The Shasta courier., 1862-02-15
What Davis Is Doing.

We have all along contended that JeE
Davis and his immediate hackers would make
a monopoly Of the work of abolitionism.-
Mrs. Beecher Stowe, Abby Kelly, Giddings,
&C., were all very we'll in their way, and
could clothe the idea of aboIitionism in about
as choice phrase as anybody else. But they
were only theorists and dreamcrs. They might
make the idea appear pleasing, but it was
only an idea after all. For real common
sense, practical, available, gct-at.al'le abo-
litionist, who does his work up swiftly and
cleanly, commend us to that gallant band Of
slaveless statesmen who got up this war
Giddings and Gerritt Smith are not-tg
quote the language ofthe ungodly-''d 'deuces"
compared, in the great work Of abolition, to
Yancey and Davis. 1t is no answer to say
that Davis and Yandey do not mean abolition
ism. 1t is enough to know that such is tho
result of their labors. Time was when nearly
all men held the term Abolitionist to be .
word of reproach. That is so no longer. i
The ministrations Of the G. S. A. bid fair, in
short time, to render it respectable. We
have been led into this train of remark by
the suhjoined article, which we reprint from
l<hslR RlGeryipe Rspnhliean, We could -
wished that all these things had been dif3sr-
ent, but as they won't be SO, we are even
content to let events sjog along" as they
will:
This is all changing it has changed
Who would have dreamed year ago that
public men who won reputation for con-
servatism by life time of measurcless SUBJ
serviency to the slave interest, would stand
up in the presence of immense audiences
and be cheercd in saying that they g would
raise she war slogan of universal emancipa-
tion," would put a musket in the slaves hand
and bid him in Gods name strike for the lib
erty of the human race" Who would have
thought that, proclamation declaring free
all slaves of rebels, would be received with
enthusiasm through the land? Who could
have imagined that the North with its great
conservative feelings and interests would be-
come so throughly abolitionized as it has
Who then shall say what will be the end ?
The popular mind of America is taking a
| new direction on the slavery question, and
history which "is prophecy speaking by ex.
ample, tells us that movements of this kind
never stop until their end is accomplished
If we can estimate possibilities by certain
ties, if we can rightly appreciate the philos-
ophy of events, we may perhaps be able to
understand that never in all the half century
of slavery agitation, has the slavery ques-
ton been so tremendously agitated as within
the last six months. The faces Of our
Bakers, and Lyons, and Ellsworths, and
Winthrops turned toward the sky, plead
to the reason and the hsa rts of people, more
powerfully than ten thousand silyery tongued
abolition lecturers could speak. The danger
to slavery is notfrom the phillipics of Beech
er or the orations of Sumner. But let a
great battle be fought, and few thousand
brothers, and fathers and sons be slain and
when their comrades in arms stand still for
n moment beside their bodies and ask, What
is this for? and grippe their muskets firmer
in reply. it is in that grasp that slavery has
most to fear, it is in tho elank of five hun
dred thousand arms that its death kncll Eill
be rung. -