The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-05-15

appeal to the gospel t. Alas The gospel,
unfettered and free, would soon melt the
chains from every slave IN the land. No, no;
these all are the strong weapons with which
liberty assails him. Shall he turn to litera.
ture Alas literature, unfettered, never
could be allowed where slavery re:gns. It
win ever be dabbling with Anman rights
and primal laos. It cannot be endured =
Shall he turn to poetrys Shalt he invoke
the muses. for song setting forth the beau
ties Of slavery The muses. decline the re.
quest. They have, indeed, sometimes yield,
ed, even to their shame, to sing for great ty.
rants and crowned oppression. But to the
lords Of the lash they have ever turned q
deaf ear. For the chattleizing manstealel
they had meier . song.
Their harp to freedom tuned forever,
Their harp to slavery tuned, o, never!
Bound up in the same republic with lib
erty--with liberty deep-rooted In the inalie-
bic rights of manhood, and spreading forth
its branches beneath the sunlight Of . judi.
ciary based upon impartial justice, litera-
ture unfettered, and dioinS religion, heed
less Of the tyrant's viii and ever speaking
integrity and majesty Of sin-rebuking truth;
so circumstanced, and so bereft Of the
means obedience, what shall he DO ! One Of
two things is inevitable. BY brute force, by
aggressive violence, he must paralyse all
these aggressive powers of liberty, or live IN
anguish unbearable, or he must seocde from
4 Union--or an attempted Union Of elements
entirely antagonistic and hostile. Ifthis be
so--and who can say it is not ts-then I do
but utter truth established in the eternal
nature Of things--a Truth proclaimed in ev-
cry beat of the war-drum, in the booming
Of every cannon, and in every death-shriek
from the battle field, when I say that the
extinction Of American slavery is sine qua
non to the return Of peace and it's stability
in our now distracted country. From the
beginning, It has been an element ofdiscord,
Of angry debate and violence. resulting In
this internecine war. What it has done in
the past, it viii repeat in the future if per-
mitted to survive. Slavery must die, or all
well-grounded hope Of peace expires. But
viii it diee Is there moral light enough p
Is there faith enough in the higher law !
0, is there enough Of far-seeing patriotism
in the land to pluck up that root Of bitter
ness. and put an end to that fatal disturber
Of our nations peacef There are, indeed,
recent Indications Of awakening from the
slumbers Of a purblind philosophy y-indica-
tlons Of release from the paralyzing influ-
enoe Of guilty completely with that great
outrage, and Of . partisan patsiotism-indi-
cations affordins strong ground Of cncour-
agament. lido, indeed, find occasion to re-
joioe with joy, not sanguine, but mingled
with much trembling. This brings me to
my third proposition. -,
III. In order to the permanent, prosper
GUS peace Of the COUNTRY, the restoration oi
the conscience OF the nation is indispensable.
As the result Of careful observation and
much thought, say it is my solemn con-
viction that the present state Of the nations
conscience forbids the hope Of permanent
peace in the country. Empcrors and des-
pots may rule pcop.e destitute Of con-
science. But the safety Of republic is
found only 10 the right state Of the public
conscience. The want of it destroyed the
republics Of Greece and Rome, and gave
them over to suicidal strifes within. The
want Of II numbered the brief days Of the
French republic. And the fearful progress
Of this moral disease is now preyins upon
the vitality Of our own country. Without
conscience, without conscience trained to
fear God and to hold the higher law, the
aw af eternal right, as paramount and au-
thoritAtive, no republican government can
long stand. As we'll might the stars keep
their course, II the great central law of at
traction were broken up. Man severed from
has Col is loosed from his fallos. The con-
science ofthe gowth is in As complete staae
of revolt from justice, impartial justice, As
the law Of lie, - it Is from the gnvernMent
Of the United States. Whatever virtues in
in ~ the walks Of life are yet practieed BY
them are the results, not af principle, but oi
accident Not one Of these but would be
relinquished in moment With the same
amount Of temptation and the same assur-
ance of impunity which impsls and assure.
them m their disregard Of the eternal and
inherent rights Of the colored man.
do not state this case too strongly. MOI
has that fearful state Of '.seared con-
science" been reached bya process too sub
tie to be analysed. II Is the result Of laws
obvious a. they ere inezorable. We have {
Scripture illustration at hand: "What know
70 not, that little heaven leaveneth tht
whole lump Z" What lsaven u to thelamp o|
meal in which II IL placed, such is sin, any
known sin. when cherished and defended IL
tho nature, heart or life Of . man. As cer,
tainly, ~ in the case Of the leavsn, II soor
makes the whole lump like ITSELF, Oh!
would tAht this powet ofsis. ~bSainlaleei
and cherished, in any one given form, L
spread itsslfin its weake ming and enerya
ting power over the entire mind in oil IN,