Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1855-07-04
TFor the Chronicle
AGITATI0N-NO. II.

We believe that oppression and every
other form of wickedness in the earth
shall cease,-that "every plant which
our Heavenly Father hath not planted
shall be rooted up" but we believe
that this can only be accomplished by de-
throning that principle of SeLfsAness,
which reigns in the human heart, and
establishing in its stead that principle of
BeneUOlence which pervades the Gospel,
which fills the bosom of its divine Au-
thor. 1t is not owing to the want of a
clear perception OF the atrocious nature
and lamentable effects of Slavery, that
so many are found who are willing, un
der various pretences, to sustain it it is
owing to the want of strong moral prin-
ciple. The strange proceedings of our
American Congress for the last few years
fnrnish abundant evidence Of this. The
Fugitive Slave Act" with all its afro
cities, was supported by men who had
formerly advocated, with eloquence and
apparent sincerity, the cause of Human
Freedom who, in their speeches. had
presented such accurate pictures of Slave
ry as to prove that they possessed a clear
and thorough understanding of its nu-
merous and appalling enormities. From
a speech, or essay, of one of them, an
extract, full of truth and pathos, found
its way into one of our school books
Southern men could not endure that Sc.
we're exposure of their deep depravity !;
and they threatened to exclude the
hook from their schools. And yet lis
author, with many others equally patri-
otic, assisted to pass the Fugitive Slave
Bill. Modern Patriotism is not Christi
anity-it can never supply its place
Had these men been governed by the
pure principles of the Gospel, no imagi-
nary, or real danger of dissolution of
the Union, no hope of personal elevation,
no dread of the loss of wealth, or fame,
or southern favor, could ever have indu-
ced them to do what they knew to be
morally wrOng,--what they knew must
greatly augment the horrors of that sys-
TEN which they had so eloquently de-
nounced.
The passage of the "Kansas Nebraska
Bill' must be ascribed to the same want
of moral power in men of strong intellect
and extensive snowledge,-men fully
aware of the numberless crimes and mis-
cries that flow from the institution OF
Slavery,-aware of the fearful conse-
quences of its extension to those terrific.
ries. Had there been none to support
that measure but infatuated southern
men, who refuse to acknowledge, or
even to see that the existence of slavery
in their states is dire calamity to them
selves, it could not have succeeded. 1t
must be supported by northern men,
who had long been accustomed to regard
slavery as great moral and political
evil,-as the direst curse that had ever
fallen upon their country. And they
did support it; and we are beginning to
see some OF its results in the brutal out
RACES that are constantly occurring in
the territory of Kansas. 1t was not be-
cause they lacked intelligence,--not be.
cause they did not clearly perceive the
nature and design and probable conse-
quences Of this measure, that they sup
ported it; it was because they lacked
that strength of moral principle, posses
sed only by those who have imbibed the
spirit of the Gospel. 1t was mean, con-
temptable, hard. hearted ,SeLfsAness, the
governing principle of irreligious men,
that perpetrated this great wickedness.
S. B.