The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1862-09-12
The Last Ditch.

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i The last Ditch.
| A great mass Of something, deem.
ed and taken by its authors to be
wit, 10 expended on the rebels to find
"ihe last ditch"
Tn y will find /, filed with th, {
dark and sluggish stream that tho
old poats Gay runs nine times around
the internal regions. Whilst the
Bible remains true, no rebel or rebel
Isympathizer will ever 500 Gods face
N peace.
l'A thousand years from hence,
They'll sit by Leths's stream,
And read their acts by tie red light OF hell"
Bat those j,kers 10 not APPEAR TO
know that there IA q .'last ditch"
,Ahe d Of our government. which we
may reach be ore the rebels got into
theirs.
This last rsllying place 10 not to
be attained by yielding up cities, Of
bases Of operations, or lines Of de-.
tense, but by the absorption Of the
states by the general government.
| In short, II il idle to deny that Of
present our duty 10 10 run the gaunt
lot between Anarchy and Despotism.
1t has boen said that our nation Il
Constitution was never made, but
that il grew, and the student OF bis
tory will not fail to sue, that 1t hss
grown out Of the sword, which wac
tho scepter OF the Kings that ruled
by the strong hand.
One of these rights were CLEANED
by the people from their arbitrary
rulers, and embodied into org .nic
laws, and revised and corrected by
the wisIlom oi centuries; they have
been published in what is the hes'
form h,tuerto attained and the edition
is call i the Constitution OF the Unit
ed s a'es.
Tn re rights are given Of Col tt
men, are as valid IS his truth, and
indestructible as h,s being.
Then, VIII. never a nation provct
, itself unworthy of their enj ,yment
they flow back into the fountain head
, in the central power o! the nation -
The true idea appears to be Thu, civil
government is the ordinance OF God.
and necss ity Of onr very being,
whilst the extent to which its powers
are diffused 10 proportioned to The
smouDaof. public virtue among a
people at any given time.
A little examination will show
that the difference between the bost
government and the worst, is simply
the difference in the extent TO which
the powers OF tho government ere
diflused, or concentrated, the gov.
ernment improving as its powers are
diffused, this diffusion invariably
keeping pace with the increase OF
l.ublic virtue.
The Interpretation oi Rom. xiii.
II turns on this idea. The tyranny
OF Nero, bad as It was, was the best
form OF government possible in tho
then cxis,ins sts's Of public mora g.
God taught his people that good
T public morals ara the root, and not
the frult uf good laws among men.
: Ilc, then. would not have them be
rehullIous or sedi,ious. but devote
'herns, Ives nnswervin9ly to the cul
! tivation Of a sound morality among
tie people, assuring them that good
laws will follow.
The case OF the lrselites desiring
King in the earliest account OF the
absorption, or cen'rsliz ng Of the
p0wers OF . government jifused
among q people that had become
corrupt.
| Their desire 10 become like the
nations round about them in their
TORN Of government, arose from as
similation to them in NOR ,ls.
With a few luci intervals in reign
Of good Kings, the morality OF the
J wa sank lower and lower, until the
r I'm ma csme and took away their
lace and nation.
The Jews had fonnd the last ditch.
! Passing over sundry instances Of
the same trutl, we rem irk that the
Z glish revolution, that resulted in
the administration OF Crom well, il
to us the most instructive instance
on record OF the principle under con
81 |, ration.
}, That is an instance Of a nation
whose ruling class had become ex,
ceedingly corrupt, whilst among the
people there existed great deal oI
sound religious feeling.
The careful stndy Of the history ol
that time, will show rapid concen
tration into Crom wells hands Of the
powers hitherto diffased, to q large
extent, among the people.
1t will show US, also. that willis,
; Charles sought to do what Cromwell
: subsequently did, yet their designs
, 10 Whist they did, were dismetrically y
opposite. Charles wished to gather
all the powers OF tho governmen,
into bis hands, that he might destroy
; them together. His was like tbt
, desirs Of him who wished that all tht
world had one mock that he nigh
out II of at one blow; whilst Crom'
, we'll concentrated these rights ths
he might protect them from presen
danger, and restore them to tho poo
y ole when the storm bad blown over