Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-06-21

penalty. The mission of Christ was. indeed
10 reveal and execute the purpose of Divine
toce, but You may search the Old Testament
IN VAIN Tor such terrible warnings of punish
ment as Tell from His lips. So he did enioin
the love OF enemies, and the pardon of injury.
let measures OF force can need no biOber
sanction than the spirit of Christ gave when
1t bade the inspired apostle remind his
readers that rulers, as ministers of God. are
a terror to evil doers, and hold not the sword
in vain.
It is principle recognized, believe, by
all writers upon political ethics, that self
preservation is the first duty of Government
Whatever duties be'Ong to a government.
they all presaPpcse his.
For a man to commit suicide is, by a single
but comprehensive sin, to disavow every iutv
which he owes God in this world 50 for a
government 10 quietly lie down and die at
the call OF rebellion, is to prove recreant to
every duty which 1t owes loyal people To
1--we Is the first duty of government, and
| this IS the duty which our Government at
| present strives to fulfil. We cannot be ton
careful to guard against the danger Of ascrib-
ing false issues to the war in which we are
! involved. Ii Is not a war of aggression-it
IS resistance TO aggression. 1t is not the mad
work Of "a violent radicalism-it is the sober
work in which the most conservative ,nan
must be the most jealous laborer It is not
conflict between political partics-it is a
strife in which all whose loyal citizenship
entities them to a share in the politics of
these States are found, unconscious of politi-
cal difference. Nor is it even a strife between
Freedom and Slavery.
We had thought the Constitution Of our
! Government TO be the noblest temple which
Divine Providence had cnsocrlted t. civil
and religious freedom. We had wept and
blushed by turns, as we saw Its sacred pre-
cincts dehled by those who, in worship Of
mammon wrought traffic in human flesh
Our hearts are now glad, as amid the coniu-
sion In which the yOtarics OF oppression fee
from the temple, we behold a spirit of mes
sIanic zeal and of Divine authority by whose
scourge the building shall be purged and
made a house for more acceptable prayer to
the God of Freedom. Still this is not strife
between Slavery and Freedom. If any man
regards American Slavery as a Divine lnsti-
tuition though it be the very ark and test-
mony of God, and the people possessing it
the peculiar people of God though we, who
see no manifested Jehovah in that system of
oppression be thought Gentiles-eyen en- in that
case, the truly loyal citizen receives an
amounting for the conflict as did Cyrus Of old.
lie who looks upon the system of American
Slavery as involving the violation Of every
precept of the decaiOgue and utter renuncia-
ton of the rule of Christ, he who regards it
the power of God for the conversion OF a
benighted race, and he who occupies the
strange position ofindiference to its moral a.
pccts-these all can stand together as though
toll l.,- - !
their powers in this conflict.
This is not strife between Slavery and
Freedom-it is a conflict between lawltssness
and order-between anarchy and govecc-.9nt
between rebellion an loyalty. So far as
concerns the issue now before the country,
the spirit of oppression may continually
strengthen itself. Yet this we do not expect.
O,r conflict, I again repeat, Is not against
Slavery; yet we cannot but think that,
while Ue strive only to sustain wise and
good government, the Spirit of DiriHe Pror-
idenoe wages, through US, mighty warfare
against the spirit of oppression.
And here we may fifty pause moment to
notice the wisdom and mercy in which God
has led US, More then once in our natIoIs
history there have been dark hours, when
it almost seemed that the advocates of free
dom and of slavery must meet In arms. II
the war had come then, and upon that issue,
it would have been far more terrible, and OF
more doubtful result than now.
Then all the States which are the asylum
of slavery would have been united and active
none of them would have cherished the
fiction of neutrality but the people Of the
States called free would have been divided.
We might have once fondly hoped that when
the conflict between freedom and slavery
really commenced, the people Of the free
States would be faithful to their trust but
the sad developments of recent months have
convinced us that 1t would have been other
wise. That old argument OF the Epheslan
| silyersmith "Ye know that by this we
| have our wealth.. would have ensured hom-
ace TO an idol of as foul a character as the
| Ephesian Diana-though Its name might be
pure as hers. The interests OF the mechnan'
| zeal arts and of tlade would have been to
MANY more precious than principle some
aspirants for political fame would have been
| glad 10 transcribe among our statutes Geiiiai
of the first truth on the charter oil our IlDcr-
tics-the equal right of all men to lie, no
erty and the pursuit of happiness and Whlio
tDus divided, even from the pulpit the people
would have heard an uncertain sound-Solhe
would have expounded and enforced the law
of love,-but Others, protesseo aposlleS Vi
him who came to proclaim liberty 70 the
captive. would have denounced those VINO
hoped to see every yoke broken that the op-
presscd might 20 free, ana spirit VI hO5-
| tility to slavery they would nave Dece IeIuy
to brand as the root and onsprlnS oi lilnuol Nl
;tv Even more: some who claim pre-
~ 1;noncs amonc the ministers of Christ, and
have accented the charge of many churches,
trom their seats of high authority would
have proclaimed that the Bible furnished a
divine sanction to slavery-Sull more tnG
oonsocrated wrath of Christian men would
Gayo been spent in securing through the
r-cse n lou,ier and longer utterance OF theSe
aro,,nsoIs Under such circumstances there'
I'D have been little to cheer the chaih-
80 Of freedom. Who but with gloomy
toreLodipcs and hope contendinS with deS-
n,;r couid have attempted reslstancesto ult
sfn;rit of oppression finding sympathy aS -
,ronld IN every State, almost II
everv town. aided by men in every proie0
SION and consecrated by the benedieuoh' VI
the pulpit. .e. ,.r.,G,I pr,yi
donca has kept us Odr indignation W"
hot when troops ot armed men ih'a1e1 o,- ~
Ill and nlaced the letters on those ""oI
40 had welcomed TO freedom and az - ~
hearts burned within us when our III. "a
who had left their homes on these hill as sia9' .
and in these valleys to TIL the new ,~rdar lS b3
: .ho West. suffered pillage and murlef ~
, 60 thew would not Join hands WIN W ln'
!; .roSsor But we were led to respect eNoi
II ,,retence of law, and we escaped con
iet sie in which the stigma of rebellion lion w0s os
= I've LIZ. = been upon us. If it has oeen, %
9 auot bnt think, the purpose OF eVi iHGn
rroToke armed resistance to the forms So G' IT
pro;f counsel, like the good counsel Oh Hn ~
tbenbeI tbo has been defeated Ana now ~ VI
judicial %aanss nd hsSs sSs Teshness sesin Of rs6s
sve' aD the %ss stigma aIa have we been convinced
1e wears that sooner or later the strlie u''" An
a Slavery and Freedom must bring war war IN n
is we may thank God that it has come ON vanta. an m
he form. = Freedom holding the hlgn ,Hn5 Sinvo5
no ground of loyalty to government ,auT 80 tba
be | in rebellion against human law, no le''
ur against Divine right.