The Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1861-1862, 1861-12-07
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Rev, Henry Ward Beecher has always been
looked upon as one of the most ultra aboli.
tionists q the country, enc who would b
satisfied with nothing short Of the uncondi.
tional and immediate emancipation Of every
slave in the land But on Thanksgiving day
he preached an eloquent sermon at Plymouth
Church, in New York, on the rebellion, in
which he took very decided ground against
any emancipation Of the slaves by the act 81
Congress, and insisted that unless We wished
to disgrace free Government in the eyes oE
the world, we must carry on this war within
the limits Of the Constitution. The sermon
is published at length in the New York 7fmSS,
and, though containing some Impractical ideas
Is big thing>" From it we copy the follow
ing paragraph;
"Meanwhiie however much It may alarm
Or gSieEe us, VIC are bound to say We are 60
ing to trust to God and get along without
England. [.aughter.l OF all the advice
that has been given, while it may seem to
those who know not the nature of cur insti-
tutions most rational, there is none that chimes
more with the Northern feeling than this
to make declaration Of emancipation to set
tic this difficulty; and yet neither the popu-
lar impulse nor the foreign advice can be fol-
lowed. Hemust conduct this ,car By and through
our institutions, or else we must declare that
our institutions have failed, and that We have
reverted to original principles. There is only
one or the other Of these courses. The last
we cannot and shall not do. We are not 60
ing to say 10 the world that Republican insti-
tutions have So signally failed that we must
abandon them and re:establish other ones. No
man will see that. We wEo Boast Of our
Constitution, must not violate it o1meives in
putting down those who violate it. We must
not by congressional legislation decasr: political
emancipation. I wish We ceald. iwish Adam
had not sinned, and his posterity had not been
affected bit that does not help the matter
I wish our fathers had stood out against what
are called the compromises of the Constitr-
ton. Better then than now. The serpent
Just hatched is not half so much to be feared
as the serpent fall grown. Our troubles have
increased with every generation, and what is
the use in signing over what can't be helped
Cur fathers signed the bond and We accepted it
Can ,ce afford to break it for the sake Of euea 81
magnificent a result as the emancipation of tn
sLares? Shall VIC rend the chrystal ins' 'ru
mcnt-the joy of the world and our pride? L
is very easy to say, "now it is a state of wa
let lis declare emancipation" The wa
has not driven us out of our Institutions. w,
are not ourselves in state of rebellion. W.
cann0t expect by destroying the Constitution
to put down tile rebellion. 1fany one ask mc
whether law Or constitution is inferior tc
original principles of morality and Justice, !
say no but plightcd faith is itself in nature cl
sacred moral principle. Our faith is given
and must be kept! When We cannot abide
by our promise, then, in methods expressly
provided, we must withdraw the pledge and
the agreements of the constitution, and stand
apart as two separate people"