Freeman's champion., 1858-06-17

- NhNi ihSNiASSphuiI NbN"bA'Sl ~
sistless energy. Our pride has been
in--work. Our demonstration has |
boen-work. Oar true symbols are
the ak, the plow-share, the steam
engine. We have msgniied labor.
Psalms of thanksgiving have celebra-
ted its triumphs, and raptures of i'm
agination have eulogized its wonders.
It has been garlanded and crowned
Labor, as Gods greatest earthly law
labor, as a sacrament of Providence
labor, as the strength, joy and glory
Rof a genuine and noble manhood la
Dor, as the broadest and maturest ex-
ponent Of character in its relations to
the material universe labor, as re-
warded in itself and enjoyed in its re-
suits; the just, philosophic, COM
manding idea of labor as the regenera-
tive instrument of outward life, has
been set forth in the history Of our
civilization as it was never before ex-
hibited. Did not the world need such
a spectacle? Gould any display Of
wisdom, could any pageantry Of gor-
geousness, could any captivation OF
the senses and fancy equal this in the
depth Of its interest, in its impress
i've Importance Nowhere else has
labor vindicated its intrinsic value
on SO vast q scale, in such transcend
ent connections, with such significant
fruits. Nowhere else has it reached
the maximum of its utility, and
adorned itself with so much of the
beauty Of a spiritual sentiment
Nowhere else has it answered the Di-
vine idea of the institution. Look
abroad over the earth and mark its
wasted form, its haggard features, its
soulless eyes, its wasted hands. In
the shadow Of vine-hills it pines and
wseps, nor does the empurpling bloom
or the clustering fullness bring it joy
and hope. Amidst the din of facto-
ries, where the wall Of discomfort and
sorrow is silenced by the noise of
/ machinery, it cries to God from out
its bursting heart and asks for rest.
r In large sections Of the world labor
is mans institution, not Gods. To
see the condition of the laborer, you
would never suppose that the blood
of Christ had redeemed this earth and
converted the curse of toll into a
blessing, Sin planted thorns all over
the earth, but Christ plucked them
from the soil and bound them on his
brow, that hencefolth man might
know his Deliverer from the cruel
bondage Of drudgery. But the tyr
amy of selfshneSs, the hard exact
ions of capital, the Moloch of money,
will not let the poor laborer have the
| benefit of the Saviour's crown Of
thorns. Thanks to the spirit of
Christianity, there is here a more
hopeful state OF things Providence
retained its propfietorship in, at least
one hemisphere of the globe, and,
=. before kings, barons, monopolies
could cover it over with title,deeds
and mortgages, the way was opened
for the people, aliens everywhere on
their native soil, to claim it as their
property. Labor was honored. The
, man who sowcd the seed reaped the
|, harvest, and the humblest hand that
planted fig-tree and vine, was en-
, titled to rest in the cool shadow and
eat of the refreshing fruit. This SER
= vice, then, we have rendered to hu-
manity, viz, we have shown ourselves
to be nation Of working people,
obeying the law of labor as a Divine
edict, and by that obedience, raising
ourselves to state of unprecedented
power and prosperity. In this re-
spect we have made an original ap-
+ peal to the heart Of mankind. Amer
lean civilization has restored faith in
the Christian doctrine Of labor to
the mind of the world, and by its
earnest assertion Of this cardinal
, truth, by the vastness Of the thea r,
, on which it has vindicated its su-
I prsmo earthly Importance, a moral
and social influence has been exerted
{ that no statistics can compute, no
craftsmanship measure. Across the
Atlantic, the echoes Of the American
voice, proclaiming this great senti-
ment Of human brotherhood and
Christian sympathy, has been heard,
! and new era Of thought and effort
has been introduced. A literature Of
, labor has been written; and among
/ its works, speaking to the soul ol
England, what power to penetrate,
/ what startling delineations, what dra-
i malio strength abound in Alton,
/ Locke and Shirley What mighty
: utterance in the poetry Of Hood, Mrs,
Browning, Barton and Massey i
7. What force Of religious thought in