The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-11-12
The Lessons of Violence.


Iraught with half as much danger to liber-
ty as the growing spirit of mobocracy and
!awlessness in the land. Where the ma
jority of the people make the laws, that |
and in 4 still greater degree, q !
minority, who will Set those laws at def |
ance, are the greatest enemies the conmu- |,
nifty can have. Anarchy, the worst of all |
tyrannies, must be the speedy result in all
such communities to end in the domi-
nance of single despo., who can enforce
his arbitrary DEGREES at the point of the
bayonet.
We have been led into this train Of re-
fection by reading the following extract of
a lecture recently delivered at Columbus,
Miss, by DR.. James A. Lyon, OF that city:
1t cannot have escaped the serious and
rejecting observer Of the signs of the times
that the tendency of things for the last
few years has been calculated to awaken
the well-grounded fears and to excite the
painful apprehensions of every patriotic
citizen. 1t would seem that mobocracy
and lawlessness are becoming the order of
the day throughout the entire length and
breadth of our country! As illustrations
of this fe:,rtul and rapid tendency would
instance the frequency with which the
laws OF the United States have been openly
trampled under foot in New England, the
honored cradle of liberty; the rebellion in
! Kansas. so destructive of life, property. and
! good morals: the numerous viglant mobs
/ fearful and terrible in their lawiess ten
denotes, that have disgraced many of our
large cities and towns; the tilbusterlng
expeditions along our Southern and West
err borders and the general disposition to
trample upon law and Sc: its officers at de-
tiance everywhere And the most alarm
! ing of all i the cowardly disposition OF
many OF the law-abiding and order loving
part OF the COMMUNICATIVE constitute
for the most part ii large ma jority, il they
did but know ito wink AT or 10 shrink
from opposing and boldly dcnouucing such
fearful and destructive tendencies TO iuevi-
table ruin have lived long enough, and
my experience has been such, as 10 con
vince me that two or three dozen OF reck
! less wicked men can make the impression
in a community OF a. many thousand that
thar opinion Is puL.,c api,..o.s The sober.
| quiet, substantial part OF our community
are for the most part modest and shrink
/ ing-tg1 shrinking for the public good
! They have a great aversion 10 coming into
[ collision with any railing OPPOSITION
/ They are quiet and silent. and their voice
! Is not heard nor their arm raised IN anita
Gouism; and hence they are enormously
I thought 10 acqu:e>ce with the noisy In
deed, they themselves do not know their
: own strength: whereas. on the contrary.
( the lawless and reckless few make a great
( cutlery. from the fact that wlckcdnes. Is Il
very active virus in the bosom of man, and
nerves HIM with uuwonted energy.
This spirit OF lawlessness. if it existed
only among the VIGOROUSLY wicked and
abandoned, would be less dangerous than
il IS, IL view Q: the startling fact tina: il
peryadcs large masses and is supported
by able leaders, who are entirely honest
and conscientious in the business Minis
tiers of the gospel, and large bodies Of their
misguided followers, honestly and relig-
ously believe that they are doing God :
service in openly setting At defiance the
laws OF their country, and even rasOvting
TO force - defeat their execution
John Brown by these rcligionis,s, is held
to be 3. martyr. and prayers are iugv,,ed in
his behalf as such n their churches.
Now, in the language ofa cotemPora
~, what greater cure can bctali a co,.i.
Try than - have il infected With colscicu
! t:ous mu-de-crs, hatchers Of treason, il.
cendia.;es and assas=ius? Some O! III
Eastern and Northwestern States are over
run with such men. They would su.lc
.nartyrdon. or submit with holy resigaa
ton to any penalty incurred bytAeir acts
To expect such men to submit 10 law, o
to expostulate with them IN the hope o
convicting them Of error, would be til
height Of folly. They acknowledge onl
the tehcsts Of higher Law, and for ii
Interpretation look 10 the oracle of thei
own disordered mind. The decrces ,
conscience, in their views are infai.ible.-
> To heed mere legal obligations, is 10 ''coi
. fer with flesh and blood Among tn
:, adherents Of the MCs!efn faith, and
! almost all pagan communities, are 10 |
" found still more remarkable examples
l this blind fanatic!sm-the monstrous on
~ growth of a spurious religion, under II
- influence Of which the pages of history,
> all times have been blackened with dec
Of inconceivable atrocity. We may we
> cxclailn, as poor humanity has often Ii;
- occasion to do before, Oh, Religion, VIII
IL crimes have been perpetrated in II
- name
= What hope IS there for the perpetuity
- our free institutions il such spirit is
:" lowed to 90 nchecked--unsubdued :?
~ Anarchy must inevitably be the result
then will follow long scenes of civil stri
X at the contemplation of which the hea
- siciens, and in the end VIII come a d
> potism-the strong power of one man
who, Ike the autocrat Of all the Russi
" will enforce his individual DEGREES at t
point Of the bayonet. Such has been I
end OF all free governments on car.h-su
~ Will be the speedy end of this, unless IN
,ss soon shall learn that the higher law
70 ton, that each individual man may +
&c only speak but act for himself, whether
~ own notions are consistent with or in c
regard of legal enactments and the rigl
L., of his fellow man. is an aboninablc here
oil az "'.i "'''' Pt'''p' VI soou
M der, enlightened conscience, and right
-, yernment
J., A FARcE.-A call appears in anott
in column of to-days paper for cour
, a convention Of the national or Do
icy las democrats Of this county, to appo
I delegates tC Ike Cooks State Convent
let at Springfield in January to send DO,
ro- delegation to Charleston This call p
ars yides for some 60 delegates How tn,