The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-12-19

we have them, blessed be God, we have them to
Eft up our hearts to God in prayer.
We have been greatly blessed as people
We know nothing of those evils which common
ly fall to the lot of nations, and, therefore, we
feel not, as we should, the blessings which sur
round us. War, pestiIence and famine have
been removed from our borders abandanee has
crowned our fields prosperity has attended our
commerce and peace has united US with the
cations abroad And should we not be thank
full But there is rising cloud m cur herni-
sphere cloud as on a summers eve-of which
we cannot tell, until it bursts, whether viii
bring the desolating tempest, or the COOL re-
freshing shower. But there is hand that d.
reefs the storm; and there lisa hand in that very
cloud, which has long forewarned US Of its COM
ing, and prepared us with refuge The agitar
ton of the slavery question, once thought an
evil, God has made blessing to us.
You and remember when the slavery ques-
ton was first mooted in our national councils,
we dreaded the consequences and trembled at
the bare mention of the subject we stoodaghas
before our adversaries; and whys Because We
were not as well informed on the subject Of
slavery as we are now; many of us doubted
whether we could religiously hold our servant |;
there was no bond OF union between us and
them but the bond of property, and as all prop
erty is timid, negro property, under the circum-
stances of our ignorance, was cowardly, and
therefore the moment this property was invaded
in discussion it made us towards, and as oand
Of towards we were for imploring silence from
our adversaries, and thus our cowardice only
gave them courage to make their attacks more
frequent, and more and more severe. But the
question has been sifted to its very foundation,
and we now feel ourselves safe, wenow feel that
as Christians we can hold them, and this feeling
has dissipated our cowardice, and given us an
advantage over our adversaries; we shun them
not now, we fear them not now, we are willing to
meet them not only on Constitutional grounds,
but on reason, on religion, ON expediency, and
dare them to their face to dislodge us from our
position.
But how have we been placed in this position
Have we always occupied it No-there was
time when we saw no mercy in Gods permitting
the subject of slavery to be brought before the
public mind for examination but 1t has been ex-
amned, and we now see the mercy-mercy in
having our own minds fortifed-mercy in calm
ing down the opposition Of the wise and virtu-
GUS. And should we not be thankful for this
mercy? Should we not on this day give thanks
to God for the termination he has given to sub
ject which at first seemed fraught with nothing
but calamity to our very soulss Surely, surely,
then, the agitation once thought an evil is now
discovered to have been blessing
But this is not al-this is not the only bless
ing for which We should feel thankful While
the truth seeking, truth-loving portion of the
community are convinced that our position is of
charactca which cannot be changed, and
therefore should not be tempered with, there are
others who regarding not the truth, and follow
est, have invaded our rights-invaded them by
dcceiving an ignorant but honest portion Of our
countrymen to unite themselves for the support
Of band of robbers and assassins to murder
and to rob.
They have murdered our people-they have
robbed them-they are yet robbing us-but
what is the result of their combined action |?
This the slaves themselves have been so de-
ceivcd by them as to fear Them and are now,
many of them, unwilling to trust them and the
masters, seeing the facility with which the slaves
can escape, have so endeared themselves to their
slaves as to make them unwilling to leave their
service, which they know, for a condition which
they know not Ispeak of the border States,
and all who live there know what say to be
true. II.
Now, what is more alarming than to have
body of thieves let loose ameng us, pensioncd
by some, assisted by others, and encouraged by
their own mistaken views of religion and philan-
thropy, to commit such depredations upon us |
Yet what have they donci Great injury, to be
sure but great good also. And while we
should deplore the evil, should we not also be
thankful for the goodi
But we have another cause for thankfulness.
You and Thought, few months ago, that the
Abolitionists were few compared with the popu-
lation of the North; and whenever we expressed
any fears for our condition, we were answered
"Oh, the Abolitionists are comparatively few,
and by their very numbers and insignifcance ut
terly powerless." We allowed ourselves to be
lulled into slumber under this assurance, forget
ting that we were slumbering on the very crater
OF volcano. But this election has shown their
force-has shown not only their numbers, but
their power. They have come upon us like an
avalanche, and the suddenness of their appear
ance and the number Of their body have ava
kened us to action-awakened us in full time to
check their destructive career. And should we
not be thankful Suppose they had not exhib-
tied their strength as they have done suppose
they had gone on increasing, and lulling us all
the while by the fancied paucity of their num-
bers, and then have burst upon us when the
whole North had been absorbed by their views,
what would have been our condition them
Nothing but inglorious submission. But what
is it now? We have been reused to hsrmoni-
Gus action by their formidable appearance at
time when we have yet friends in the North, but
those friends powerless of themselves and only