The Grand Haven news., 1862-03-12

so fondly anticipated by some, will never
occur. No central despotism will be in.
augurated at Washington. No blazing
sun of centralized power will rise over our
capital to scorch up the channels of free
born enterprise at the North, or throw its
lurid, blasting beams over desolated fields
and deserted hearthstones at the South
The mild effulgence-the gem-like radi-
ance Of our galaxy of stars will never
pale away before any such fiery luminary
No! The old constitution and old Union
of our fathers shall stand, and stand for
ever! We will cling TO them as fondly
as memory clings 10 childhood's scenes.
We will cling to them with the tenacity
of the ivy entwining the sturdy oak
We will cling to them with the despairing
energy of the storm wrecked mariner to
his life-boat.
But grant that our victorious army will
soon sweep the land of armed rebellion,
that unconditional submission TO Federal
authority shall be everywhere exhibited
grant that the hundreds of thousands OF
citizen soldiers shall have left the army
lines to resume their accustomed peaceful
avocations; that martial law shall have
disappeared, and the military become sub
servient to the civil power. Much will
have been accomplished, but more will
remain still unfinished. The great work
Of educating our people back into a fra
terndl union will require the patient, per
sistent efforts Of all patriots, philanthro-
pists and Christians.
Let us but essay the task, and we shall
then discover how fearfully our nation has
drifted from the anchorage Of both con-
stitutional and municipal law. How
wide has been our departure from the
brotherhood of our fathers, and what a
frightful gulf Of envy, malice, hatred and
all uncharitabless, now yawns from the
Atlantic to the Pacific across that fair
heritage our sires bequeathed to us.
To bridge over that gulf, by the lessons
of peace, forbearanco and mercy, by acts
of conciiation and deeds Of kindness, tc
restore that brotherhood to the old time
fraternal intimacy by social intercourse
and Christian charity, and TO bring back
the hcaving and tossing fragment of de-
moralized society to the old anchorage
ground Of obedience to law, and reverence
for civil authority, "Hic labor, hos opus
est"
For twenty-five years have men, like
pestileut rats, applied themselves assidu-
ously to the task of gnawing asunder
one by one, the ties of consanguinity, the
loves of kindred, the amenities of socia
intercourse, the cordialities of friendship
the endearment of Christian communion
and the genial knot Of common memories
of the past, common material interest in
the present, and common hopes for the
future. These were the strands compos.
ing the strong bond of fraternal union up.
on which our republican institutions must
rest, and without which our whole socia
fabric must crumble 10 its fall.
Every thread, every fibre, every iga.
ment of that bond of our union must be
renewed, replaced and firmly entwisted
and stranded again, ere its Tightening
folds shall successfully bind, rs of yore
the extremtios of this republic TO its cen
ter, and that center TO freedom. AS The
logical and inevitable result of this antag
onism in place of brotherhood, this antip
athy in lieu of friendship, and this ma
lignant hatred for christian charity, mer
slackened their hold upon law and lost
their reverence for civil authority. A
leading axiom of our Declaration of In
dependence, was pronounced at the Soutl
a rhetorical flourish, without foundation
in fact, whilst the constitution itself has
been long and publicly denounced at tho
North Gas covenant with hell
Beyond this, ignorant and depravct
men in both sections, have openly scofet
at the binding force and obligations of law
whilst at the North, striplings in learning
ncophytes in politics, and tyros in juris
prudence, have jeered at adjudications by
our highest courts, and aiding in placing
on the statute books OF dozen States
enactments designed to nulify the provis
ions and obstruct the execution of yalit
Federal laws of the Union.
Who shall say, then, that the culmipat
ing point of our national safety and glory
had not already been reached and passed
before the secession ordinance of Soutl
CarolinaY Who shall presume to date
the period of ga Union dissolved as re
Gently as the assault upon our flag a
Sumpter? Long ere that the element:
of ruin were rife in the land. This ooa'
is bit an upheaval, an outJurst of lava
from, the volcanic fires 6elo,O! Happy
for us if its lesolating march shall be ar
rested, ere wild disorder and fearful anar
cby shall hold high carnival in our midst
The lesson is this, as you will find il
all along the track of time, craven upor
the moudering sepulchres of extinct na
tionalities: Prosperity will not visit, ant
peace will not reside with that people
wherever found, who habitually mock n
law and despise civil authority.
This picture is no illusion of fancy
is no chimera of disappointed brainl 1
is the life-like, warm and palpitating i'm
| -. d. lIooJ,, o.,n.,coI Do.Jo,