The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1862-10-03
For the Union and Journal.
SouTn BERWICK, Sept. 80, 1862.

most justly revered Jay, wrote of emancipa.
tion "till America comes into this measure,
her prayers to Heaven will be impius.'-
Words indeed strong-but sincerely spoken
and surely believed by that just and good
man. This, in substance, has been, from
that day until the present. the language o.
every Statesman, and true patriot, who ha'
given the subject a moments serious consid
Grafton. That "be who would have equity
must do equity" we believe is the Language
alike. of our courts, and the higher, purel
courts of Him who sitteth above all courts
and presideth over all States. Foul hand'
must never hope to grasp fair gifts; nor IN ~
the unrepentant thief look for amcnity oil
security. There can be no license for rob
berry. nor prescribed rules for murder-crime
is still crime; and sin isalways sin. This Is
as true of communities and nations, as 1t !;
of individuals. Mere numerical strength
and brute force may for time enable apeo'
pie to magnify and wax mighty among the
nations for time but the day of retribu'
ton surely comes. The ashes OF Ridley and
Rogers, and Latimer, and Cranmer, were not
scattered over English soil in vain: but TAX
ing root, soon sprung forth in a glorious CROP
of Cromwells, and Hampdcns, and lretons'
The children who were taught by trembl'
ing mothers to say "Bloody Bonner is Bish'
op of London" learned lessons which soon
grew into full manhood ofpuri,an principles,
and became instrumentalities Of far more
good to all men, than the i'll, which all the
Vaccinations OF "bloody Bonner" and his
still bloodier mistress had wrought. History
is replcte with instances. where sad days OF
peril and adversely, have begotten sweet days
OF prosperity and security. For many dark
days of uncertainty in the years gone by.
has liberty struggled against oppression, and
at times, it has seemed to us, as II retribu-
tive justice slept. The advocates OF oppres'
sion, have seemingly thought that sleep was
eternal. Step by step had darkness advanc'
cd, until, il we relied not upon the strong
arm of Him "who doeth all things well,
we were apparently further from cmancipa'
ton than was Jay when he wrote as above
quoted. We thought we had the torm-we
knew we had not the substance Of liberty
here. But even the form was becoming fast
obscured and dim, though amid the jecrs and
tauuts of foreigners-we still claimed we
could trace its outline. Suddenly this war
came upon us as thunderbolt--for twenty
months, and more, have we been mastering
men to fight those who attacked our form OF
liberty. They long since, deprived us of the
substance, and now strike deadly blows ut
our form which we 50 cherished, because Of
its supposed resemblance to the outline of the
substance.
We have thus far fought well, as Anglo
Saxons always do; but without a purpose,
simply because we were attacked. We have
been like blind man sparring with an ex.
pert pugiist, occasionally we have hit him,
and throughout the whole, from thestrength
of our constitution and our muscular frame,
we have manfully and wonderfully withstood
all the punishment" he could give us
Forty thousand dead bodies lie tattening reb.
el Virginia soil, on the Peninsula alone and
40 600 Northern homes are sad and silent
with their loss. Is their no retributiye JUS
tice? Are we not being punished for our
sins? Our losses and our suiTerings, we must
see, despite our desire to turn away from
them; but we will not press the picture
Let us look to another. Already the day is
dawning. The scales have fallen from our
eyes. We are no longer sparrins blind'men.
We stop not with regaining the form-we
fight now for the substance. Our hands are
clean. God can bless us. God will bless us.
Now for the first time in all history is Amer
lea about to become what it should be-a
free country. The liberty of America shall
no longer be a Kissing and by word among
the nations OF the earth; but solid reality,
No more shall we invite the sons of isreign
lands to come to us and sit beside slave
But the manly dignity of labor shall assert
itself, and honest toll shall heucelorth be
crowned with the merit it deserves. We
have hitherto been lighting, ii not against,
certainly without, the ends of Providence,
and we have lacked one most important, and
to every successful struggle, indispensable,
element, to Wit purpose. Now we have
one-a glorious purposc-which shall sharp
en- every sabre-strcngthen every arm-di-
rect and give Impetus to every blow, which
every freeman strikes. Let no man be dis
heartened or discouraged by the dissent or
yiturperation Of rebels at the South and trail
tors ut the North. They stand alike in the
same category. What good men have lived
and struggled for, and died without seeing, it
is now for us to see; and when water runs
up hill, and ice makes in the tropics in mid
summer, then, and not till then, will He,
who rules the universe permit so grand a
stride in behalf of humanity to be rctraced
or obliteratcd. Let every patriot take fresh
courage as he secs the gray dawn of the
steadily advancing day, when men shall no
longer be bought and sold and when the