisements must be j
L:-l in advance, and no notice w ill be taken
f advert: "rnents from a distance, unless they
r accompanied by the nioucv or satisfactory
j
Bus in £ss Carts.
JOHN* S. MANX,
iTTORSKY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW. j
Condersport, !'a., will attend the several;
Courts in Potter and M'Kean Counties. All
bosine* entrusted in his care will receive j
vrompt attention. Office on .Main st., oppo- !
| i.ie the Court House. 10:1
F W. KNOX~
iTTOiiXKY AT LAW. Condersport. Pa., will |
I rfgularlr attend the Courts in Potter ami i
I the adjoining Counties. 10:1
ARTHUR G. OLMSTED,
IarOKKBY L COUNSELLOR AT LAW.
Oiudersport, Pit., will attend to all business
re'rusted to his care, with promptucs and
tJi ity. Office in Temperance Block, sec
t>u4 isor. llaiu St. 10:1
ISAAC BENSON.
ITTORNKY* AT LAW. Coudersport, Pa., will j
iiter.J to all business entritated to him, with !
wir<* sad prouiptncsa. Office corner of West;
shd Third stSi 10:1 j
C L.HOYT,
CIVIL ENGINEER, SURVEYOR and
DRAUGHTSMAN, Bingham, Potter Co.,
fa . will promptly and efficiently attend to
*ll business entrusted to him* First-clas.-
professional references can bo given if re-1
quired. 1|:29-Iy*
CILARLES REISSM ANN,
CABINET MAKER, having erected a new and j
samenient Shop, on the South-east corner
of Third and West streets, will lie happy to
Mcrivc and fill all orders in his calling
Repairing and rc-fitting carefully aud neatly
done on short notice.
C- import, Nov. 8, 1859.-11-1 v.
O. T. ELLISON,
PRACTICING PHYSICIAN, Condersport, Pa..:
respectfully informs tlio citizens of the vil
'g and vicinity that he will promply re
•pond to all calls for professional services.
"See on Main St.. in building formerly oc
up;ed by C W. Ellis, Esq. 0:22
COLLIXS SMTTFI. t. x. JOXES.
SMITH K JONES,
dealers IN DRUGS, MEDICINES, PAINTS. I
"til. Fancy Articles. Stationery, I)rv Goods.
Groceriei, Ac., Main st., Coudersport. Pa.
10:1 j
D K. OLMSTED,
DF.AI.HR IN DRY GOODS, READY-MADE'
'Aeihiug. Crockery, Groceries, Ac., Main st..
Cuderij>ort, Pa. * 10:1 i
M W. MANN,
LFALiUi ix BOOKS A STATIONERY. MAG-1
AZIXKS and Music. N. W. corner of MaiD
Third its., Coudersport. Pa. 10:1
MARK GIL BON,
L n ER and TAILOR, letc fYoni the City ol
G'srpool, England. Shop opposite Court ;
"ou§r, Condersport. Potter Co. Pa.
N B. -Particular attention paid to CUT*
Tlx,; 10:35- ly.
1 •' OIBSTID. s. D. KELLY.'
IFF OLMSTED K KELLY,
# ™I.KLIN STOVES, TIN k SHEET IRON
-A"h. Main it., nearly opposite the Court J
Regie Condersport, Pa. Tin and Sheet
•rv.- w lre nia( j e t0 ori i cl j u good style, on
"ort notice. 10:1
r, R C °I ;I G:RS?ORT HOTEL,
GLdSSMIRF., Proprietor, Corner of
4IC aii 'l Second Streets, Coudersport, Pot-
C ° ' I>a
A R J.EG A N YHOUSE,"
~ IC. MILLS, Proprietor, Colcsburg
< -°-i Pa., seven miles north of
*' r * polt o" *h Road- 9:11
LYMAN HOUSE,
l> Proprietor, Ulysses. Potter Co.,
*• T:iis House is 3ituated on the Kngt
Main street, opposite A. Corey A r
r • 'tore, sod i 3 well adapted to meet the
* 1 f l atrons and friends. 12:11-1 v. '
' port's CiH'nrr, I
Irbffl Ihe National lira.
