Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-08-26
I. COM ID D MICA TON s..
-.:s$ For: the Advertiser. = 5, ;. i
PIC MIC AT THE DIVISIONsACADEMY ON THE
4. 80 s=s.s.s 9th JULY 1857:

Justice TO an OccaSloIi, HulCu aAorueu suCu ail'
pie scope for the enjoyment Of the people, as
this cordial; harmonious and happy meeting
After long, drought, the earth had just been
gladdened and the fields refreshed by. plenteous
showers. The air had been rendered more bra
cling to the body and nerves, and the brighten
ing prospects of bountiful crops had made the
hearts Of the citizens merry, joyous and elate
with cheering hope.
Nearly the whole neighborhood, both male
and female, had met together at an early hour,
and had betaken themselves to the necessary
preparations for the accommodation of their
4 guests. BY twelve O'Clock, an nassemblage, large
for the state Of the weather, hade;come out to
greet one another, and to discuss sssuch whole
some topics as might either improve the minds
and hearts, or increase the good cheer of friends.
Many very beautiful and lovely women also
sparklcd like gems amid the. throng of fathers
and mothers grave, and handsome, accomplished,
and dashing gallants. $As cloudy as was the
aspect above US, believe, that there was not a
single article nor man nor a woman wanting
to make our satisfaction complete.
About twelve o'clock, JOSEPH ABNEY, Esq,
who had been requested, by the Committee OF
Arrangements, to address the people, was intro
duced to the audience by Mr.. KNIGHT, and filled
up the interval between that time and dinner,
with grqre, serious, and lQgical discourse on the
political condition Of dts eoun'y,-its greatness,
and lis destiny. iis..Ss:$,
In his remarks, which were characterized, by
force, earnestness, and: on intrepid directness
and frankness, he paid mo aattering tribute to
the imaginations of the too hopeful and SAN
gune, but presented facts and principles, intheir
naked reality as they daily occur, and are de de-
veloped in our midst. IS F.. 80.
The power, and wealth, and glory Of t this
government and people could not be lpasnified
by language. They excel even now, the bright
est dreams Of our illlstrous and patriotic. an
cestors% But truth demands the avowal from
our lips, that all the present tendencies of the
nation, betoken change, contentious and the
sternest trials of f5humai endurance and manly
fortitude Il ,tisrn fsnust bs met and van
Observation-Disclosures of the Constitution must be
rebuked and corrected-the proclivity of the
commonwealth to anarchy on the one hand, and
to despotsm on the other must be arrested and
stayed-and the edge of the blade should be as
keen to smte the demagogue and agrarian, as
the arstocrat, monopolist, and despot. The
wild and lawless factions that assal our liberties
must be crushed out and subdued-ianaticsm
engendered by ignorance, false religion, false
morality, and false security, must be allayed,
and tempered, and eradicatcd, by educating the
great body Of the people, and by enlightenins
their understandings with true knowledge and
wisdom; and, a thorough and radical reform
must be instituted and carried out every where,
or we are nation doomed to behold the fairest
temple ever erected to the freedom of mankind:
despoiled Of her images and sacred symbols and
desecrated by ruthless gothic nds. The
United States is now the only, the last hope Of
genuine liberty among men, and oh, God let
not the rashness and selfishness of some, and
the cruel Indifference of others permit so bright
and so lovely vision to be disSipated in its earli-
est dawn. Let not the shrine Of the Goddess
of this Republic, whose eifulgent image is cmbla-
zoncd upon all our cnsigns be polluted by her
own devout worshippers. But rather let every
man consider himself one Of the pillars of the
State, let him consider it his religious duty to
uphold and defend the laws and the Constitution
of the land, to disseminate tue principles Of gov
ernment, for which his fathers rebecd and
struggled and bled, to scatter abroad the lights
of learning and philosophy, so that every citi-
zen may read his rights, and be prepared to re-
pei and conlound the knave or the trading poll
tcian, that would cheat him Of his birth-right /;
and above all, let every one be firm in the ad-
vocacy of truth, and fixed and unllinchmg in
the discharge OF his duty to himself to his fami-
ly and his fellow man, and we may then expect
to realize our anticipations of the fame and long
life of the Republic, for our liberties will be as
eternal as the everlasting fruits Of knowledge,
or as the perpetual rock that breasts the oceans
direst rage.
Tie Speaker proceeded. All good citizens of
this land have duty to fulfil, requiring labor,
consistency, pcrtinacty, and courage 1t is first,
to instruct themselves, and properly train their
own minds for teachers, and tLen to instruct
tie people around them and to teach them, SO
that they may not only be learned, ina literary
sense, but that they may be truly informed as
to our Republican system OF government, as to
the principles upon which its action is based
and as to the true end and aim of all free and
Wholesome governments. l have long Lecn con-
yinced, can read it Us the fatof Omnipotence
that there is no hope for this great nation unless
the voters be instructed-wcll informed as to
the objects, for which they are called upon to
exercise the right Of suffrage. Where the peo-
pic arc the rulers, how in the name Of God
can the Government be wise and beneficient
unless they-the lawmakers have intelligence
wisdom and virtue. Can good come out of evil =!
Can fire be struck from al icicle, or can wan,
ton be the representative and embodiment o1
chastity and decorum? If none of these things
can be, then, an ignorant people can never enjoy
prosperous and salutary Republican system in
which they themselves enact the laws
Those splendid republics Of Greece and Rome
which we read of with thrilling delight partooL