The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1844-07-12

hundred years, for learning hath brough
dlsohedencc and heresy."
The celebrated DR.. Price, after return
ing home to England from his travels il
this country, soon after the revolution
thus writes "1'hcre is distant coun
try, once united to this, where each inhab
liant has in his house, as a part of hi
household furniture, book on law ant
government, TO enable him to understand
his rights; Il musket by which to dcren,
those rights and Bible, to understan,
and practice religion. What can hur
such country! Is it any wonder W.
have not succeeded 2"
Yes, this is the secret of the failure o
other experiments, this is the secret of thu
success Of ours.
But, for other reasons than the above
should education be promoted. 1t is the
moral lever by which we move the world
1t is the mother of all the virtues. 1t pro.
notes peace, happiness, and true religion.
The patriots hand and heart is there fore
in it.
The maintenance Of peace with all the
world is known to be of too great impor.
lance not to meet with general approba.
ton. But, however much approved, it i.
feared that our nation, whose star is now
in the ascendant, will fol low in the wake
OF other great nations, whose ambition has
been their bane and destruction. As ma.
ton increases in strength, and in its youth
lul vlgor, feels giants powers, if it does
not, in fact, lose its moral sense of right
and wrong, 1t is apt to neglect the cau-
tlous observance of the principles of Just
ice which it scrupulously observed in its
weakness and infancy. Power naturally
engcnders the idea that might is right, and
a consciousness of strength fills the mind
with ambitious designs. Nations, like in
dviduals, have a natural size; too small,
they are weak-too large, they are cum
bersome aud fall by their own weight.
The great nations Of the world, unsatis-
fed, fired with ambition still, have attcmp-
ted to unite all that Joined them. The po-
Icy was destructive 10 them, and we
should learn lesson from the tombs of
other nations. The community of inter-
est Is less as a nations borders are extern
ded. 1t requires then a strong central
power to bind them together, and this is
stronger in a monarchy than in a repub-
lie. In order to Judge rightly, however,
on this question, we will bear in mind
that, owing 10 the great modern improve
ments in the means of intercommunica-
ton, and Of the interchange of thought
and spread of learning, large nation is,
in effect, no larger than small state of
o!den times. Wherever, then, the natur-
al, safe boundary of our nation may be,
we may not be able to tell and we say
to the genius Of our country, Onward
till the measure Of thy greatness is lull--
onward, so far and no farther than thou
shalt bear with thee liberty and free insti-
tutions-no farther than it shall conduce
to the permanent well being of the Uni
on.
Our fathers, as we have said, sought
and found here an asylum from the civil
and religious persecution Of the old world.
They have transmitted the same to us.
"----Ay, call it holy ground
The uroupl where first thcy iroJ
They have left unstancd what there they found,
Freedom to worship God"
1t is our duty to leave this an inherl-
lance unimpaired to those that follow us.
From the first settlement of this country
to the present period the doors Of this asy-
lum have been open to all, and many from
time to time, either from dislike to the in
stitutIohs of their own, or love to those Of
our country, have sought our shores.
They have been welcomed here; we still
bid them welcome; whether from the
"Fatherland," from the "land of the
vine," the "land Of the olive; )" whether
from "Albon's whitened Shore" or the
Emerald ISLE" we bid them welcome
here to "the land Of the free and the home
Of the brave"
But here we are compelled to notice
the disgraceful scenes that lately occurred
in one of our eastern cities, one OF our
most law-abiding cities, so called; blow
which seems to have been aimed at a par
iicular class of our citizens, particular
sect OF christians. We deprecate tive
lament the stain upon our nations fair
fame. But, as we love our country still
with all her faults, we will throw the
mantle Of charity over it, and trust that
such an outbreak Of invidious passion will
be like the storm, which serves to render
the atmosphere more pure, or like a spot
upon the sun, dark, visible for moment
only, and then brightning, burning into
l..