MORE CANVAS,
nv r. A. o.
More canvas! ' ho shouted, While visioTtsof,
j°y
Were thronging the brain of the j
boy:
■' Alexander knew naught of this frenzy of
son!,
Expanding with every remove of the goal—
To infinite truth, that is leading me on ;
More canvas, then give me, while glowing T
run.
I nsk not for bojior, I care not for wealth,
lo trace my dear source is far better than
health ;
Then give me. oh, give nic. I ask nothing more, j
The means to portray the bright realm; 1'
explore.
" More canvas !" he shrieked, when in hunger j
and pain.
To clamor for b*£it3 were his darling ones
fain {
'• Ye care not for visions of beauty and love.
And ideal themes still a weariness prove.
Then let me, oil, w ill ye not, even to stay
The craving of want, your loved features
portray; j
I'll strive to nnnoint ye with heavenly grace— j
More canvas then give me. that so I may trace,!
In actual presence, the essence I love,
And humbly pursue my bright pathway above. I
•' More canvas 1 " he murmered, life's bitterness
o'er,
As, dazzling to view, arose Canaan's bright
Ehore ;
II No limit henceforth to my visions of joy. j
Or means to endow them, my soul shall annoy.
But world- upon worlds, through the ages;
untold,
Are mine to enjoy, while their beauties unfold.
My Father, I thank thee, for visions like this
Overwhelm the annoyance of life with its
bliss."
Thus sinking to rest, with the evening's last
ray,
We trust he hath entered unchangeable day. .
ALBANY, March 11, 1859.
JLilitinil.
VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS.
Interesting Correspondence.
! Letter from Mrs. Mason of Va. to L. Maria Child.
ALTO, King George's Co., Va., 1
Nov. 11. Ij>s9. I
Do ycu read your Bible, Mrs. Child?
If you do. read there "Woe unto you.;
hypocrites," and take to yourself with:
two fold damnation that terrible sentence)
! fur, rest assurtd, in the day of judgment
it shall be more tolerable for those thus
scathed by the awful denunciation of the
Soil of God, than for you. You Wuuld-j
t soothe with sisterly and motherly care
the hoary-headed murderer of Ha.per's
! b\rry ! A man whose aim and intention
was to incite the honors of a servile war
—to condemn women of your own race,
ere death closed their eyes on their suf j
feririgs from violence and outrage, to see
| their husbands and fathers murdered ;
j their children butchered, the ground
! strewed with the brains of their babes.
•The antecedents of Brown's band prove
them to have been the off scourings of
the earth ; and what would have bcLMi our
fate had they found as many sympathisers
in Virginia as they seem to have in Mas
sachusetts ?
Now, compare yourself with those your
"sympathy" would devote to such ruth
less ruin, and say, on that "word of lion
; or, which has never been broken," would
| you stand by tlie bedside of an old negro,
dying of a hopeless disease, to alleviate
his sufferings as far as human aid could ?
Have you ever watched the las , linger
! ing illness of a consumptive, to soothe, as
1 far as in you lay, the inevitable fate ? Do
! you soften the pangs of maternity in those
around you by all the carc and comfort
you can give ? Do you grieve with those
' near you, even tlmugh their sorrows re
! suited from their own misconduct? Did
you ever sit up until the "wee hours" to
complete a dress for a motherless child,
that she might appear on Christmas day
in a new one, along with her more fortun
|atc companions? We, do these and more
for our servants, and why? Because we
endeavor to do onr duty in that state; of
1 life it has pleased God to pUtce us. In
His revealed word we read our duties to
theiu—theirs to us arc there also —"Nut
iunlv to the good and gentle, but to the
fro ward."—(Deter, ii: 18.) Go thou and
I do likewise, and keep away from Charles
town. If the stories read in the public
priuts be true, of the sufferings of the
poor of the North, you need not go far for
i objects of charity. "Thou hypocrite! take
■ first the beam out of thine own eye, then
jshalt thou see clearly to pull the mote out
of thy neighbor's." But if, indeed, you
! do lack objects of sympathy near you, go
to Jefferson County, to the family of
George Turner, a noble, true-hearted man,
whose devotion to his friend (Col. M ash
i ington) causing hiui to risk his life, was
shot dowu like a dog. Or td that of old
Beckham, whose grief at the murder of
his negro subordinate made him needless
: ly expose himself to the aim of the assas
sin Brown. And when you can equal in
deeds of love and charity to those around
you, what is shown by nine-tenths of the
■ Virginia plantations, then by your "sym
iJebouO io the of Jruc p>o U)i of s**,
COUDERSPORT, POSTER COUNTY, PAQ THURSDAY, JAJVTUARY $, 1860~
ipathy" whet the khives fcfr oitr throats 1
land kindle the torch that dre* oitr hotnes !
