The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1859-12-23

itself has become out.spOkeu and determined
upon this subject. II those who profess to
be tho children Of God. and tho friends Of
his poor, will hold their peace, no will cause
the stones to cry out, or mako tho morally
insane preachers OF righteousness. How
many persons in tfls nation, had tho least
suspicion. six months ago, that thcro was
such man. in these Cuitcd States, as John
Brown; Probably not ono among thousands.
Yet II appears from the statements of his
"lc, that he had been planning some such
effort rs he rccCntly made at liarpors Ferry,
during twenty years. Aud vino can tell.
how many John Browns n Divine Hand may
now hlvu in course nf training. and who
shall, Gro long, appear in some unexpected
time and place. to preach CONSERVATION to
those who oprrcss their fellow mon John
Grown has finished his career upon the
gaIlows but who has been made afraid by
his punishment Nobody except sIaychod.
crs and their allies. Those who ato deter.
mined to 1.-Two upon tho uurcQuitcd toll of
slaves. arc made terribly afroid but those
Hho arc laborirg and praying that tho
oppressed may 90 FREQ, are greatly quick.
cncd and encouraged Agitation will con.
tinHo Slavery has exhibited its weakness
and its Cowardicc as il never did before, and
causes which arc now operating against it
will continue t. grow moro extensive aud
powerful, until American Slavery shall como
to an cnd. The fate of John Brown proves
to u.s. if We need any proof. TINT in the cs.
timation Of SHAREHOLDERS. it is no crime Ia
steal men from Africa, to cxcito insurrcc-
ton in Central America. aud p'undcr aud
destroy the citizens of Kansas; bu. to attempt
/ to cmaRcipatc tho victims of southern op-
preston, deserves Il speedy death. Surely
freedom and slavery have no fellowship.
One or tho other must cease to be- Which
shall DO victor,is already decided. Freedom
rests upon the basis OF truth, and must pro-
vail Slavery stands upon the sands Of
iaIsehood, and the winds arc already blow.
ing. and the floods arc rising, which will
eventually accomplish its overthrow. Thon.
FoCRrlLi-lhC great questions for the
American people to decide arc these: shall
slavery DO dono away by pcacablo means,
through tho influence of truth lOvo and per-
suaalon; or shall it como to an eud by
violence and tho sword : Between these
two qncstione, there is no room for another.
| There arc those who say, "lGt it be done by
| ViUlGnCo. Tho slave has right to bis lib
city; lot tho friends of humanity arm then
at once and proclaim liberty to tho captive,
~ "h"tr~"r h"aNrd of sufiarinp and of
| blood. With tho sentiments Of such, ior
one, have no sympathy. Thcro arc evils
greater than war; but war is always q fear.
iul scourgn, and has not one inviting Tea.
turc. A war for tho abolition of American
Slavery, would bo domestic war. which is
tho most terrible form of this terrible OWL ;
1t would probably DO Il protracted war. and
would result in the destruction of immense
numbers OF both Bond and FREQ. Bat the
Immoral influences of war arc worso tn an its
physical OWLS. Doubtless soldiers and
officers are sometimes holy mon, and carry Il
liHiGg pie:y into tho camp and field But
war on the whole. begcts III nations u spirit
entholy opposed to virtue and rclgioD.-
Probably our own country did not wholly
recover from the immoral and irreligious
influences of tho war of tho Revolution. in
quarter OF century; and | believe it
would DO botter tor our country aud the
world. that tho emancipation of the slave
| should DO deferred fifty years, Gnd be ac.
c0tnpIlshcd by pcaceabio means, than that it
should taEo place at once by the power of
the sword. Truth and love arc far more
| mighty than muskcts and cannon, aud
iuily believe that tho time has not yet gone
by,whcn these peacclbIo and heavenly wuar,
eL.+tn
citadel OF the OpprCssor, and the house of
bondage of the oppressed.
Then, to speak particularly of our own
duties, in this matter; il is not our duty to
! become monomauiacs upon this subject. and
act us though there woro no other owl in
our country besides slavery. Undoubtedly
that is tho greatest evil in this nation, but
1t is not tho only one.
Nor il nnCascory tn n,ureoI,oe
against the Bible, tho church. the ministry,
and religious institutions. Tho Bible We
know, is Gods word il is everlasting truth,
and is the medium of the richest blessings
we enjoy. Religious Institutions are the off
shoots OF the scriptures, and VIC cannot do
without them. 1t is still our duty to oppose
that which is essentially wrong in any
church, in any benevolent society, in any
institution, in any man. There is q broad
distinction between an indiscriminato de-
nunciatiOn of institutions which wo must
have, and rational, vigorous opposition to
men aud societies which bayo become per-
verts from tho truth.
Nor again is it necessary for US to 90
South to attempt to excite instructions
among slaves. or cnticc them from their
masters. Such things have been tried. but
WIN small success and in reality thoy only
render tho sorvico of tho bondman moro
severe, and his lot more hopeless. Thomp-
son, Burr, Work, Torrcy, Chaplin and
others, who have attempted to eEtico slaves
from their masters, have found that it did
not pay, tho evil is greater than tho goOd.-
OF tho numerous articles which have read,
concerning tho HarPor's Ferry aifray, nearly
all condemn the policy of Capt. Brown and
his coadjutors, though they generally ap.
provo their motives. Nor yet again is it
necessary for us to dccry our National Con-
stitution and our Federal Union. Nothing
would be gained by destroying them; overy.
thing might be lost. They are both right, i'll
rightly used. Ii mad opprossors will break
down these safeguards of our country let
tho responsibility rest with themselves; but
:. 1t is our duty TO acknowledge, heartily
and checrfully, tho humanity Of The siare,-
There is lurking, insdious prejudice, in
tho minds of multitudes, against the slave,
which prevents that sympathy which is his
duo. And this prejudice lies against color
and namo, and nothing else. 1t were al
most pity that the Supreme Court of the
United States, whom it decided that people
of color have no rights which others are
bound to respect; for its decision was vir!
tually against color, and not descent; had
not told tho nation how black pcrson must
be before he loses his rights. Indeed, the
Ihinf Jneiicn ghn ,.awo tI,ak inF, Ia