American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1858-07-15
LANCASTER, OHIO, THURSDAY MORNING, JULY Is, 1855

Taylor. From thirteen original States we have
grown TO thrty-two, with territory sufficient
to make as many more. The heritage trans.
milted to US BY our fathers is still ours, ours
to enjoy and ours to transmit. Peace, ,quietude,
and comfort lie waiting at our doors; the ON.
ems of the future are auspcious, the past is all
glorous,the present al. refined; Our soil is pro-
hhc, our harvests abundant, our people happy,
prosperous and contented; our banners float
on every breeze, wave Ger every ocean, bask
in every cline. AT home our Republican in
stitutionS are honored, abroad respected and
reveTed. Out fathers and mothers are in the
possession OF all the endearing realities of life
our brothers and our sisters, happy in the par
ticlpation oftheir jov. Our rivers are broad,
oul waters pure, our mineral wealth inexhaus-
table, our armies invincible, our Statesmen
pre- eminent, orr heroes unrivalled, our halls of
art unequalled, our temples of Learning unsur
passed. Well may it be said Of our native
land, "noble, proud American" thine was the
halowed voice that first taught liberty to man;
thine the potent arm that broke the tyrants
spell; thine the deep philosophy that robbed
the tightening OF its terTors; thine the unflinch-
ing patriotism that earth could not seduce.
But, fellow citizens, Notwithstanding our
unrvalled prosperity, Notwithstanding we pos
seSs the fareSt land the sun ever shown upOn;
we haveyet many duties TO perform. II we wo'd
transmit TO posterity the heritage we possess
untarnished, unshorn of its beauties and its
blessings; I'VE would have the sun of our
national glory dazzle the world, the myraids of
our wealth out number the sands and the flag
OF our country count a thousand stars, that
heritage must be watched with Jealous eye,
must be guarded with avigorous arm. As
the tlre now burning brightly, now Gilfusing
warmth and comfort all around, would die
out unless supplied with fuel-so the FIRE Of
liberty now blazing to the empyrean will be
shorn Of its halowing beams, unless replenish-
ed by our energies, our zeal and our devotion.
AS the sun now rejoicing in the heavens
would wane away in the darkness Of eternal
night,uneSS supplied by Gods own hand from
lights native fount, SO the sun of freedom will
fade away unless supplied by our patriotism.-
Our wealth may vanish, ourvrtues grow less,
our devotion weaken, our patriotism pass away,
our people may become corrupt, our liberty
sink into despotiSm. OF this truth, the past
looms up solemn, awful monitor. To guard
against these things, we must fan the emberS
OF virtue to fame, and oppose the insulting
strides OF vice in whatever shape, in whatever
| form; we must frown down partizan demagog.
ues, purge the ballot box of its corruptions,
battle zealousiy for principles, cast aside the
cup OF luxury, love money less and virtue
more.
ed and worShipped God in truth; her portion
was abundance, her bread peace, her music as
the spheres, her ruler Judge and executioner,
an infinite God, her offer was immortality, her
| hope eternal bliss. Her virtues pass away, cor
ruption, degradation and misery takes their
place; she nails her saviour to the cross, she
is led captive by the Romans and her people
wander outcasts and vagabondS among the ma
tons of the earth, loathed, scorned, diSpised
and rejected by their fellow men. Let us,
| fellow citizens, be admonished by her fate.
Athens once was free, once reveled in the
sunlight of liberty. where, then, a Socrates
lived and taught and died; where, then, a De-
mosthenes held thousands spell bound by his
eloquence; where, then, a "Plato taught, a
Vido painted and Homer sung;' where, then,
all was peace, plenty, justice and comfort:
where, then, art, science and literature, were
cherished and 'nurtured; ignorance, bigotry,
vice, superstition and depravity now loom up
in dark emblnzonry their horrid fronts. The
polished Greek has passed away; the uncouth
barbarian arisen in his stead. Athens with
her halls of Art, her temples of learning her
sacred Sepulchres, her Storied brave is now in
suited by the obscene deeds OF the rude, ener-
vate and unchristian Turk. Her monuments
OF art are crumblng into dust, the tombs of her
| heroes trampled under foot Carthage with
her hundred fleets, Rome with her eloquence
and wealth, Palmyra with her iron gates, We
nice with her hundred isles have followed in
her foot steps. The wrecks of their liberty,
cast out by factions boiSterous surge, upon
the rude shores of time, are now the only rem
nantS of their glory. These, with the spirit
of their mighty dead, whose deeds of glory
have alone survived to fame, admonish us to
he virtious, admonish MS to guard welIthe tree
of our liberty, watch it, nouriSh it and prune
| il OF eXcrescent branches ..
History, that reverend chronicler of the
grave and only true criterion of the future, tells
us on its every page, that unless we kneel less
devoutly at mammons shrine, casting from uI
the poisoned cup of luxury, we too must ex-
pect to follow in their footsteps, we too must
expect to look back from eternity upon the
sinking wreck Of our own noble States. From
the silenced halls of death. comes a voice from
our fathers, warning us 10 be vrtuons. From
the far off realms Of bliss, all radiant with i'm
mortality comes the spirit Of our Washington,
and in the solemn accents OF eternity, warns
us to be virtuous. Will we profit by the
warning,