San Andreas independent., 1859-01-15


flash upon the mind; the great dead almost
speak again in oral tones, and the records of
the past come up like flooding tide They
are necessities for the instruction and direc-
tion OF society. The great Social Fabric re-
quires proper direction. The family circle;
the relations of husband and wife, parent and
child. These are the foundation of all that is
glorious. They must receive proper mental
as well as moral training and herein lies the
. Future Glory of our yet infant State.
We not only need and desire an increased
number of inhabitants of virtuous and indus
trious habts-of moral integrity; but we need
to preserve the fountains pure, from which
flow all the streams of healthful influences.
What is the present state of the domestic
circle in our golden home /? almost quail at
the answer to this interrogatory. The fearful
record of cases of divorce U5 our ciyif tribu-
mails, answers too eloquently. Too many hus-
bands and fathers, wives and mothers, have
sold their rth-rgft for "a mess of pottaee;"
nay, have doomed innocent, helpless children
to lives of insult and disgrace. Many hap
py home has been desolated and cursed by
the virulent plague-spot, in this land of pro-
mise. And surely, if it can be possible, many
an ungrown man and woman, the children of
such parentage, will curse their memory
beautiful and necessary to the person who
would act a noble part in ife-who would re-
spond to the claims of society and of Heaven.
But mere virtue, morality, justice and honesty
are not sufficient safeguards to any people
They are beautiful blooming plants, close on
the margin of the active life. While their
roots sip from its waters, they do not strike
deep enough to Withstand the burning sunshine
and the drought. That the plant may be i'm
mortal, the seed must be Divine. Resolves
for integrity and justice may be honestly and
sincerely made, and made with all the heart;
and still prove useless. If they would endure,
they must have the divine afflatus breathed
upon them. Virtue, in the simple form of
chastity, is not safe, where the heart is not
pure. There will always be some Magdalenes.
How can it be otherwise so long as evil in ev-
cry possible form assails the weak Nor does
evil always transform herself into an angel of
light She sometimes will assume a threat
enng aspect. The frown of public sem
timent will sit on her brow and, though
no sword or fagots flame be found in her
hand as of olden time, that frown will be
almost as terrible. Public sentiment, to most
unsanctified hearts, is as reSstless as the nod
of Jove To stand up boldly under its wither-
ing frown, the consciousness that right is on
your side, and that alone, will carry you safely
through its fiery ordeal. Noblest among all
Gods visible works, the creatures of in
tegrity-loftier than Saul among his people.
:: x = x
Equal justice fearlessly administered, is
constituent element of Glory, with any peo-
pie but alas for us, our claim to universal
equity stands not at par, and only when such
men as Mclean bear the sword of Justice
judiciary.
We fear not to affirm that the man who is
dishonest in politics will be dishonest any
where-to his neighbor, to his God Gold
would buy him, and personal advantage would
perjure him. Honesty never bends. You
may break and trample it under your feet,
and grind it to powder; but it never bends
1t stands, if it stands at all, like a pillar of
Parian marble. Its foundation is truth, and
goodness smiles from its summit.
Political strifes, in all forms, are dangerous
to the stability and prosperity of any people,
but more especially where the sovereignty
lies in the people. In the purity Of the elect
i've franchise is our strong hope. Let the bal
lotbox be polluted, and our glory is departed
Perhaps the golden State, of all others offers
greatest temptations to mere political aspi-
rants if it be so, then is her future the more
problematical and uncertain.
In geographical position, climate, soil, and
commercial advantages, California surpasses
any existing Commonwealth.
Who that shall look at our internal capacity
for future glory can estimate the greatness of
that future? We have mines of gold and
of quicksilver, unequalled in richness. What
other record but our own shows five hundred
milions-Eay, more-of the precious metals
rtn6 in tho IF ton i,I
where are the agricultural products like ours
Externally: the commerce of the islands of
the Pacific and of the mysterious East. in
vite the energy and enterprise of our youthful
State. We can have no rival in this Of our
position geographically-w may and should
be as city set on an hill,n whose light
shall stream out on the darkness which sur
rounds us like an illumining Boreals.
If we inquire into the external causes which
have retarded the progress of the human
mind aud by consequence its happiness, we
shall find these causes existing in the nature
Of the civil governments, as well as in some
of the ecclesiastical establishments which
have been incorporated with them. Tyranny
ever keeps people in ignorance, and where the
temples of science are barred against the peo
pie the mind sinks into apathy, the sparks of
genius arc smothered, progress in KNOWLEDGE
is neglected and ignorance honored And
with respect to the great mass of the inhabit-
ants of the world, and especially the nations
surrounding us, it may truthfully be said
darkness covers the earth and gross dark
ness the people" See one of the most strik
ing illustrations of this truth in the nation of
which our soil was formerly part Since the
days of Cortez, retrogression and decline have
marked 1t. And scarce has
the din of insurrection ever been hushed.-!
Even now, bloody factions wage war, impart-
ing to the nation the character of never
quiet sea. Liberty, true constitutional liberty,
the only solid basis of good government has
departed
Across the Pacific, in the Celestial empire, |
the sons of Confucus are still barbaric still !
idolatcrs still ignorant and degraded. Nor
will the incrustations of centuries be stripped |
from them, until the pure light of heaven-born |
Christianity shall penetrate the deep darkness /
of mind in which they are enthralled. Japan
is in kindred position, and through and by
us, may she become polished as her wares. |
Beautiful by position valued for all the means |
of intercommunicaton known to civilization. /
if she can only be Christianized, and uncased I
from her sealed dominion, she will form an
other star in the bright constellation of ma
tions
Al