Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1848-08-18

Portant information is now being carries
from one end of the Continenr e. a..
other with the velocity of p -S,r -. '"'
These, and Thous..n md a.
questions questions might BE r:opounded, until the
as ;'p obje ctor would stand abashed
J ;, mis- objection and consent to
listen to the dictates Of sober reason.
We DO not ask TO be favorably regarded
on account of our antiquity. We are
willing to admit that high degree of res
pect Is due to age. We revere those an
hquated Institutions whose members have
ever been the conservatcrs of the erudi
ton and Literature of the brightest epoch
of the intellectual world. Institutions in
the Utmost recesses of whose venerable
Temples valuable information has been
presented, which neither the arm of des-
Potism nor the infatuated zeal of ignor-
ance could wrest from them in an unaw-
| tul manner.
While l say we venerate those Institu-
tons as well for their Antiquity as on
account of their splendid achievements in
by gone days, still we are willing to I'M
dertake the defence of the Order of the
Sons of Temperance on other grounds.
We are willing, moreover, to acknowl-
edge our Indebtedness to our fore fathers
for much that is valuable both in discove.
ry and application; still we are unwi,.
ling to allow that they discovered all, or
that they made every variety of app!ca-
ton of which the principles discovered
were susceptible.
The present is an age of improvement;
many OF the energies of our nature which
had slumbered for years enshrined in the
mIsts of superstition, or bound down to
the Earth by the chains of Despntism and
oppression, seem at length to have burst
forth, and impelled forward by a desire
for free and rational inquiry, we behold
| man throughout the vast globe assuming
the dignity of his character, and casting
around him halo of intellectual light
and moral loviness. A spirit is now a
broad in the earth, a spirit potent in its
effects yet most benign in its consequent
ces. 4 spirit resistless as the desolatino
tornad do, yet as calm and salutary as the
mia soft dews of the Summers eve. And
this spirit is the spirit of Knowledge--oi
mprovement-of progression, based, rear
ed and sustained by r,oral and mental
powers. 1t will, no doubt be admitted. for
1t is self evident, that any Institution,
young or old, which has for its object the
advancement Of human happiness or hui
man intellect, whose Operations tend to
the amelloratIon of the condition of man
KIND by lessenlng the amount of human
woes, and preventing an increase of those
Ills and rniseries incident TO life, whose
mem hers 81 Iahnr 70 ola
the ties ofmutua! sympathy, and strength !
en- the bonds of brotherhood between
man and his fellow, is not only worthy |
our appreciation, but demands our warm
est support and admiration. And such !
affirm are the objects of our Institution.
Our object is 10 promote a." Love, Puri- |
ty, and Fidelity" L pom these three pill
lars rests the superstructure of our Or
der, while around them cluster our proud.
est hopes and brightest anticipations.
We claim not the converting power, or
the power 10 remove the sting Of DEATH
But we do claim the privilege of putting
on Charity. Our Order like a well con-
structed arch centers in one single point,
that point is Charity. There meet its
bright conveying rays and shine forth
with surprising splendor.
We are laboring to achieve a great
moral victory; bloodless victory, by
d" Love, Purity, and Fidelity"
Love what is 1t, it may be hard to
define. 1t is, however, one of the most
sublime and comprehensive themes tina,
ever engaged the intellectual powers of
either men or angels 1t grasps in its
amplitude, the material and intellectual
creation. Il expands through immensi.
/ ty. 1t will beam through the revolving
events of eternal duration, far beyond the
lumber of demolished worlds. 1t will
open TO It's votarles rapturous prospects
OF unsullIed glory. 1t is one of those
holy affections of the soul which Will live
and flourish beyond the tomb. Death
cannot break the spell Do we by asso-
citation, imbibe such an attachment for u
\ iraternal brother as 10 authorize the ap-
pIcatioh of he term Lore thereto, we
will feel n strong attachment for the wild
ow and orphans, yea our affections follow
that brother 10 the silent grave, and could
that cold heart on whom lowering stars
IN their midnight watchings necessarily
/ gaze with twinkling brightness. and sill
yer the wave that washes the far off dis
I tant shore, say could It bit feel but one
throb- one conscious pulsatlon, 1t would
+ ind chord, a sympathetic chord, vibra-
ting aud responding IN the bosom of eve
~ faithful brother which 1t left behind
And this Lore. my brethren, is the chief
Jewel of our Order. 1t is the principal
weapon used in our moral warfare. Our
Institution is laid in Love, it lies there
fore at the foundation. 1t forms the cor
ner-stone, builds the editice, rears the
towering arch, and binds the whole Ten
pie together. But We were speaking of