The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-05-29

sAs's.'s'sAsS tO~SAs aiNsChs auu uAVS3CtuS SAAs
into insignifcancs. In America her colonie.
have become mightier and weather. thar
the realms which Cortez and Pizaro added
to Spain and in Asia she has founded ar
empire, not less splendid and more durabi,
than that Of Alexander. To England has
been intrusted broad, weighty and magnifi
cent responsibilities
But the course of Providence Is ever on
ward, and greater marvels and grander move
ments await their development. The dis
eovery Of the new world and the settlement
ola portion Of it by Englishmen, by Protest
ants, and by Puritans, belongs to the plans
of Him who is excellent in counsel, and
wonderful in working, and who sees the
end from the beginning. The separation Of
the 13 colonies from the mother country ;
the independence of the United States ol
America, and the gradual absorption into
the nation Of wide regions OF country for
nerly belonging to Spain and France, and
the establishment Of free and powerful
State--these things were included in those
plans. The hand Of God was never more
apparent in the history of any nation, than
in that of our own beloved country. The
same Divine power and grace that called
Abraham to be the father Of the faithful,
and raised up Moses to be the deliverer and
lawgiver Of the chosen people, brought the
Pilgrim Fathers to the shores of the new
world, and raised up Washington to be the
Father Of his country. The principles Of
the Christian Religion never received ma
tlonal development so radical and extensive
and grand, as in this republic In the glo-
rious mountains Of Switzerland, in tile Ital-
ian republics Of the middle ages, and in the
Dutch republics, there was some approx.
nation to the free political institutions which
existin the germ and promise of Christianity;
but they were on a restricted scale and con-
fined to narrow localities. But here we
may say, .,,s. 4F s
"No pent up Utica contracts our powers,
Thewhole boundless continent is ours" $50
The growth of America has been mani
testify Providential We have had wise and
able statesmen, but higher wisdom than
theirs has presided over the fortunes Of the
nation. It were ungrateful and unworthy
for US to forget the memories Of the Pilgrim
Fathers, and Of the signers Of the immortal
Declaration, ani Of Washington. the hero of a
revolution. But it were far more impious
and base to become unmindful of our obl-
cations to the overruling Providence of the
God Of our fathers We have received this
fair heritage of American liberty from the
hands of God. Some fthe essential priu-
oiples Of the religion of Jesus Christ have
here. for the first time in history, on an ex-
tended scale, their acknowledged application
to human affairs. "Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself All ye are brethren:
Freely We have received, freely give. Be ye
not called Rabbi. for one is yonr master,
even Christ. Neither be ye called masters.
And caii no man yonr fathor upon the earth,
for one is your father which is In heaven. y
These are the principles which are incorpor-
at2d into our national life, and for the de-
velopment and application of which, on a
colossal scale, Divine Providence assigned
this continent
Here then is the sacred trust that is COM
mitted 20 America. Here is the richest gift
OF Providence to the human race. To pre-
serve and defend and perpetuate the cause
Of civil religious liberty--to hand down to
future times our free institutions unwasted
and unimpaircd, but rather strengthened
and enriched this is the solemn charge en-
trusted to the hands Of the present genera
ton. And no holier trust was ever commit
ted 10 any Of the children of men. The duty
ipcumbent upon US is to preserve the insti-
tutions Of civil spd religious liberty be-
queathed to US by our apcestors as the yery
ark, not only Of our own, but also of the
worlds salvation. No combination of cir
cumstaaces more favorable to the experiment
that our fathers here entered upon in faith
and in life can be expected again to OCCUR
Tne last hopes Of mankind, tssrefore,' as said
the profound and deliberate Webster, "rsst
,e1A U.s." He spoke these words thirty seven
years ago, standing on one Of the great bat
tle-grounds of the Revolution--at Bunker
Hill. "And il it should be proclaimed that
our example had become an argument against
the experiment, the kneI Of popular liberty
would be sounded throughout the earth. >"
In confirmation Of these views. let me re-
mind you Of the declaration lately maie by
one Of the foremost Commoners Of England
honest and sagacious John Bright. Of Man.
chester--ina letter to the New York Cham
Der Of Commerce, under date Of April 4th,
1862:
" believe" says this noble Britain. Ythere
is no other country in which men have been
so free and so prosperous IS 10 yours, and
that there is no other political constitution
nov 10 existence in tbe preservation Of
which the human race is so deeply interest.
ed IS in that under which you live. This
is true beyond al doubt when applied 70
the free States of your Uniop. trust the
timeis POI. distant when il viii be true over
Al your vast territory. from tho ST. Lswrcncs
to the Gulf Of Mexico. " "a, + eaafg6
But miny Of US, my hearers, we must al
now admit, had forgotten these things. and
in the race for wealth, and in the purs,it al