| You reverence Bruwn for li!s fclemen£y 1
ito his prisoners ! PriS'jUf rt I and howl
■ taken? CfiStrsp'octiug Workmen, going!
to their dai?y duties; unarmed gentlemen,!
! takeh from their beds at the uead hour ol;
j night, by six men doubly and trebly arm-:
j cd. Suppose he had hurt a hair of their
j heads, d< you think one of the band of
desperadoes would have left the engine
bouse ? And did not he know that his:
treatment of fliom was his onlv hope of
j life then, as of clemency afterward? Of j
course he did. The United s4hUss troops
c. uld not have tircveuted him from
torn limb from limb.
I will add. in conclusion, no Soutiiern
lerousrht, after your letter to Gov. Wise;
• and to Brown, to read R mm of your com
position, or to toutdi a magazine which
bears your name in its 1 ist of contributors;
and in this we hope for the "sympathy," i
;at least of those at the North who deserve
the Dame of woman. M. J. C. MASON.
Mrs. Child's Reply.
WAYUAND, Mass., Dec. 17, 1850.
Prolonged absence from home Las pre- :
vented my answering your letter so soon
ias I intended. 1 have uo disposition to
: retort upon you the "two fold damnation,"
to which you con.-ign inc. On the con
trary. T sincerely wish you well, both in
this world and the next. If the anathe
■ma proved a safety-valve to your own
boring spiiit, it did some good to you,
; while it fell harmless upon me. Fortun
ately for all of us, the Heavenly Father
| rules His universe by laws, which the
passions or the prejudices of mortals have
; no power to charge.
As for John Brown, his reputation tnay
be safely trusted to the impartial pen of
! History; and his motives will be right
eously judged by Him who knowefh the
i secrets of all hearts. Men, however great
'they mav bo, are of small consequence
iin comparison with principles; and the
principle for which John Brown died is
the question at issue between us.
You refer me to the Bible, from which
vou quote the favorite text of slave-hold
ers :
"•Servants, he subject to your masters with
! all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but
also the froward,'*—l I'etvr, ii: 19 :
Abolitionists also have favorite texts,
to some of which 1 would call your at
. tentiou :
" Remefnber those that are in bonds, as
! bound with them. ' —Htb. xiii :3. .
" Hide the outcasts. Betray not him that
i wanderoth. Let mine outcasts dwell with
j thee. Be thou a covert to them from the race
' of the spoiler."—lsn.. xvi i 3, 4.
; " 1 hou shalt not deiivi r unto his master the
; servant which is escaped from his master unto
thee, ile shall dwelt with thcc where it lik
eih him best. Thou shall not oppress him."
—Dent., xxiii: 15,16.
'•Open thy mouth for the dumb, in the
I cause of all such*as are appointed to destruc
j tion. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and
i plead the cause of the poor and needy."—
' Prov , xxxi : 8, 9.
j " Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like
: a trumpet, and show my people their trans
gression. and the house of Israel their sius."
—lviii : 1.
I would especially commend to slave
holders the following portions of that vol
ume, wherein you say God has revealed
the duty of masters:
'• Masters, give unto your servants that
which is just and equal; knowing that ye also
have a Master in Heaven."—Col., iv: 1.
