Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1861-01-10
Post Office.
Mails arrive and close as follows:
Rsg-The following remarks were made
BY Col. John Hamilton, at the Union Meet
ing recently held in the Town Hall:

ing recently held IN the Town hall:
"Tae Union must and shall be preserved. -
This is the motto at the head Of the call of
this meeting. The object, presume is to
carry out the spirit of the above assertion, or,
70 contribute our share towards IT, Must
snd shall are strong words, and are generally
unly used by Kings, or persons who WELD su
preme authority. or by persons in a collective
cat acity, having power to carry out resolu
tons embodying their arbitrary will We
can claim no such prerogatives; we meet as
the citizens Of one of the centra. counties of
this peaceful community. What can we 60
towards carrying out the determination to
save the Union, expressed at the head of the
call for this meeting. The President of the
United States is commander in chief of all
the national forces, and until he gives the
word, not q man can move in legal way to
wards the scene of disturbance. The troops
of Pennsylvania cannot march towards the
south, except IN certain extreme contingen
Cies, If even treason were to stalk abroad at
monday. We have therefore no possible
lawful means of coercing any of our sister
states, even if we felt Il desire to do So TO
coax or hatter our southern brethren TO lov-
atty, would only excite their ridicu!c and de
rSion. Too often sycophantic concessions
and submissions, which are not ours to give,
or which we do not feel called upon to make,
would not only depreciate our own manliness,
but excite their contempt Were we to pass
resolutions Withdrawing all our objections to
the institution of slavery, they must justly
suspect our sincerity.
If we were to pass a resolution admitting
that we had been injuring and expressing the
south for forty years, and henceforward agree
to DO 80 no more, they would laugh ut our
toadyi>m and despise our lack of veracity.
What can We do to conciliate our brethren
and convince them Of oar good Will towards
them, and of cur sincere wish to preserve the
union Of all the States? The only wav in
my estimation is to speak out boldly and
firmly the words Of truth and soherness, and
convince the people Of the south, as far as
truth, honestly expressed will go, that We
friends Of the south, and of the whole
Union, now and to the latest generations. liz
this country, heretofore. all power seems to
have existed in the public sentiment of the
nation. When any great national question
was to be decided. public sentiment, strong
enough to carry it through, had to be formed,
or the project failed. The contest now go-
ing on, is perhaps, the most important that
ever agltated the country, and the reason il
cannot be peacefully settled undoubtedly is,
mat public opinion is so decided and the gen
rral public sentiment so weak and distracted
that every project fails and will continue to
tdll, until the people rally together aud think
IN cne channel and act in unison IN carrying
cut the great principles Of the constitution.
1t therefore, you can do nythiug, or say any
thing here to day, that will hare a tendency
70 direct the minds Of the people to think
rightly and act rightly, and thus form n pub
lie sentiment IN favor Of peace and Union, we
will be doing all that is legitimately in our
power to do at this stage of onr national af
fairs. Pennsylvania has always been loyal
10 cur glorious Union, with the exception of
the small rebellion in 1884, called the whis
key lnsurrection. in some of the western
counties And in that case, to her honor be
1t said, as soon as Washington sent fifteen
thousand men there, the rebels ali submitted
without the firing Of gun. She has suffered
much ana long, by the neglect of her sister
States, in not giving her that protection she
needed for the development Of her great res
o1rccs. But during her dong year Of suffer
ing, She has borne it with the greatest pa
uence and tortitude. She has.Eeyer made a |
threat to secede, and arrange her own laws
50 as to afford her that protection denied her
by those holding the power. Her only weap-
op OF resistance is the ballot box, and the
only balls she ever expects TO fire at her
brethren are paper balls. And when she is
victorious in that kind of warfare, she has a
right to expect all her sister States to stand |
Arm with her in the bonds of the Union. If
cur southern brethren are willing to act on |
Saat principle, there will be no secession ne |
eefeary TO redress wrongs, either fancied or |
real
We may do something towards satisfying |
the south, and disabusing that unkind hat |
red which exists there towards US, by repeal |
ing any laws on our statute books which |
throw obstacles In the way of the proper exc |
cuhon of the fugitive slave law, and pledge our
selves that We will abide by these provisions |
Of the constitution as e1paAaded by the pro. |
per authorities for the time being, as long as |
they are in force. ~ may pledge ourselves |
legally to respect their rights of property in |
slaves, and agree that we viii aot interfere !
with it wherever it at present exists, and |
meet them half way at least, in the arrange |
Nent of any real griesance they wish to have
adjusted. This is ali we, ,as Peansy lvanians,
can and will doubles do, 10 order to satisfy |
our southern brethren, if they meet us in a
spirit OF true fraternal compromise. This
oil beng done, and perhaps more than have
speelhed. there is one thing more we can do.
S"u that is the one great sovereign remedy
lor all our social and political evils Ii ia
TIH'ttGtson before God, and derout prayer to
t1"H That he will overruie all our difficulties
lor good, and incline all our hearts to do that
wi winch Is right and just in bis sight. Itmust
S Se admitted that the people Of this nation
IaVe A sinned greatly before high heaven
anu no doubt, it Is Oh this account that we
,e S undergoing severe punishment at the
aahas OF that God against whom we have
1,,,geu. r 1t is necessary that we should be
aue 10 see our condition before him and be
O'9mnght to hearty repentance.
nis Is all that we can propose to do, and
nr. neu every advance is made. and every effort
aus iorth to save the Union, and all peaceful
P'u'ents have been tried in vain, and our