The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1861-02-20

which NO false views of manhood should
prevent me-to exhort and beseech them
as brethren. I would assure them that
there are multitudes here who still cherish
the memory of the battle fields and coun-
Gil chambers where our fathers cemented
this Union of States, and who still stand
by the compact of the constitution to the
utmost extremity. s2@'1 % "e-2i'
, I would tell the thousands of christian
ministers, among whom are some of the
brightest ornaments of the American pul.
pit, and the tens of thousands Of christian
men and women, towards whom, while the
love of Christ burns in me, my heart new
or can grow cold. that if they will only be
patient and hope to the end, ell wrongs
may yet be righted. Therefore i would
beseech them not to put a,great gulf be.
tween us, and cut of the very opportunity
for reconciliation upon an honorable ba-
sis, by revolution whose end no human
eye can See. But, then, I am not preach
ing at the South q I stand here at one of
the main fountain heads of tie abuse we
have complained Of. i stand here to re.
buke this sin, and exhort the guilty par
ties TO repent and 'forsake It, It is mag,I
nanimods and ChristliKe for those from
whom The frst pro7ocation came, to make
6rst concessions '3 o.-,.."
+, The Legislative enactments which are
in open and acknowledged violation of
the constitution, and whose chief design
is to put stigma upon slaveholding, must
and will be repealed. Truth and justice
will ultimately prevail, and Gods bless
ings and the blessings-of generations yet
UNBORN. will rest upon that party, in this
unhappy contest, who first stand forth to
utter the language Of. conciliation and
-proffer the olive branch of peace. The
great fear is that the retraction will come
too late: but sooner or later it will come.
Ab6ltionism ought 10, and one day will
change the mode of its warfare, and adopt
another. vocabulary. ], believe in the lib
erty of the. press and the freedom of
speech: but I do not believe that any man
has fright before God, or in the eye of
civilized law, to speak and publish what
he pleases without regard to the conse-
qusnces. With the conscientious convic-
tions of our fellow citizena, neither we nor
the law have any right to interfere; but
the law ought to protect all men from IL
bellous words, and whose only effect is to
create division and strife
trust and pray and call upon you to
unite with me in the supplicatior, that
God would give abolitionists repentance
and better mind, so that in time to come
they may at least propagate their princi-
Piles in decent and respectful language.
IH.-.dbolitisnisna leads ID, multitudespf cases
and, BY q logical process, to utter Intidelity.
On this point I would not and will not
be misunderstood. I do not soy that
abolitionism is infdelity I speak only
of the tendencies of the system as indi.
Gated in its avowed principles and demon,
strated in its practical fruits. .a.easlt 4.
1t does not try slavery by the Bible,
but as enc of its leading advocates ha,
recently declared, it tries the Bible by
the principles of freedom. It insists tha,
the word of God must be mace to sup.
port certain human opinions, or forfeit al
claims upon our, faith. That / may moi
be acused of exaggeration on this point
let me quote from the recent work of Mr.
Barnes passag~which. may well arres
the attention of all thinking men: =
i "There are great principles in our nature, a
God has made us, which can never be Sc
aside by any authority of professed revela
ton. If = book claiming to be . revelation
from God, by any fair Interpretation, defende,
slavery, or place it on the same basis as tn
relation of husband and wife, parent and child
4 guardian and ward, such a book would not b
received by the mass of mankind as Divin
revelation" saFs .aa 5szz as5
u This assumption that men are capabl
4 OF judging beforehand what is to be ex
pected in Divine revelation, is the cock
atrice's egg from which, in all ages, here
sizes have been hatched. This is tn
SPIDERS web which ,nen have spun out q
their own brains and clinging to whie
they have attempted to swing over th
s yawning abyss of Infdelity. Alas, ho'
many have. fallen in and been dashed
! piecesl When q man sets up the gres
: principles of our nature (by which he a
. ways means his OVID preconceived opir
e ions) as the supreme tribunal before whic
7 even the law of God must be tried-whe
5 man says, "Ths Bible must teach abe
!, ltionism or / will not receive 1.-THE ha
9 already cut loose from the sheet anehe
:. of faith True belief say IS, "Speak, Lor
: thy servant waits to hear."a Abolitioni'
]. says, "Speak, Lord, but speak in acco
!. dance with the principles of human nj
: ture, or they cannot be received by II
t great mass of mankind as a Divine rey'
}, lation." The fruit Of such principles
e just what we might expect. Whs-ev'
b the seed of abol;tionism has been SOW
n broadcast, . plentiful crop Of Infidelit
i has sprung up. In the communiti,
g where anti-slavery excitement has bee
d most prevalent, the power of the gosp
y has invariably declined, and when Il
G tide of fansticism begins to subside, Il