Smyrna times., 1858-01-07
To the Editor of tie Smyrna Times:

DEAR SIR:-Being strongly tinctured will
that spirit of protest which, in the annals o
the American people, seems to be a constitu
tioEal development, and also possessing enough
of that moral courage which, under conscious
ness OF injury, dare avow its sentiments though
1t be against the pageantry of a Throne, l have
sought the medium of your liberal columns to
define a position which, probably, possesses
quite as much of sterling principle as some OF
the assumptions of the garnished upstartisms Of
our modern Smyrna. | have been waiting
anxiously for some of your contributors to take
up the gauntlet against its overgrown NaEoJ-
ism, who, having forgotten the pit from whence
they were dug, have arrogated unto themselves
to he something. But sentiments, as well as
acts only pass current among candid men,
when they reach the full standard of Justice and
truth, while their avowals have revealed
plague spot in their q" soul of honor" which de.
nanls an application of the knife to sever its
cancerous Iigaments from legitimate principle
of which it claims to be part. This is an age
OF advancement, at least in one great obga-
tory duty of life, to wit: The amelioration OF
our ielIow.mah. The sentiment of u universal
brotherhood is widening and deepening, and
the day is fast approaching when the last YES
ri5e Of cast shall have sunk into OBJ ivion. We
do not mean that the sanctuary of the hearth
stone will be thrown open to the eye of the
stranger,-but we do mean that q man UiH be a
nan, though his name be lazarus! 1t may
seem foreign to the object of this article to
speak of these points here. but they. have
direct bearing upon the domineering spirit and
swelling Importance with which their assertions
are made, and designs avowed to which we
moro directly refer. The hypocritcal seri; u.s.
ness with which their so-called wrongs are de-
bated,-the perfect callousness with which they
would consign the largest and by far the most
useful portion of our community TO life but
llt:le better than servitude, is matter of as.
toniShment,- more so, since some of them
stand connected with associations which teach
better things as the basis of their creed The |
presumption with which they have cast mquali. |
ned reflections upon the whole body of mechan- !
les, for imPudence can scarcely be equalled.-
while, with arrogance which marks the usur- |
per and tyrant, they have sought to cast susp-
clon and dlstlu ust around working men in gene
raj, who, for want OF honest principle, need the |
Viglant eye Of an Overseer 20 drive them to a |
just performance of the duties while the |
Ten-llour System is denounced as one Of rob-
berry against capitalists aud employers in gene
raj. .a-
| am neither an educated man, nor one OF
any remarkable intellectual callbre, but am u |
man as well as mechanic. And feel it my
duty. under the present aggravated causes, to de.
fCnd my interest and my vocation. And though |
but half armed dare leap into the breach and |
with the "bludgeon ofmy own clumsy thoughts
meet the vandal invasion of our Just rights, |
and the murderous attack upon our private
character as sacred as that Of these reputed
posscssors of MUCH money. II is not necessary,
in this article, to say anything more than
merely 10 NOTICE the points of the "cGuSeaS
JeHimI," us their present operations are con.
object is simply to let these self-constiIuted
Umplres over private character and the
province of wOrkingmen's rights to kmoW that
" it is the mind that makes the man." and that
we are strongly tinctured with the unpardona.
BILE sin of thinking for ourselves. While we
conceed however that some, men like the strut
ting lackdaw that pinned himself with pea.
cocks feathers, when compared with the gori-
GUS original, make but a wretehed figure. 1t is
a bad thing, gentlemen, to ape the philanthro.
pist unless the scheme OF ambition has enough
Of religion and humanity to commend it. Have
q care how you kindle fires for others hurt lest
in their affinity for nfameable material they
fasten on your august, persons and retribulion
do her perfect work. H'.i:. -...s MUTIus.