Washington telegraph. [volume] (Washington, Ark.) 1839-1871, 1863-01-07

Red Sea when they beheld the pursuin z
hosts of Pharaoh swallowed up by its waves ;
when Moses and his men sung praises and
thanksgiving, and Miriam and her women went
forth with timhrels and dances to give praises
unto the Lord for his great deliverance, it was
a scene OF joy and enthusiasm They had en-
tered upon new era of their existence. They
mad left the hated land of their oppressors
behind them forever The joys of the prom
| ised land lay far before them. What care
they for the intervening desert. All the
hardships of its passage seemed to them as
nothing. Toll, nakedness, hanger, thirst.
fatigue and danger-all were welcomed in
view Of the great reward. All were patriots :;
all were ready to sacrifice their liTes-or
thought they were-so that the body of the
people might reach.the promised land, become
a mighty nation, and escape slavery and bond
age forever.
Then, as ever after; and as it will be for
evermorc, there was weakness, and cowardice.
and Selfshness in the hearts of manv of the
people, but. in the general enthusiasm. all
was swallowed up. or concealed The good
and the bad were alike loud in their SONGS
They faced alike the dangers in prospect and
laugaei as them in the distance Not one of
them there, that would not have scorned the
thought OF returning to Egypt, where. by
submission and slavery, he might still be as
sured Of food and safety.
But the time did come, which tried their
souls; and many there were who fell in the
trial. 1t had been no trial to incur the dan
ger of the flight, and the passage of the sea
Their souls were all equal to that But thew
were not equal to the long and tedious marches
in the desert; to the burning sands. and sore
privations which, day by day, wore them away
dope deferred siekened their hearts, and the
time Of trial came. The weak and selfish
hungered again after the flesh pots Of Egypt
and reviled the leaders who had led them
away. They ingloriously murmured that they
had exchanged safe and well-fed slavery for
a freedom to be won by toll. An Insurrection
arose IN the camp; the auth 2rity of Moses
was set at defiance, and the Lord. in his
wrath, opened the earth, and caused it TO
swall W up those who were so unworthy to
live.
Ii is lessen for all ages, and particularly
addresses us now. We, too are in our exodus.
We have left government where, too, we had
comfort and abundance, but in which we could
no longer live as freemen. 1t was no trial to
do All were unanimous The rich and
the poor. alike; the old and the young; the
women and the children-all with one burst of
indignation, threw off their allegiance to the
United States, before the echoes of the guns
of Sumter had died away thro ghout the land
We stretched forth our arms and took our
sister States by the hand. We pledged them
our Hres, our property. and our honor, to stand
by them in veal or woe, until the joyous tri
umph, or the bitter end That was the day of
our enthusiasm. 1t was the day of our unan-
unity. Whose war is it, them Is it war
of class? is it for the benefit of the rich at
the expense of the poor. Who is it tells you
that? Remember that the poorest AMI hum
blest aborer would have spit upon and despised
the delegate to our Convention, who had re-
fused to assist in joining our State to the
standard of the South, aud pledgng every cent
| OF her resources to maintain the contest. The
rich never could have begun the war. 1t
sprung from the spontaneous will of all the
people, as unanimous were the songs of
praise the banks of the Dead Sea. thousands
of years ago.
But the time for trial draws nigh. and each
M III ,,1l Ia.
1t does net come in the clash of arms, and the
dangers of the battlefield. 1t comes upon
US as it came upon the unhappy Israelitos, and
woe be unto the memory of those who yield to
the tempter. 1t comes in the shape of de-
manls upon our property, which we pledged
so readily and doubt earne lily at the time
1t comes in the shape of privations long to be
endured of the Lecessaries of life. 1t takes
us from our families a; d leaves them to the
care of strangers and the God Ct the father
less and the widow. whom we are 10th to
trust 1t threatens to scatter our property to
the winds, and leave US impoverished. Can
these necessary evils Of war be endured for
the sake of patriotism, and in view of that
S4O4IOuS AAOcEty Ho HOuIl VIII IoI oui
children? shall any one of US, selfshly
avoiding the evils which are inevitable to the
immunity, now murmur, and become dissen-
tious, and bring weakness and distraction
upon the common cause? This is the trial
which is upon Us. 1t is the true touch
stone which separates from the patriot, the
weak and selfish craven, who would buy his
liberty at the ccst of his neighbours suffer
ings, or failing that accept again the condi-
ton of vassalage to the conquerer, for the sake
OF his property and sensual love of ease.
Only by self-sacrifce and unanimity can
we reach that promised land of Independent
sovereignty for the South, which, if we perish
by the way, We would wish for people and
cur posterity. The calls of our country for
our persons in the camp, or our property in
her treasury, should be met with promptness
and Hlthouta murmur The laws which make
these demands are our own. They are made
by our representatives whom we have Sc
lected. They MUST be honest. and necessary.
lie who thinks of avoiding or resisting them,
has listened to the tempter His mind is
wandering back to the .snesb nots of Er,,n+