" Neither bo ve called masters : for one is
! your master, even Christ; and all ye arc
brethren."—Matt., xxiii: 8. 10.
i " Whatsoever ye vveuld that men should do
unto you, do ye even so unto them."—Matt..
,! vii: 12.
: "Is not this the fast that I have chosan, to
.loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the
■ 1 heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go
free, and that ye break every yoke."—lsa.,
I lviii: 6.
" They have given a boy for a harlot, and
sold a girl for wine, that they might drink."
I —Joei, iii: 3.
" He that opprosscth the poor, reproacheth
' his Maker."—Prov., xiv: 31.
j Rob not the poor, because i.c is poor; nei
' tlicr oppress the afflicted. For the Lord will
plead tlimr cause, and spoil the sonl of those
'j that spoiled them."—Prov., xxii: 22, 23.
" Woe unto him that useth his neighbor's
' service without wages, and giveth him not
i for bis wages."—Jer., xxii: i 3.
" Let him that stole steal no more, but rath
er let him labor, working with his hands."—
i Kph., iv : 28.
"Woe unto them that decree unrighteous
; decrees, and that write gricvousness, which
: they have prescribed ; to turn aside the needy
from judgment, and to take away the right
i from the poor, that widows may be their prey,
| and that they may rob the fatherless."—lsa..
! x : 1, 2.
j "If I did despise the cause of my man-ser
j vant or of my maid-servant, when they con
; tended with me; what then shall I do when
God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what!
• j shall I answer him? "--Job, xxxi: 13. 14.
I " Thou hast sent widows away empty, and i
j the arms of the fatherless have been broken,
j Therefore snares are round about thee, and
| sudden fear troubleth thee ; and darkness that
' thou canst not see."—Job, xxii: 9, 10, 11.
I " Behold, the hire of your laborers, who
! have reaped down your tichls. which is of you
| kept back bv fraud, crieth ; and the cries of
; them which have reaped arc eutered into the !
ears of the Lord. Ye have lived in pleasure j
• on the earth, aud been wanton ; ye have nour-,
i ished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. Yt j
have condemned and killed the just." —Jag,, v:
4, 5, <t.
j If tiro rferprapriateness of these texts is
not eppercnt, I will try to make it so, by
ictififeoce drawn entirely from Souther*
Aources. The Abolitionists are uot such
an ignorant set of lunatics as you supple.
I They knottc w hereof they affirm. They
arc familiar with the laws of the Slave
States, which arc alone sufficient to in
spire abhorfencc iu tuv humane heart or
reflecting lll |ud out perverted by the prej
udices of eduiatioti and eu>tua. 1 might
till m.inv lot!** with sisiniticant extracts
*
from ydfcr statute-books ; but I have space
j only to glance at a few, which indicate the
huditoj features of the system you cher
ish so tenaciously.
The universal rule of the Slave States
is that "the-c.iild follows the condition
of its mother." This is an index to many
things. Marriages betw en white and
colored people are forbidden by law ; yet
a very large number of the slaves are
brown or yellow. When Lafayette visit
ed this country in his old age, he said he
was very much struck by the great change
in the colored population of Virginia;
| that in the time of the Revolution nearly
all the household slaves were black, but
'when he returned to America he found
very few of them biack. The advertise.
; ments in Southern newspapers often des
cribe runaway slaves that "pass them
selves for white men." Sometimes thev
' are described as having "straight, light
hair, blue eyes, and clear complexion."
This could not be, unless their lathers,
grandfathers, and great grandfathers had
been white men But as their mothers
were slaves, tho law pronounces them
slaves, subject to be sold on the auction
block whenever the necessities or con
venience of their masters or mistresses
require it. The sale ot one's own chil
dren. brothers, or sisters, has an uglv as
pect to those who arc unaccustomed to it;
and. obviously, it cannot have a good mor
al influence that law and custom should
render licentiousness a profitable vice.
