Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-12-30


All should Read.
To the Editor Of EI> Boston Courier. e
When an Abolitonist astihes the new pro
claimed policy Of the Administration, he takes
the ground that slavery i the cause of the war.
and that either the Government or slavery must
be DESTROYED. Therefore slavery must be abol-
ished. His frzt faliacy consists IN begging OF
the question, and NE second ia deceptive sub
stitution Of terms-the Government for ice Ad-
ministration. r ehea $50
Hs adversary denies the assumption ths,
slavery i the cause OF the war. any more than
Law i the cause Of transgres-ion, or the money
Of the way laid travs'er the cause of his robbery
or murder. An antecedent Is not necessarily and
morally n cause. he allirms. Vn the contrary.
that AbOlitionism j. the causatve antecesient OF
the war. and will be fatal TO toe Government il
its destructive policy be carried GU But Gov
eminent must be sustained, and therefore all
good citizens must think. and speak. and vote, in
the exercise OF their Constitution, freedom, as
10 secure IL that be possible, better admInisIra
ton of IT, -
This l. a very considerable issue. As things
now are, il Is OF great consequence that the PEG
pie to whom the Government belongs should
look well into the dispute Otherwise they may
lose their Inheritance without knosiBg 70. and
PREPARATION may be impossible. government.
like house, - more easily demolished than re-
built.
Some of "a. Mr.. Editor. who hold no Office and
publish no paper, and have no intention OF doing
either, have, 40 far, a far claim 10 be heard in
respect to the controversy now going Be
sides, we have somewhat carefully studied the
Aboliiionists. whose doctrines the present recog
nized agents Of the people about 10 carry out
in theis administration OF affairs. We can speak
from the book
Our method is historical, which is best adapted
70 the occasion. Men may speculate about slavery
and It's relations till they gray and be no wiser
The doctors of that fashion everywhere disagree
as TO its origin, It's nature. It's design. its genius
and spirit. its politics, ethics and theology, It's
science and its literature and manners. Since
this war began We have have read may ingenious
discussions OF the subject from learned jurists,
statesmen, dlvines, but only To perceive how they
have multiplied confusons. The writer's have
looked out from their respective different stand
points, and reasoned in evident subservency TO
their different idols. more numerous than Bacon
has described, till they have bewildered them
selves and-whch is wOrse-the innocent but
unconscious public. An epidemic mental disease
IS consequently settled upon Us. We wait for
some highly raised and concentrated solvent to
digest all their respective varieties of wisdom
before panaced can be found. Then, how
ever, the poor afflicted patient may be beyond re
coyery
Doubtless the only sufficient solvent of all our
intellectual crudities is revelation. But we fear
the patient is too far gone, already. to bear a
spirit raised much above the natural. We must
content ourselves with what is next best-his-
tory That gives as the wisdom of God in His
moral providence, and to know that may be of
great consequence In default OF more spiritual
enlightenment.
We find that, before the era of Abolition, this
whole country enjoyed remarkable union, peace
and prosperity for half a century Its general
officers chosen with reference TO no sectional
peculiarties, but as representatives, of parties in
discriminatory scattered over all the States No
considerable sectional disputes arose in the Con
gress, but such grew out of natural diversities
OF physical condition. Tariffs, internal improve
ments. bounties aud the like suggested and ex-
hausted controversy. The heat produced was
hardly more than enough 10 produce a healthy
intellectual activity, and check the bad tendencies
OF appropriating majorites. So far there was
but little difference between Northern and South.
ern politicians. in the spirit with which they con.
tended, or the expedlents which they adopted. IL
would have been difficult. and of little conse.
quence, in a moral point of view. to strike a bal
ance between them. Nor the logic of statesmen,
nor the craft of politicians could have awakened
dangerous personal sectional anmosities or
disturbed constitutional reletions so long as they
overstepped not the limits of expediency, and eff
fected no moral control OF the public mind. Cal
houn and Webster ut the head, or such men as
Brooks and Sumner at the tail, could never have
contended greatly to the public deriment, till the
Congress let in subjects of discussion that con
cerued more Immediately the moral government
OF God. That was our original mistake, which
some of the fathers had foreseen with fears and
warnings--the common mistake of all countries,
as virtue declines-of essaying. willingly or un
Willingly, to bring together what God requires Us
tO keep asunder-the Church aud the State Till
made that bluuder the country united
prosperous and happy There had been no such
instance in the history OF the world.
If there were. before that time any dangerous
plotters agail st the Government. North or South.
we find no evidence OF il in history. That there
may have been men on both sides, ready TO have
taken advantage of occasions 10 exat themselves
on the ruins OF the republic, il is not improbable.
for Americans are no executions To the common
law OF selhshness and ambition. But such men
could nave made no figure The Union, the
Constitution and the laws are sacred, and the
country would have rejected any conspiracy
against Them a healthy stomach rejects poison
Such madness could have reached no higher than
a whisky insurrection. We were safe and honor
able I'LL the moral balance was deranged, and
the Church and State tell out OF their true rea
tons To each other and to moral government
We were tempted almost unconsciously into
that snare by Introducing moral element
slavery-into the reckoning OF politics aud
thereby brought Church and State together down
To that lower level From that time our slor,
has departed Our Christianity has become secu
lar, and our secular glory has been dmmed in
having lost the reflection OF a more spiritual
light. We have substituted speculation for faith
aud our speculative discussions have been de
graded into angry wranglings. We have made
God and man To exchange places. His institutes
and Ills constitutions we have interpreted by the
higher law of our own conceits We have
converted the sovereign law giver into a poIiti
clan. We have discussed by our own standards.
and determined. by vote, how it il best for Him
to carry on His government of the world We
have inquired not what lie his willeC. and said.
and done. but what il is expediem, for Him to
will. and saw. and do, according TO a master a
party. or a school We have popularzed our
creeds. measured principles by their utilities, men
by their clothes. and God himself by His sun
posed subservIency 20 our ideas.
Let Us observe the process: The South is
Ii i so constitutionally and le
gally Slavery enters into the structure ofits so
cety. not thing OF accident. possibly not every
where of preference. but Inheritance according
10 the common law Of earth-a provdental or
which. in view OF necessarily that
i OF naturally and staedly existing dversiteS of
race culture aud condition. the social state could
not have been constituted at all and life LTD |
erty and happiness" would have been insecure to !
a civilized and Chri .tian people. who had lust
ltDUvhf them "A 50