New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-07-08

: H., whom II gss attempted 70 make tie
y, ntoieotien TO society against ntegPt'aooe' eno
I'll tbe evil which follow IN It's tram 'ne,e ~ .nep
u' s., ocredress and mejesty IN tne law tdat II must
.5i,. nd high up above al such extreme echemes
% sch has been the fate Of laws tnat were devised
II Enacted ar the public good They have never
"or carried out: while other laws. that were dis
rrce and shame 20 the Christianity Of the age, never
found lack of men in authority VINO wsu!d enforce
IN. NJ even against all coDravening higher law and 10
out,ase Of every sentiment of humanity. When, Ia
1870 law was passed striking at the heart of ind.
yiduaI liberty and security; destroying most sacred
safee yards Of personal rights; putting it in the power
Of any unpriIcipled claimant to swear away mans
double fee for convction-a law that was a6h0rrent
10 Misunderstanding to any educated IDEA
of justce-that carried untold alarm, suffering,
and distress among tens OF thousands OF poor ana de-
fenceless creatures when that law was passed public
meetings were called, committees were appointed.
and that was to be enforced. Nay, hundreds OF pull.
pits Illuminated against the agitation which 1t naturally
created in the minds Of good men and true, and as
serted the doctrine that there is no law above the
Constitution and that the Fugitive Slave bill was to
be obey ed notwithstanding the higher law Hun
dreds Of pupts in New-York durlag that excitement
adopted tacitly consented to the heresy that the
fear of God NUT give way to the fear OF men
What ia to be said of the moral character OF the
municipal government for the past ten years! Who
can sufficiently characterize it as to neglect OF duty to
malfeasance, 10 bribery and corruption, to the most
systematic robbery to the prosti ution of law and
government for the protection OF iniquity!
What is to be the effect Of this prevailing state of
things? What is to be its effect upon the moral
character of the young, who are growing up in the
midst of such Influences? Our banks, our insurance
companies, our merchants are seeking as with a
lighted candle tor young men whom they can trust
and not being able to find Them they attemptto secure
themselves against fraud by heaping up bonds and by
setting vigaDt watch, and by taking every precauton
against false entries and forged checks. But all this
keeneyed vigilance will fail 1t cannot make up for
locE nt and
are watched. Young men must not need to be watched
yet to this end they must be Trustworthy But what
do we see I! We mercantile men, their employers,
going in a great multitude into Castle Garden, and
there publicly and before all the world, denying the
doctrine that the will Of God Is superior to the 10 vs. OF
men, and that reverence for the higher law must
give way before an infamous enactment OF
the United States Congress- We see the very mer.
chants who are going about hunting for young men OF
moral principle setting their faces right against moral
principle. We them using all their power and 10.
huepce-with the insane idea that they are thus con-
tributpg their nterests-to undermine honesty and
virtue in the community by putting honesty and man
illness below par and giving the premium to successful
sefshLess which they thus strive to make if not hon
orable at least respectable. But all this far from
contributing to her interests, lowers the tone OF the
public conscience, takes away the turpitude OF ma
ora SINS holds out brilliant promises for selhshnes5
and corrupiiOn and as consequence in its effect
upon individual men, and particularly the young, will
make them every day more difficult to be trusted and
commerce aud more insecure 1t Is the hight OF
folly merchant TO DENY or ignore the nlgher AW
for it is alone the basis of for the higher
law that commerce stand. Lower law doctrine
should be accounted heresy not only in the church
but in the countiDg.roOm.
The speaker, in tIacog some other causes of the
prevailing corruption, alluded TO the influx Of foreign
and INBRED population; to the fact that the mur cipa
affairs Of New-YOrk have not been conducted by its
citizens for the good of the city, but in large degree
by the National Government in the interest Of party;
and to the fact of separation between the top and
bottom Of society-separating the wealthy from the
poorer classes, the virtuous from the lOw.lived, by
which our citizens made to compose not one COM
munity but two and by which the good influences Of
the better class not exerted upon or felt by the
lower.
His concluding remarks were on the Remedy. We
must not begin, he said by reenacting new laws:
That will do but little until men found who will
execute the laws. The remedy is to go back OF this,
and must consist in better education of the people.
They must be elevated sand to this end the Gospel
must be preached. There heather about us
10 be preached to, and l, said he, preach
to them without going off this platform. The
Gospel is the remedy, and it must be preached in
the pulpit in the store, in the streets-every-
where. Every Christian is commissioned
preacher, ana he should go forth on his mission
Men must be taught that Christianity does not mean
mere doctrine, but that it also includes practice The
philosophy but rs a system OF truths for prachcal
life and conduct not simply in men as individuals but
also in men az communities and nations. 1t is the
duty of every Christian man, as good CITIZEN TO be
watchfu Ct the welfare of his country, and OF its
growth not only in commercial prosperity but also
moral purity.