The weekly Anglo-African. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1859-1861, 1859-10-01
WHITTIER ARE WE TENDING ?

Truly we are great people2 Whatso-
ever we do is right. We have high no.
ton of ourselves. We can do anything.
We can make wrong right, and can right
wrongs. We take special interest in tole-
ration, if in that liberation wrong is in
volved. Wrongs ..smartly executed OF in
hicted please us far more than right doing
Of course, in all this we speak nationally,
and not Anglo-Africanwise. We Ameri-
cans are, 50 we think, singularly fortunate
in having instructors and instruction that
lead to these results, and that make us in
these days conquer our prejudices, and
throw aside old-fashioned notions of right
and wrong.
We have churches, and pulpits, and
presses now days. We have our d. DPS
and editors; we shave our ROSES, and
Southside Adamses, and Deweys, and
Springs, and Andrews, and Stevenses, and
we have our Journals of Commerce, and
Heralds," and observers" and our
Richmond "Enquirers," and Charleston
"Mercuries," and Mississippi Free Press
es," and all that From these and similar
sources we receive our impressions-we
get shape and color to our notions, our sem
timents, our opinions. These give us con-
sciences when we have none, and ease
those that we have that are burdened.
We have therefore our loves and hates,
as for example, we love liberty, and yet
are the greatest shareholders under the
sun; we hate aristocracy, and yet are the
greatest aristocrats (of the would-be kind
of the mushroom order) extant; we hate
Romanism, and yet are the greatest pro-
moters of its votaries; we love Protestant
ism, and yet, as Protestants, grapple each
other by the throat; we love the Sabbath,
and vet are loud in our desires to abrogate
it; we love the Bible, and yet trample
it under foot or pervert it; we love homes
ty, and pat hardest on the back him who is
the cleverest rogue and greatest cheat; we
love Justice, and are the greatest promoters
of injustice.
We have been led to the foregoing ex-
pressions by some recent developments in
our midst, which we think fully warrant
them. Let us go little way back. Not
long since the New York Herald that
prince ofthe newspaper leaders ininculcat-
ing doctrines, and opinions, and sentiments
such as we have specified and are inimical
to the well-being of society, came out bold
ly and advocated the opening of the thea
tiers, the menageries, the beer-gardens, the
porter-houses, the lager-bier saloons, in
fine, all places of amusement and vile plea
sure, on the Sabbath day.
This proposition, which few years ago
would have been met with stern indigna-
ton by most Of us, and CONSERVATION and
alarm by all, was, when put forth, received
with placid smiles and half belief that it
ought to be so. The Herald" perhaps"
is in nowise worse than its fellow cotempo-
raries, but shrewder and deeper, and de-
signing almost to develishness, and varies
its tactics to meet the surrounding circum-
stances of every passing hour, but always
with the same never-varying purpose. So
has it Jesuitically done its work, and can
now count its followers and auxiliaries
among the press of the country by scores.
In matters of religion, for example, it would
begin, say, by pouring out upon it ridicule,
and we, the people, would laugh and think
it fine fun. 1t was only the Herald, and
he, the editor, is smart fellow. Itwould
then, in turn, pour out its walls of contempt,
and we would say, Aha aha is he not
smart !" and SO clap our hands, forgetting
the bait we were swallowing
1t would, did we say2 Such has been
its course. And what is true in regard to
its course on religion, the Sabbath, &c, is
is also true of matters of oppression and
injustice, and human rights, and kindred
topics, of which it is the duty of the press
to be always on the right side. And SO