Throughout the S'lave States, the tes
timony of no colored person, bond or free,
can be received against a white man. You
: have some laws, which, on the face of
ithem, would seem to restrain inhuman
men from murdoriuji or mutilating slaves;
but they are rendered nearly null by the
law I have cited. Any drunken master,
overseer, or patrol, may go into the negro
; cabins and commit what outrages he pleas
es, with perfect impunity, if no white pcr
ison is present who chooses to witness
against him. North Carolina and Geor
gia leave a large loop-hole f< r escape, even
if white persons arc present, when ti ur
<ier is committed. A law to punish per
sons for "maliciously killing a slave" has
this remarkable qualification : " Always
provided that this act shall not extend to
any slave dying of moderate correction."
j We at the North find it difficult to under
stand how moderate punishment can
cau>e death. I have read several of your
law-books attentively, and I And no cases
of punishment for the murder of a slave,
except Lv tines paid to the owner, to in
demnify hitn for the loss of his property :
the same as if his horse or cow had been
killed. *****
[Mrs. Child then reviews the laws and cus
toms of southern States respecting the condi
tion and rights of slaves, to which subjects, we
need not assure our readors, she does ample
justice. She next produces the unuanswera
' ble "testimony against slavery of such Virgin
ians as St. George Tucker, Gov. Giles, Thos
, Jefferson, John Randolph, ar.d others of equal
weight —the whole requiring more space than
we have at our command, which we sincerely
regret—and closes her letter with the follow
ing unanswerable paragraphs:—En. JOCK.]
Looking at the system of Siavery in
i the light of all this evidence, do you can
didly think we deserve " two-fold damna
tion" tor detesting it? Can you not be
; lieve tliac we may hate the system, and
yet be truly your friends? I make al
• lowance for the excited state of your tnind,
land for the prejudices inducod by educa
tion Ido not care tu change your opin
j ion of me; but I do wish you could be
; persuaded to examine this subject dispas
sionately, for the sake of the prosperity
jof Virgiua, and the welfare of unborr.
' generations, both white and colored. For
' thirty years, Abolitionists have been try
ing to reason with slaveholders, through
the press, and in the halls of Congress,
j Their efforts, though directed to
tcrs only , have been met with violence
aud abuse almost equal to that poured on
: the head of John Brown. Yet surely we.
j as a portion of the involved in the
] expense, the degeneracy, tho danger, and
itlie disgrace, of this iniquitous and fatal
; system, have a riyht to speak about it,
i and a light to be heard als®. At the
North, we willingly publish Pro-Slavery
I arguments, and ask only a fair Seld and
jno favor for the other side. But you will
not even allow your own citizens a chance
to examiue this important subject. Your
letter to me is published in Northern pa- 1
pers, as we'll as Southern; but my reply
will not be allowed to appear iu any South
ern paper. Tho despotic measures you !
j take to silence investigation, and shut out
j the light from your own white popula
tion. proves how little reliance you have
lou tho strength of jour cause. In this!
'enlightened age, *ll despotism* ought to
conic to a a end bv the agency of mural
and rational means. But if they resist
such agencies* it in in the order of Prov
idence that tl*v mast come to an end by
violence. History is full of such lessons.
Would thai the vail of prejudice could
be removed from your eyes. If you would
candidly examine the statements of Gov
ernor Hincks of the British West Indies,
aud of the Rev. Mr. Blceby, long tini# a
Mis&iouary in those Islands, bo'h before
nttd after ewßrrctpution, you could uot
fail to be convinced that Cash is a more
powerful incentive to labor than the Lash,
and far safer also. One fact in relation
: to those Ulauds is very signilicaut. While
the working-people were sieves, it was al
ways necessary to order out the military
! during the Christinas holidays; buc since
emancipation, not a soldier is to be seen.
Ahutidred John Browns might laud there,
without exciting the slightest alarm.
| To the personal questions you ask uie,
T will reply in the name of all the wo
men of New-EugianJ. It would be ex
tremely d.tficult to find any woman in our
villages who does not sew for the poor,
and watch with the sick, whenever occa
sion requires. We pay our domestics
generous wages, with which they can pur
chase as many Christmas gowns as they
please ; a process for better for their char
acters, as Well as our own. than to receive
I their clothing as a charity, after being de
prived of just payment for their labor. I
have never known an instance where the
"pangs of maternity" did not meet with
• requisite assistance; and here at the North,
after we have helped the mothers, we do
uot sell the babies.
