The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-06-06

Aaron's rod that budded. In it are the
tables of the covenants, old and new;
over it the Chorubim of glory with out.
spread wings. Read and believe; love
and obey; and it shall be the day.star of
your hopes and the pavilion of your
peace. And now, Gentlemen, let me
add-with the Bible for your guide,
and woman's prayer for your success,
hope beams over you in the light Of hal
lowed prophecy, and the future, radiant
with the lustre ofyour destiny, bids you
welcome to your triumphs.
RESPONSE BY BISHOP ANDREW.
In the name and behalf of the An
drew Division Of the Sons of Temper.
ance, l receive the precious gift which
you have just presented to us from the
ladies of Oxford, and permit me to say
that to me there seems to have been o
great deal of appropriateness in the
proceedings Of this day. The Sons of
temperance are engaged in most
important conflict. We wage deadly
war against one of the most formidable
enemies of our race; an enemy whose
march is marked with ruin and death;
one who breathes his blighting curse on
the greenness Of youth and the shrivel-
led decrepitude of age: and buries in
the grave of degradation and ruin the
man of soaring intellect and the untut-
ored child of poverty and ignorance.
But how numerous and great soever
the evils which intemperanco entails
upon man, it is on woman as wife, as
mother, as sister, as daughter, that it's
evils are most dark and fearful and
heart crushing. Oh at this very hour
while l speak, from how many habita-
tions goes up the groan of sorrow or the
wall of heart-broken anguish for hus-
band ruined and damned; for a father
from whom intemperance has stolen all
of tenderness and kindness, and love,
which once shone forth in the sweet
tones of patcrnal love. Upon woman,
then, the weight of this curse has fallen
most heavily. Is it any wonder that
her feelings; her heart, and her irau-
ence, should rally round the gather
ing hosts who are embodied for her de-
liverance and protection? and that she
shonld ask what can apon,a,, do aid
tMs cause? This morning from fair
hands VIC have received the beautiful
and hopc.inspiring banner which now
waves over us; and wo have pledged
ourselves that we will never dishonor it.
Long, very long, shall it wave over US,
and as its glorious motto meets our eve,
we will nerve ourselves afresh for the
conflict, andin battles fiercest, darkest.
hour, we'll shout "hope for the world.
the monster dies" Is there q Son Of
Temperance here who docs not look to
our-rallying signal, and reaffirm the
VOWS made in the Division room?
But it is not enough there waves the
symbol of our Order; inscribed on that
beautiful banner we read our battle-sig-
nal, but where are our arms? From
what arsenal shall we draw our weap.
ons! What say our wives, and moth
ers, and sisters, and daughters? The
answer is before us: I hold it in my
hand. They hove directed us to tho
only source of inexhaustible, unanswer-
able, authoritative argument on this
great subject. And how appropriate is
that precious boon should come from
woman's hands. The Bible Is empbat.
ically the book of woman's faith, and
hope, and love: yea, it is the great, the
only authoritative charter Of her rights.
Blot out this holy book from the earth,
and she is weak, powerless, de-
tenceless slave. The light of it's blessed
truths has redeemed and elevated her
in this world, and showed her the glori-
GUS pathway to heaven, tho homo of
God. Well, therefore, may woman love
the book of God, and say to US, as she
has done just now, take this book and
triumph byit. And is not this the very
means by which we expect success?
The Bible is but the revelation, the H.
lustration Of the loftiest manifestation of
Gods bcnovlence, the world ever wit
messed. Bonaparte is said to have re-
marked to one of his marshals during
his captivity; "Jesus Christ was not