Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-11-12
From the New York Times, November 2.
THE LESSON OF THE HOUR
AN ADDRESS BY
WENDELL

V6NDELL fHlLLIfS.
The Course of Lectures instituted by the young
men of Rev. IL. Ward Beecher's congregation, in
Brooklyn. had announced upon its programme the
name of Mr.. Wendell Phillips, of Boston, as the
speaker for last evening.
Mr.. Phillips, upon his appearance, was received
with vehement applause. When it had subsidized,
he said:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I speak with the ut
most sincerity, when l say that I cannot expect
speaking from this platform, and to you-to say any
thing on the vital question Of the hour, which you
have not already heard. 1 sbould not, In that sense
willingly have come here, but, when n great ques-
ton divides the community all men are called upon
to vote, and l feel tonight that l am only saying
ditto" in what you hear from this platform day
after day. And, l would willingly have avoided,
ladies and gentlemen, even at this last moment,
borrowing this hour from you. l tried to do bet
ter by you. Like the Irishman in the story, l Of
fered to hold the hat of Hon. Thomas Corwin. Of
of Ohio, enthusiastic applause if he would only
make a speech, and most unacountably, l am sorry
to say, he declined this generous offer. Laugh
teri So l am obliged to fulfil my appointment,
and deliver my little lecture myself.
AMERICAN CIVILIZATION AS 1T Is AND AS 1T OUGHT
TO BE,
"The Lesson of the Hour" think the lesson
Of the hour is instruction. Sensation. Insur-
rection of thought always precedss the insurrec-
ton of arms. The last twenty years have been
instruction Of thought. We seem to be entering
on a new phase of the great moral American
struggle. 1t seems to me that we have never ex-
hibited as Amerioans-we have never exhibited
our own civilization. We have held back from
the inference which we ought to have drawn from
the admitted principles which underlie our life
We Fave all the timidity of the old world, when
we bend our eyes upon ideas of the people; we
shrink back, trying to save ourselves from the in
veterate control Of the thoughts Of the Millions
The idea of civilization on the other side of the
water seems to be, tina: men are created to be TAX
en- care of by somebody else. God did not leave
him fit to 90 alone be is in everlasting ~pupilage
to the wealthy and the educated. The religious,
or the comfortable classes, are an everlasting pro-
bate court to take care of him. The Old world,
therefore, has always dreaded the onscience-the
sense Of the millions.
1t seems to me the idea of our ivilization-un
derlying all American life-is, that we do not need
any protector. We need no safe guard. Not only
the inevitable, but the best power this side Of the
ocean, is the unfettered average common sense OF
the masses. Institutions, as we are accustomed to
call them. are but pasteboard, and intended to be,
against the thought Of the street. Statutes are
mere mile stones, telling how far yesterdays
thought had travelled and the talk of the side
walk today js the law of the land.
HOW TO MAKE THINGS STRAIGHT.
The Emperor Nicholas, it is said, ordered Col.
Whistler, one of his Engineers, to lay down for
him a road for a railway from St. Petersburg to
Moscow, and presently the engineer brought him
in a large piece of card paper, on which was laid
down, like q snake, the designed path of the iron
locomotive between the two capitals. whats
that ?" said Nicholas. 'That's the best road
was the reply. "What do you make it crooked
fort" was the question. "Why, We turn this way to
touch this great city, and to the left to reach that
immense mass of people, and to the right again to
suit the business of that country. Yes. The
Emperor turned the card over, and made a new
dot for Moscow and another for Petersburg, took o
ruler, and made q straight line, and said, Build
me that road". Laughter. but what will be-
come of that spot Of trade, of that town 2" II
don't know they must look out for themselves"
Cheers.] And the Emperor Of Omnipotent De.
mocracy says of Slavery, or of a Church, this is
justice and thet is iniquity and the trace of Gods
thunderbclt goes in a straight line from one to the
other, and the Church that cannot stand it mus,
stand out of the way. tCheers.
THE EDUCATION OF TIE LAST QUARTER OF A CEN
TURY.
There have been various evidences Of education
| will tell you of one. The first evidence that a
sinner convicted Of sill and 100 blind or too lazy to
reform-the first evidence that he can give that
his nature has been touched. is that he becomes a
hypocrite he has the grace to pretend to be some
thing. Now, the first evidence that the American
people gave of that commencing grace of hypoc-
risy was this 10 1888, when We commenced the
anti slavery agitation. the papers talked abou,
slavery, bondage. American slavery; bold. frank
ly and bluntly. In a few years it sounded hard
it had a grating effect. the hardest throat of the
hardest Democrat felt it as it came out. So they
spoke Of the "patriarchal institution" Laughter
then Of the domestic institution" [continued
laughter and then of the peculiar institution
!aughteIl and in a year or two it got beyond that
Mississippi published a report from her Senate. in
which she went a stride beyond that, and describ
ed it as economic subordination". Renewed
laughter.l A Methodist Bishop in Ohio was taker
to task for holding slaves in reality. but his Meth
odist brethren. were not courageous enough to say
~"slaves" right out in meeting, and SO they said
the Bishop must get rid of his "impediment"-
loud laughter the late Mr.. Rufus Choate, in tht
last Democratic canvass in my own State. under
taking and necessitated to refer to the institutions
of the South. and knowing that his old New Eng
land lips, that had spoken so many glorious free
truths in the twenty years that were ended. could
not foul their best days with the hated word, hs
pbrased it "a diferen. type Of Industry. Now,
hypocrisy-why sit is the homage that Vice rem
ders to Virtue. When men begin to get weary
of capital punishment. they Danish the gallowi
inside the Jail yard. and DO not let anybody see il
without a special card Of invitation from The
SieriH. And so tbev have banished siaxsrv intc