I readily believe what you state con
cerning the kindness of many Virginia
; matrons. It is creditable to tiieir hearts ;
but after all, the best that can be done in
that way is a poor equivalent, fur the per
petual wrong done to the slaves, and the
terrible liabilities to which they are al
ways subject. Kind masters and mis
tresses among you are merely lucky acei
!dents. If any one chooses t-i be a brutal
despot, your laws and customs give him
•• complete power to do so. And the lot of
; those slaves who have the kiude.-i nias
| ten is exceedingly precarious. -Iu case
i of death, or pecuniary difficulties, or innr
j riages in the family, they may at any
time bo suddenly transferred fro .it pro
tection and indulgence to personal degra
dation, or extreme severity ; and if they
should try to escape from such sufferings,
, anybody is authorized to shoot them down
like dogs.
With regard to your declaration tha'
I " no Southerner ought henceforth t J read
a line of my composition," I reply that I
I have great satisfaction in ttic conscious
ness of having nothing to lose in that
| quarter. Twenty-seven years ago, I pub
lished a book Called "An Appeal in bc
half of that Class of Americans called Af
ricans." It influenced the minds of sev
eral young men, afterward conspicuous in
public life, through whose agency the
! cause was better served tkan it could liavc
been by me. From that time to this, I
; have labored too earnestly for the slave to
;be agreeable to slave-holders. Literary
, popularity was never a paramount object
with me, even in my youth ; and, now that
I am old, I am utterly indifferent to it.
But, it I cared for the exclusion you
threaten, I should at leapt have the con
solation of being exiled with honorab e
I company. Dr. Channing's writings, mild
and candid as they are, breathe what you
would call arrant treason. Wni. C. Brv
! ant, in his capacity of editor, is openly
on our side. The inspired muse of Whit
tier has incessantly sounded the trumpet
for moral warfare with your iniquitous in
stitution ; and his stirring tones have been
answered, more or less loudly, by Dier
pout, Lowell, and Longfellow. Emerson,
the Plato of America, leaves the scholas
tic seclusion he loves so well, and, dislik
ing noise with all his poetic soul, bravely
• taken hi.n stand among the trumpeters
; Geo. \V Curtis, the brilliant writer, the
eloquent lecturer, the elegant man of the
j worid, lays the wealth of his talents on
| the altar of Freedom, and makes common
■ cause with rough-shod reformers.
The genius of Mrs. Stowe carried the
outwoiks of your institution at one dash,
i and left the citadel open to besiegers, who
| are pouring in amain. In the church, on
| the uitra-liheral side, it is assailed by the'
: powerful battering-ram of Theodore Park
er's eloquence. On the extreme ortho-,
dox side is set a huge lire, kindled by fhe ;
burning words of Dr. Cheever. Between
| them is Henry Ward Beechcr, sending a
shower of keen arrows into your entrench*
| ments; and with him ride a troop of sharp- ;
j shooters from all sects. If vou turn toj
; the literature of England or France, voui
will find your institution treated with as j
iiitle favor. The tact is, the whole civ
' t'ized world proclaims Slavery an outlaw,
and the best intellect of tho age is active!
;iu burning it down. L. MARIA CHILD. \
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
; Fellow citizens of (he. Senate and [louse
of Representatives:
Our deep and heart felt gratitude is
due to that Almighty Power which has
-{ FOUR CENTS.
TERMS.. $1.25 PER ANNUM.
bestowed upon us such varied and numcf
ous blcssiugs throughout the past year 1 .
The gcueral hcaltn of the country hat
been excellent, our harvests have been
unusually ptaeiiftfl, and prosperity smile*
throughout the land. Inderd, notwith
standing our demerits, we have much rcfc*
son to believe from the past events in-ourr
history, that we have enjoyed the special
protection of Divine Providence ever sinco
our origin as a nation. We have boeu
exposed to many threatening and alarming
difficulties in our progress, but en? each
successive occasion the impending cloud
has been dissipated at the moment it ap
peared ready to burst upon our bead, and
the danger to our institution has pasted
awav. .May wc ever be under the Divine
guidance and protection.
JOIIN CROWN*.
Whilst it is the duty of the President
l< from time to tini>c to give to Congress
information of the stutc of the Uuion," il
shall not refer in detail to the recent sad
and bloody occurrences at Harper's Fer
ry. Still it is proper to observe that these
events, however bad and cruel in them
selves, derive their chief importance from
the apprehension that they are but symp
toms of au incurable disease in the pub
lic mind, which may broak out in still
more dangerous outrages, and terminate*
at last in au open war by the North t<i
abolish slavery in the South. Whilst, for
myself, I entertain no such apprehension,
they ought to afford a solemn warning t
us all to beware of the approach of dang
er. Our Union is a stake of such ines
timable value as to demand our constant
and watchful vigilance for its preserva
tion. In this view, let me implore my
countrymen, North and South, to culti
vate the ancient feelings of mutual for
bearance and good-will towards each other,
and strive to allay the demon spirit of sec
tional hatred and strife now alive in the
j land. This advice proceeds from the heart
of an old public functionaly whose acrvi
ces commenced in the last generation,
among the wise .and conservative states
.men of that day, now nearly all passed
away, and whose first and dearest earthly
wish i-s to leave his country tranquil, pros
perous, uni ed, and powerful.
We ought to reflect that in this age,
jand especially in this country, there is tm
incesaut flux and reflux of public oninio.n.
| Questions which in their day assumed a
; uiost threatening aspect, have now near
.ly gone from the memory of men. The?
are " volcanoes burnt out, and on the lava
and ashes and squalid scoriae of old erup
tions grow the peaceful olive, the cheer
ing vine, and the sustaining corn." Such,
in my opinion, will prove to be the fato
; of the present sectional excitement, should
. those who wisely seek to apply the reme
dy, continue always to confine their efforts
within the pale of the Constitution. If
this course be pursued, the existing agi
tation on the subject of domestic slavery,
like everything human, will have its day,
and give place to other and less threaten
ing controversies. Public opinion in thia
country is all-powerful, and when it .each
| es a dangerous #xces3 upon any question,
, the good sense of the people will furnish
the corrective, and bring it back withiw
isafe limits. Still, to hasten this auspi
i cious result, at the present crisis, we ought
to remember that every rational creature
I must be presumed to intend the natural
consequences of his own teachings. Thcs
who announce abstract doctr ties subver
sive of tho Constitution and the Union,
! must not be surprised should their heat
j ed partizans advance one step farther, and
j attempt by violence to carry these doc
trines into practical effect. In this view
of the subject, it ought never to bo for
; gotten that, however great may have been
the political advantages resulting from the
Union to every portion of oar common
country, these would all prove to be a*
: nothing, should the time ever arrive whan
they cannot be enjoyed without scriou.4
i danger to the personal safety of the pco
; pie of fifteen members of the Confederacy.
; If the peace of the domestic fireside
j throughout these States should ev r be
invaded—if the mothers of families with,
j in this extensive region should not be able
! to rctiro to rest at night without suffer
j ing dreadful apprehensions of what may
be their own fate and that of their chil
, dren before the morning—it would be vain
j to recount to such a people tho political
benefits which results to them from the
Union. Self-preservation is the first in
stinct of nature: and therefore any 6tr.to
of society in which the sword is all the
time suspended over the heads of the peo
ple, must at last become intolerable. liut
1 iudulge in no such gloomy forebodings.
On tho contrary, I firmly believe that the
events at Harper's Ferry, by causing the
people to pauo aud reflect upon the pos
sible peril to their chcri-hed institutions,
will be the means, under Providence, of
allaying the existing excitement, aud pre
venting future outbreaks of a similar
character. They will resolve that tho
Constitution and tho Union shall not bo
endangered by rash counsels, knowing
that, should " the silver cord be loosed,
or the golden bowl be broken * * at
the fountain, lt iutan power could uevc?